It’s Friday, we made it through week one of being home without leaving. Who knew that would be such a challenge? I’m seeing a lot of chat around clear outs, cleaning and all that fun stuff, so I thought it an apt time to give my tips on how to clear out your wardrobe if you plan on doing that during your time at home. There are plenty of sources of information on how to manage the process and I’m sure Marie Kondo’s book has not escaped you. It’s a brilliant book, but some parts of it make me question the practicality of taking this approach. There is also a wonderful Irish-written book called The Happy Closet by stylist Ann Marie O’Connor that I highly recommend. It’s a lovely read and so informative as well. I also love Pinterst (you can follow my boards here if you like. It’s a more visual approach with links to articles on spring cleaning etc so if you absorb your information more with images, then this is a great start. I have five tips to help so here we go:
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO SPARK JOY
Marie Kondo’s philosophy in a nutshell is to take each item and ask if it sparks joy within you? I’m not sure I’m down with this approach at all. If we get granular, things I have to wear don’t really spark joy. When I take items like long sleeve white tops for layering, do these spark joy? No, of course not but I see them as practical items so I keep them. The same goes for oversize, puffer, waterproof coats that we need. Ok, so I know this is taking the idea a bit far but I have a point. Stay with me.
IT’S A YES OR NO GAME – THERE ARE NO MAYBES
You start to pick up your items and it’s as basic as a yes or a no. There is no maybe pile as these always end up back in your wardrobe. So you need to get tough on the choices. There are of course exceptions; and these are sentimental items. But keep these away from your regular wardrobe so when you look into it to get dressed, you only see things you will wear. All the ‘Nos’ need to be sorted out then. Some you can re sell if you feel they have a value, I use Siopaella or Depop for selling pieces to make some money back. Everything else goes to charity. My next point will deal with the ‘Yes’s.
SECTIONS, SECTIONS AND MORE SECTIONS
There are two approaches to organising your wardrobe with the pieces you are keeping. The first one, I take, is to break them into item type, so, jackets, tops, jeans and so on. Then within those you can organise them by colour or by fit, the choice is yours. I love to hang everything I wear up on my rails. I think when you can see everything you know what you have and it helps to style up outfits from what you already own. It also gives you a clearer idea of what you might be missing or what you have too many of. The second approach is to organise by need. So if you have a dress code in your office (like business casual, or formal) you can separate these working items into their own section, away from the clothes you wear on your downtime or going out. This one really comes down to how much space you have. My choice regardless of space is option one.
THE DREADED DRAWERS
I really don’t like drawers for clothes, simply because things get lost on me. I put things in and I am convinced IKEA have some magical goblin in every KALLAX storage unit that thrives on eating nice jumpers. But drawers are best for small things and your basics. I keep things like my abundance of black jumpers in drawers, as well as t-shirts. I love drawer dividers which I have bought at IKEA as well and they are super for keeping socks and pants sorted. PAIR YOUR SOCKS, it keeps things neater.
SHOES, YES I HAVE WAY TOO MANY
It’s an addiction, it really is. The best way to sort shoes is to take them out of where you keep them and go through each pair. You need to ask yourself if you have at least three ways to wear them and if you do then you can put them back in. But the best way to avoid the shoe apocalypse is to start at the buying decision. The best example is when you are buying shoes for going out or occasions. Ask yourself what ways you can style these after the event to make sure they are a good buy.
