Wandering through your winter wardrobe can be a joy or a nightmare for many people. Moth-eaten jumpers, last year’s fashion and jeans that don’t fit anymore. If you’re thinking it’s time for a wardrobe war to get yourself warm, there’s no better time than now. Here are some tips and hints we’ve learned from helping people downsize or move house.
A disorganised, random wardrobe can be uninspiring. Follow these top tips to spruce things up.
1. It’s really important to ensure you have enough space in your new or old wardrobe for all the clothes you need, so measure the width of the hanging space. When you are deciding what clothing to keep you will have an idea of the space available and how much you can feasibly fit in.
2. Take everything out of the wardrobe and use the measurements to determine how much you can put back.
Taking everything out helps to clear the decks and start again. Very cathartic!
3. Start with skirts, trousers and jeans – keep only your favourite and best fitting.
4. Then, go through your tops and jackets. Only keep those that can be mixed and matched with your shoes and handbags and will work with many items.
5. Discard worn-out items and those that have been waiting for repairs. If you haven’t fixed it yet, you probably don’t need it.
6. If wardrobes have shelves or drawers, consider what you will keep there, eg suitcases, out of season clothing or spare linen. If you have your shoes on racks, make sure they will fit in the wardrobe.
Capsule or mix and match clothing can help if you’ve limited space but still want all the style.
7. If you’re in the position to style and build a new wardrobe – this needs some time, so set aside time to plan. There are some great capsule wardrobe examples on Pinterest for any age group.
8. Anything you don’t love any more will certainly find another home – just be sure to wash and fold and deliver to your local charity.
9. Sort your clothes into categories and colours – not only does this look great, but it makes it easier to find what you’re looking for!
Only keep the jewellery that enhances your clothing and your style, even if it was a gift!
10. Jewellery, especially costume jewellery, can build up over a lifetime, but if it doesn’t enhance your clothing, it should go. We had a clever client who kept the necklace for her outfit on the coat hanger, ready to wear. Genius.
Be realistic with your wardrobe choices. Does your lifestyle require as much formal, business, or sportswear now? How many cocktail frocks or dinner suits have you worn recently? If there is no lawn to mow, do you need more than one set of ‘work clothes’?
Once you’ve sorted out all the above challenges, here are some basic tips for organising your wardrobe:
· Consistent hangers – use the non-slip felt variety of coat hangers for light blouses and dresses that tend to slip off hangers; timber hangers are great for jackets and basic white or black for everything else. This can really help to highlight the clothes if the hangers are all similar and get that ‘styled wardrobe’ look.
Consistent hangers make any closet look stylish
· Storage boxes are great for items you don’t want to get dusty such as scarves, hats, handbags and gloves. Vacuum bags are a big space saver and also protect from moths and silverfish. Also be sure to use an anti-humidity device (available at Daiso), wool wash for woollens and delicate clothing plus lavender, camphor or mothballs to store your winters over summer.
In the meantime, enjoy snuggling up to your loved ones, pets or fluffy blanket this winter and wage a war on your wardrobe.
Let us know if we can be of any assistance to help sort out your wardrobe or your home. We can bring items you may need to help you downsize, move or just organise your clothes and we can take what you don’t need any more away to give to charity.
