Spring Cleaning Your Wardrobe - from Chaos to Fabulous in 5 Easy Steps
If a professional organiser were to knock on your door today and take a peek at your wardrobe would you be flinging the doors wide with a beaming smile or trying to hide under the bed (because there's no way you can get another thing in that cupboard)?
You can have an organised wardrobe, one that actually works for you, in five easy steps.
Step One. Remove everything. Take it all out. Stack it on the bed or floor, but empty those shelves and hanging rails and pick up everything off the floor. Now you can see the space you have, and how much stuff you need to get back into it.
Step Two. Fill a bucket with hot water, get a duster, your Miracle Spray, some microfibre cloths and an old towel. Start at the top and clean your way down to the floor, dusting, washing and drying (that's what the old towel is for) every shelf, rail and drawer. Vacuum the floor. Now got to your bathroom cupboard and get out those bars of soap, unwrap them and put a couple on each shelf and one or two in each drawer. They will scent and freshen your wardrobe and help deter bugs while at the same time hardening so they'll last longer when you move them back to the bathroom.
Step Three. Now sort through all the items you've tossed on the bed and the floor. Most people hate this step because it means getting rid of everything you don't use or wear, and it is the most time consuming part of the whole project. But there’s no way you could get all that stuff back into the wardrobe in any sort of neat and tidy order, so just do it.
You'll need three containers (bags, boxes, suitcases, grocery bags - something you can put things in). Label them:
Keep: This is for the things you are going to keep: things you wear or use regularly or have worn or used at least twice in the last year. Be brave, be strong and be harsh: cull anything that is too small, out of date, that you really don't like, that is marked or stained or torn. If in doubt, don't put it in this container, add it to the sell/donate pile.
Sell or Donate: This is the container for the clothes and other items that are not right for you but still have a useful life for someone else. What you consider ugly may be perfect to someone else. As soon as you've finished your wardrobe reno put this container in the car to drop at your favourite op shop.
Throw Away: This container is for all the clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and other stuff that is stained, torn, worn out or broken. This container may well fill up quickly and a few times during this project so be ruthless and as soon as it's full, empty it.
Step Four: Divide the keepers by season, type and use. If possible, store out-of-season items in another place in your home (I have all my out of season clothes in a camphorwood chest in our bedroom). Next, separate your clothes into three piles: work, going out and casual. Now divide each pile into common-wear and infrequent-wear, arranging them so the items you wear most often are the most handy.
I arrange my wardrobe like this:
Hanging Space:
All coat hangers face the same way.
I use padded coat hangers for shirts, cardigans, jackets and dresses.
Shelves:
Step Five: Put everything away neatly. Use organisers. At the minimum you need a sturdy shoe rack, good hangers and shelves in addition to your standard hanging rail. Add smaller organisers to drawers to keep things tidy, use larger baskets or boxes on shelves for bigger items. If you have a few handbags a handbag organiser that hangs over a door or rod is a neat way to keep them tidy and in good condition.
Once you've taken the time to spring clean your wardrobe, make sure it stays that way by always putting things away properly. Then, when that professional organiser knocks on your door, you'll happily show off your organised wardrobe.
You can have an organised wardrobe, one that actually works for you, in five easy steps.
Step One. Remove everything. Take it all out. Stack it on the bed or floor, but empty those shelves and hanging rails and pick up everything off the floor. Now you can see the space you have, and how much stuff you need to get back into it.
Step Two. Fill a bucket with hot water, get a duster, your Miracle Spray, some microfibre cloths and an old towel. Start at the top and clean your way down to the floor, dusting, washing and drying (that's what the old towel is for) every shelf, rail and drawer. Vacuum the floor. Now got to your bathroom cupboard and get out those bars of soap, unwrap them and put a couple on each shelf and one or two in each drawer. They will scent and freshen your wardrobe and help deter bugs while at the same time hardening so they'll last longer when you move them back to the bathroom.
Step Three. Now sort through all the items you've tossed on the bed and the floor. Most people hate this step because it means getting rid of everything you don't use or wear, and it is the most time consuming part of the whole project. But there’s no way you could get all that stuff back into the wardrobe in any sort of neat and tidy order, so just do it.
You'll need three containers (bags, boxes, suitcases, grocery bags - something you can put things in). Label them:
Keep: This is for the things you are going to keep: things you wear or use regularly or have worn or used at least twice in the last year. Be brave, be strong and be harsh: cull anything that is too small, out of date, that you really don't like, that is marked or stained or torn. If in doubt, don't put it in this container, add it to the sell/donate pile.
Sell or Donate: This is the container for the clothes and other items that are not right for you but still have a useful life for someone else. What you consider ugly may be perfect to someone else. As soon as you've finished your wardrobe reno put this container in the car to drop at your favourite op shop.
Throw Away: This container is for all the clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and other stuff that is stained, torn, worn out or broken. This container may well fill up quickly and a few times during this project so be ruthless and as soon as it's full, empty it.
Step Four: Divide the keepers by season, type and use. If possible, store out-of-season items in another place in your home (I have all my out of season clothes in a camphorwood chest in our bedroom). Next, separate your clothes into three piles: work, going out and casual. Now divide each pile into common-wear and infrequent-wear, arranging them so the items you wear most often are the most handy.
I arrange my wardrobe like this:
Hanging Space:
- Short sleeve shirts
- Long sleeve shirts
- Cardigans
- Jackets
- Skirts
- Dresses
- Trousers
All coat hangers face the same way.
I use padded coat hangers for shirts, cardigans, jackets and dresses.
Shelves:
- Jumpers
- Jeans
- T-shirts
Step Five: Put everything away neatly. Use organisers. At the minimum you need a sturdy shoe rack, good hangers and shelves in addition to your standard hanging rail. Add smaller organisers to drawers to keep things tidy, use larger baskets or boxes on shelves for bigger items. If you have a few handbags a handbag organiser that hangs over a door or rod is a neat way to keep them tidy and in good condition.
Once you've taken the time to spring clean your wardrobe, make sure it stays that way by always putting things away properly. Then, when that professional organiser knocks on your door, you'll happily show off your organised wardrobe.