5 Steps to a Clutter-free Home: Day Three – Organise a Woeful Wardrobe
If your clothes closet is more jumble sale than walk-in wonder, it’s time to tackle that tangle of clothes
Day three of our mega clutter-busting week and today we have our sights set on the wardrobe. It should be an ordered cupboard for clothes and more, but so often it’s messy and hard to use, with an over-crammed rail and a jumble of shoes, socks and accessories littering the shelves. So call time on the chaos and knock your closet into shape. Here’s how…
Fit an extra rail
When it comes to uncluttering your hanging space, two rails are better than one. It’s a simple concept, but not all wardrobes make use of this nifty way to maximise storage space. If you can, remove your single rail and replace with two, one fixed right at the top and one just below half way. Be sure to measure your clothes and the rail heights carefully, so longer items will hang nicely and not get crumpled at the bottom.
Explore 10 easy steps to an organised wardrobe
When it comes to uncluttering your hanging space, two rails are better than one. It’s a simple concept, but not all wardrobes make use of this nifty way to maximise storage space. If you can, remove your single rail and replace with two, one fixed right at the top and one just below half way. Be sure to measure your clothes and the rail heights carefully, so longer items will hang nicely and not get crumpled at the bottom.
Explore 10 easy steps to an organised wardrobe
Hang with intention
Once you have sorted through your clothes, hang them back up according to type – shirts, skirts, trousers – or colour. This will help you to find what you’re looking for easily and will encourage you to keep the wardrobe tidy.
Once you have sorted through your clothes, hang them back up according to type – shirts, skirts, trousers – or colour. This will help you to find what you’re looking for easily and will encourage you to keep the wardrobe tidy.
Store seasonally
If your wardrobe is cluttered with winter coats when it’s 30 degrees outside, you are missing a trick. Weed out winter clothes in summer and store them elsewhere. Under the bed or on top of the wardrobe are two possibilities. It’s a good idea to invest in a vacuum storage bag, which allows bulky items like jumpers to be packed away small. Once the bag is full, you seal the inner bag, vac out the air, then zip up the outer bag to keep contents free of dust and moisture.
If your wardrobe is cluttered with winter coats when it’s 30 degrees outside, you are missing a trick. Weed out winter clothes in summer and store them elsewhere. Under the bed or on top of the wardrobe are two possibilities. It’s a good idea to invest in a vacuum storage bag, which allows bulky items like jumpers to be packed away small. Once the bag is full, you seal the inner bag, vac out the air, then zip up the outer bag to keep contents free of dust and moisture.
Go beyond hangers
Throughout the house, a mix of storage guarantees clutter-free success. Your wardrobe is no exception, so think beyond hangers and shelves and include baskets and trays, too. These can hold dirty laundry, or smaller items, such as hankies, ties or belts.
Throughout the house, a mix of storage guarantees clutter-free success. Your wardrobe is no exception, so think beyond hangers and shelves and include baskets and trays, too. These can hold dirty laundry, or smaller items, such as hankies, ties or belts.
Clear out shoes and bags
Tackle a tumble of shoes and handbags at the bottom of your wardrobe by pulling them all out, cleaning the wardrobe floor, and then finding an alternative place to store some of them. Rarely worn high heels look pretty neatly lined up on a shelf, while handbags are best stored on hooks to help them keep their shape. Remaining shoes can be returned to the wardrobe and simple shoe boxes will keep them neat. If you don’t have the originals, try asking for unwanted boxes at your local shoe shop – much cheaper than buying specialist storage.
Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know how you keep your wardrobe organised in the Comments.
Tackle a tumble of shoes and handbags at the bottom of your wardrobe by pulling them all out, cleaning the wardrobe floor, and then finding an alternative place to store some of them. Rarely worn high heels look pretty neatly lined up on a shelf, while handbags are best stored on hooks to help them keep their shape. Remaining shoes can be returned to the wardrobe and simple shoe boxes will keep them neat. If you don’t have the originals, try asking for unwanted boxes at your local shoe shop – much cheaper than buying specialist storage.
Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know how you keep your wardrobe organised in the Comments.
Apparently, we only wear 20% of our clothes regularly, and some surveys suggest that a further 20% of the clothes in our wardrobe have never even been worn! Whatever the stats, we all know there are items that no longer fit, have not been worn in the last year or were bad buys in the first place. Time to get ruthless. Sort your clothes into the ones you wear regularly, those you could give to friends or sell, and charity donations. Take a little time over this, trying things on and making a decision about every item. It’s worth it for all the space you will create in your wardrobe. And while you’re at it, wipe down hangers and discard any that are broken or may snag your clothes.
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