Certain items of clothing make us feel confident, or creative, or competent. Others have a history, reminding us of a time or place and we don’t want to let go. Our clothes have a history and can be an extension of our personalities.

Decluttering a wardrobe can be a hard, emotional task, best undertaken when you’re feeling well rested, not hungry or thirsty, and in the right mind space.

Here are eight short tips that might help your wardrobe decluttering go just a little better:

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Start with the big picture

Gather all of your clothes together. All of them. Outside of the wardrobe.

Bag up anything to be donated: things you don’t like, that you don’t and won’t wear, or just know you’re ready to pass on.  

Any favourites that you definitely don’t want to part with and still wear often can go straight back into the wardrobe.

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Limit the number of hangers

If you only have a set number of hangers available to use, you’ll need to be tough on yourself about what to keep and what must go.

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Look for duplicates

Do you really need more than three of anything similar and in the same colour? The answer may be yes, for example if there’s a dress code at work. But if not, this is the first place to look hard for items to go, leaving yourself with just your favourite pieces – an easy decluttering win.

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Look for what you’re not wearing

If you haven’t worn something for months, why? 

If you’re not sure/can’t remember, perhaps keep them but try turning all the hangers in the wardrobe to hang backwards, hanging the clothes the right way when you’ve worn them. After a set period of time, or as you’re swapping clothes for a new season, any clothes still hanging backwards are candidates to go.

If clothes are ill fitting, they should go. If you’re dieting to get back in, or trying to gain back weight, try putting them in a bag, box or case, with a time limit for the weight change. If it hasn’t happened, you know these items too are candidates to go.

If something makes you feel anything but great while wearing it, it too needs to go.

If it’s just that the season’s wrong that’s stopping you wearing it, put those out of season clothes into separate storage – maybe a box, case, separate wardrobe. Your aim here is to only have clothes you wear in your wardrobe. You can address these things later.

When you reach in to find something, you know it's the current seasons clothing, it fits and it suits you.

Less really is more.

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Put away what you love but are unsure about

Maybe you have a suit you rarely wear because the lapels are out of fashion, but you love the quality and colour.

Maybe there’s a T-shirt with a slogan that’s showing its age.

Try packing these things away for a set period of time, maybe four months.

If you haven’t missed them, they too are candidates to go.

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Weed out anything damaged

It may be a blouse with a burn mark. A dress with a wine stain. A dinner jacket with a ripped seam. Whatever needs repairing, remove it from the wardrobe and get it fixed. It’s not allowed back in until it’s fixed. Again, give yourself a time limit. If it’s not done within, say, two months, the item(s) must go.

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Check what’s left

Try on each item that’s left.

Does it fit you? If not, it needs to go.

Does it suit you? Ditto

Is it your style and can it be worn with your other clothes? Again, if not, it needs to go.

If the tags are still on and you’ve never worn an item, why? Cut your losses if you made a mistake and make a mental note to not make the same mistake again.

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End with the big picture

Take a look back in the wardrobe.

It there anything there that goes with no other clothes, or which stands out from the rest as completely ‘not your style’?

Is there anything you wear regularly but don’t look or feel great in?

If so, you know what you have to do….

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Candidates to go?

Your clothes can be given a new life elsewhere - the bin is the last resort:

• Sell them via one of the many available apps or Facebook Marketplace;
• Give them away to friends or through Freecycle if you have a local scheme;
• Take good quality, clean items to a charity shop;
• If they’re damaged, there are many clothes recycling banks, and some charity shops are given money for the weight of recycled cloth.

Storage

easyStorageBoxes has a wide range of boxes to store those ‘out of season’, 'winter things during summer', ‘not sure about’ and ‘when I’m slimmer’ things in.

And easyStorage offers storage facilities up and down the country if you’re looking for a longer term decluttering solution. No obligation quotes are available online https://book.easystorage.com/, or call 0333 016 4341 to chat through your requirements with a Storage Solutions Specialist. We also offer advice on how to really sort your clothing out Marie Kondo style.