How to Declutter Your Wardrobe and What to Do With Unwanted Clothes!
If you're still filled with dread when it comes to clearing out your wardrobe we've searched for a few tips and tricks to make the process that little bit easier.
How to Declutter Your Wardrobe and What to Do With Unwanted Clothes!
The Reverse Hanger Trick
What is the KonMari Marie Kondo method?
You may have already stumbled into Marie Kondo's method for decluttering your wardrobe and your house. The simple version is asking yourself whether or not an item is either useful or brings you joy. If what you have in your wardrobe doesn't make you feel good, and you no longer wear it, then it is time to say goodbye.
But another key part of the process is parting with your unwanted clothes with 'gratitude'. You can appreciate the work that has gone into making and transporting your top or dress. You can also be grateful for the memories attached to those clothes. It might sound wishy-washy but it might just help you decide which clothes to move on.
Build a capsule wardrobe
If you're looking to streamline your wardrobe and save yourself the headache of choosing what to wear every morning, you could try a capsule wardrobe.
A capsule wardrobe uses fewer clothes that you rewear in more combinations. The idea is that you put together your classic fashion and versatile pieces that can be mixed and matched with other items to create a slightly different look every day.
So, what do you need to start a capsule wardrobe? You can start by thinking about what clothes you already love to wear and build a capsule wardrobe around that. The kinds of items you need will depend on your lifestyle and the seasons, but generally aim for these items.
- Something warm - think denim jacket, long coat
- Another kind of jacket or coat
- Shirts and T-Shirts in neutral colours so they go with lots of outfits
- A pair of jeans or two in different colours. The humble jean has a wonderful history and will serve you well for years to come
- Shoes - more than two pairs so that you have choice, your limit is up to you, shoes are great for creating a whole new look but make sure you're wearing them all fairly regularly!
- Accessories. Like shoes, jewellery, belts, bags and the like are going to be key for refreshing your look.
- Your favourite dress, one that you can dress up, dress down and goes with your other clothes
Obviously, don't forget your essentials like underwear, PJs and don't deprive yourself of clean, warm clothes for the sake of having a tiny wardrobe. The capsule wardrobe is just a way of sorting your clothes and making sure you don't have a top or three that don't go with anything.
Rotate your wardrobe
If the capsule wardrobe is too daunting, you could just try rotating your wardrobe. You probably already do this for the seasons, putting away your gloves, scarves and thick layers once winter is over, pulling out your shorts and cooler clothes ready for summer.
So you could just apply this principle more often. If you get bored of wearing the same clothes, you could put some of them away and instead use the clothes you've worn less in the past.
But there is probably a reason why you choose to wear the same comfy pair of jeans each day and avoid the purple corduroy trousers. Maybe you just don't like them or they don't fit at all anymore. Perhaps they do not spark joy.
In this case, it's time to move them on.
Most Basic Way to Declutter a Wardrobe - Get Stuck In
If you have the time and mental space, the best way to radically declutter your wardrobe is to take a few hours to properly take everything out and categorise it. Then you can figure out if you have too many T-Shirts, or too much of a particular colour. You can try everything on, making sure if fits and you still enjoy wearing it. This is also a great opportunity to plan out and put together some new combinations for a new look.
How to be Ruthless When Decluttering Clothes?
Being ruthless when decluttering clothes requires you to do the prep work first. It is not good grabbing clothes at random out of your wardrobe!
But, once you've organised your wardrobe via the steps above it does then come down to how ruthless you want to be.
In the famous words of Marie Kondo - you can ask yourself, does this garment spark joy? If not, you can put it into the "donate" pile.
On the same day, you could go through your wardrobe, get the unwanted items bagged up, ready to move on, and even take them down to your local charity shop. Now that's ruthless!
If you're someone that wavers, or emotionally invests in clothes, you'll find it much harder to be ruthless when it comes to decluttering. That's okay. You might just need more time to figure out what you can part with. You can still make a pile to "donate", but maybe sleep on it for a few days, go back through the pile and decide again.
Time to Move On - But Where Do You Get Rid of Unwanted Clothes?
There are so many places you can take your unwanted clothes. You could donate them to charity, to a second hand shop, or give them to a friend, or sell them on eBay, or try some of these alternatives.
