While most of us have a few more clothes than this we’re looking at ways we can get organised to make shopping our wardrobes possible every day. Image via Adobe Stock.
Are you one of the millions of people who look in their wardrobe every morning and think they have nothing to wear? We all do it at some stage and it’s easy to be underwhelmed by your clothes if they’re in a messy state, they don’t quite fit or you’ve stuffed so much in your wardrobe you’re not even sure what’s in there anymore. With the movement towards buying less and only buying things when you need them many people are re-evaluating their wardrobes and making them work better. That way their choices are easy and they’re happy and confident in what they’re wearing. But how do I get there I hear you ask? Well, we’ve broken it down into steps so you can shop your wardrobe too and love what you’re wearing.
Clear out the Excess
If you watched Marie Kondo’s Netflix show or read her books you’ll know how freeing it is to tidy up and get organised. When it comes to your wardrobe it may take a little time but it’s definitely worth the effort. Start by taking everything out and putting all the clothes and shoes in piles to help you see what you have. Up to you if you want to put them in piles for workwear, activewear, evening clothes, summer clothes (swimsuits and shorts etc.) or if you want to put them in piles for skirts, dresses, jeans, jackets, tops, tshirts etc. Whatever makes it easier for you to see it all.
As you’re putting it in piles take out anything that is in need of mending, is discoloured or moth-eaten, clearly doesn’t fit you or is in need of a wash or dryclean. Those garments all need their own piles that you can see to later. Don’t throw away anything that you like that could easily be fixed (e.g is missing a button or has a small rip that could be fixed) or is just in need of dryclean but anything that doesn’t suit you or you don’t like anymore can be washed and taken to a charity shop or gifted to someone else. You can always cut up garments that aren’t in reasonable condition and recycle them into something else, here’s some great ideas on that.
This is the time to try things on and be honest with yourself about whether or not you do still love a garment and it fits you or if you’re just holding on to it but it doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. If you’ve got a spare rack or rolling rail you can use it to put anything on that you’re not sure about or to help your organise your process in the next step.
Get Organised
Once you’re done weeding out all the excess items it’s time to figure out how best to organise your wardrobe so it’s quick and easy for you to use it. Create a system to make finding what you want easier for yourself. You can organise by clothing type (e.g dresses), occasion, colour, or season, figure out what will work best for you then put everything back in your wardrobe in order. Now you can see what you own at a glance which will make it easier to put outfits together. As you mend, clean or alter garments make sure you put each one back in it’s place, keeping it organised goes a long way to making your life easier.
Time to Style
Now it’s time to evaluate what you wear, how you wear it and how you would like to look. Check out some of your favourite stores online or fashion websites like ours and save pictures of looks you like that you can refer to especially looks using items you already have. It’s not so much about finding individual items you love but overall outfits. Now go back to your wardrobe and have a go at creating some of the looks you like for yourself, take some selfies if you want to get a better idea of what things look like on you especially if you don’t have a full length mirror. Often this is where you can find items you already have that you may have forgotten about that you can use to create looks you love. It’s also where you can pick up on what items you would like that are currently missing and would make creating outfits easier. Make notes of anything you might need so next time you’re shopping you’ll know exactly what to look for and don’t buy things you don’t need, especially if you’re sale shopping or in a second hand store when there are so many choices.
Once you’ve put together outfits you love you can group them together in your wardrobe or take photos of them so you remember what they were. This way the next time you’re looking for an outfit you’ve already got a bunch of ideas on hand and know what you’ve got to work with too.
Handy items
These are some of the items that will make looking stylish and shopping your own wardrobe easier:
– Good coathangers – opt for full size wooden ones if you can, strong plastic ones are ok too but avoid wire ones as they have a tendency to leave clothes misshapen and poke bumps in odd places.
– Shoe organisers – great for keeping the shape of your shoes and keeping them organised otherwise you can just line your shoes up so you can see them properly.
– Clothes steamers – whether you opt for a small and inexpensive hand steamer or get a full sized one, steamers are a fantastic investment as they are the quickest and easiest way to de-wrinkle your clothes and freshen them up without using an iron.
– Shoe polish and sponges – make sure you have good shoe polish on hand to keep your shoes looking good and it’s also worth picking up a shoe shine sponge (the likes of Merchant 1948 have these) which are lightly oiled and keep leather shoes especially clean and in good condition.
– Clothes brush and lint comb – rather than using a lint roller that wastes paper, get a clothes brush and/or a lint comb so you can keep your clothes looking fresh and carefully remove pilling.
Now you’re all organised and have some ideas to help you wear great outfits everyday.