Wardrobe Dilemma's Solved!
WORDS:: CHYKA KEEBAUGH
IMAGES:: LISA ATKINSON
Is there anything more satisfying than an organised wardrobe? I think not!
There is something about opening up your wardrobe, or a drawer or even the pantry and seeing a perfectly ordered state of affairs. Items hung neatly, colour coded and weather appropriate. Shoes in a spot where you can see them, scarves where you can grab them before you walk out the door. But realistically - if our homes looked and functioned like this all the time, it may be fair to say our lives need a little more excitement to it! Because I am sure, we all have days where we throw our junk on the floor and will get to it ‘tomorrow’ so I think it’s important to find a happy medium between the two.
A beautiful friend needed some help organising her wardrobe, and seriously an afternoon dedicated to doing this is the perfect afternoon in my books! Reorganising rooms, cupboards, shelves, drawers - just about anything is a favourite past time of mine, so I jumped at the chance to lend a helping hand. Her wardrobe was exploding! There were no systems in place, she couldn’t find anything, and there had been no cleanup in years. Where do you start?
Before you start anything - clean it out! Everything needs to come out of the wardrobe (I mean everything!!)
and create three piles: Mend and fix, Keep and give to charity. Be brutal, be honest and be realistic - ask yourself questions like…
Have you worn this in the last year? Yes (keep) Not at all (donate) It is slightly too big (mend or donate)
Does it need laundering? (then make a dry clean pile)
Does it need mending? Is it worth it, do you get enough wear out of it to justify mending?
Does it fit you? (too big or too small - donate) It’s uncomfortable (donate) It doesn’t sit right on my body shape (donate or mend)
After your piles are sorted, I start putting items back, section by section. Start with seasonal clothes like coats and heavy winter gear. Keep them separate, make use of space saver bags or storage in another part of the home. Then move onto your everyday clothing, organise this by colour for both tops and bottoms - colour blocking is so much easier when you are trying to match one item with another it also looks so much neater. Drawers are a great place to hide the things that are hard to keep tidy - bras, undies, socks and gym wear are all great things for this space...
A great way to organise jewellery is to put your collections in plastic draws so you can lay your earrings and necklaces flat out. Putting some felt or rubber matting helps keep the jewellery in place and not move around each time the draws are open. They should be organised in a separate area that keeps it from tangling or snatching at clothing or even tangling with each other. Plastic lidded boxes are also a great way to keep belts and other items neat and tidy, these stack on top of each other easily and are a great space saver.
Knitwear should be neatly folded, If space is tight change where you keep your jumpers and winter items - move them all to a shelf that’s easier to get to. Move your summer t-shirts higher up in the cupboard to make space for this.
I am obsessed with black velvet coat hangers. They are thin, nothing falls off them and they make your wardrobe look more uniform. We all know that our coat hangers should all be the same - consistency is key and absolutely no wire coat hangers! If you take your washing to have professionally ironed - take the coat hangers so they come back and can be put back easily into your cupboard. Remove empty coat hangers and leave in the laundry so that they are easily accessible. There is nothing more annoying than empty hangers cluttering up your wardrobe.
You want to open your wardrobe and see items you love, full of pieces that suit your body and make you feel great. Treat your closet like a financial investment that you slowly keep building on with quality, not quantity, isn’t it Carrie Bradshaw who once said ‘ I like to keep my money where I can see it, in my wardrobe’ if you treat it this way you will take a lot more care of it. By knowing precisely what you have you will be less likely to double up on items when you go shopping, so having seasonal cleanouts will also save you money when purchasing clothes.
PIN NOW, ORGANISE LATER!
