How I streamlined my wardrobe (Feb. 2021)

WRITTEN by CHRISTINA TAYLOR

Until recently, I would open my wardrobe doors and feel dread.  My items of clothing were numerous, cluttered and unmanageable.  I felt guilty for not having worn many of them, during the past couple of years.  

I desperately wanted to get some control over my wardrobe.  I researched how other people de-cluttered and managed their wardrobes but found fault in their methods; their methods were not for me.  Therefore, I decided to create my own process.  Here it is: 

 
1. Where are my clothes?

Firstly, I needed to find all items of my clothing to get a realistic idea of what I was working with.  I made a list of all locations where I had items of clothing:

• tallboy

• wardrobe

• laundry basket

• clothes I am wearing

• clothes airer

• linen closet – bottom/floor

• linen closet – top

2. What do I currently have?

For each of the locations identified in the previous step, I went through each item of clothing.  I assigned each item a clothing category name, such as:

• jackets

• shorts

• shoes

• tops

I wrote this category name down, and then wrote down a unique identifying note for each item belonging under that category name.  

Once I had inventoried every item, I tallied up the total for each category.  I was surprised to find that I had:

• 17 sleeveless casual tops

• 12 sleeveless work tops

• 19 pairs of socks

I clearly had more clothes than I needed!

3. What do I need?

For each clothing category, I thought about the number of items in that category that I actually need and will wear in the future.  I considered the following:

• how often I do a load of washing

• how many days per week I work in an office environment that requires business attire to be worn

• how many days per week do I exercise

• what items of clothing ‘mix and match’ with different items

• do I really need so many items of summer clothing

• do I really need so many items of winter clothing

I wrote the total next to each category name.  

4. Go ‘Shopping’

For every item of clothing, I imagined I was shopping at one of my favourite stores.  I tried on each item of clothing, while standing in front of a full-length mirror in my bedroom, and decided which items I liked enough to ‘purchase’.  I turned my bedroom into a change room.  

For this step, I wore my favourite underwear.  While trying on my numerous tops, I wore my favourite black jeans.  For a second opinion, and to make the process more fun, I did this ‘shopping’ in front of my partner.  

After trying on each item, and getting my partner’s opinion, I decided on one of three groups for that item.  For each group, I created a separate pile on the bed or floor.  I also noted down the name of the decided group next to that item in my inventory list.  Here are the three groups that I used:

• definitely keep

• items that I placed in this pile included clothes that:

• I love

• I wear regularly

• are flattering

• make me feel fantastic

• don’t want

• this pile included clothes that:

• no longer fit me

• have stretched and worn beyond repair

• look unflattering

• I had only worn once or twice in the past couple of years

• I had never worn

• I no longer like

• no longer ‘go’ with anything else

• I found an old t-shirt that I loved and had owned for over 15 years, but I rarely wore it anymore because of its bad condition.  Associated with it were good memories, but it was of no further use to me.  I took photos of the t-shirt, which helped me ‘keep the memory’ and let the physical item go

• maybe (revisit these)

• a few of my sleeveless work tops were initially put on this pile, but once I identified my favourite sleeveless work tops, these tops were moved onto the ‘don’t want’ pile

During this step, I regularly reviewed the clothing category totals from the previous step, to remind me of what I actually need in the future, and what items I can let go of now.  Once I had completed this step, no items were in the ‘maybe’ pile.

5. Disposal

A mountain of clothes formed my ‘don’t want’ pile.  I bagged these items up and donated them to one of my favourite op-shops. 

There are other options for disposal of clothes.  Here are a few ideas that came to mind:

• use as rags

• sell online

• hold a garage sale

• give away to a friend

6. Maintaining Control

Not only do I now have more room in my wardrobe and linen closet, I no longer feel dread when I open the doors.  Instead, I witness organised items that I love and will wear in the future.  This is how I plan to maintain control:

• continue wearing black

• for simplicity, I will continue only ever wearing black jeans and black shoes

• swapping out

• if I procure an additional item of clothing, at least one current item is to be disposed of, from that category of clothing

• annual review

• I have set a date for later this year when I will remove all items of clothing and relocate them to a separate location, such as the empty wardrobe in the spare room

• once I have worn an item, it will no longer be stored in this room

• every year on the same day, any clothes that remain in the spare room are items that I have not worn during the past year and I will dispose of

• if need be, I will also review my inventory and update the number of each clothing category that I will need in the future