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How to get your wardrobe organized once and for all.

By Julie Stobbe / July 19, 2022 /

Reading time – 10 minutes

If you want to try and get your wardrobe organized once and for all, then you have come to the right place. Here you can find out the mistakes you could be making with your wardrobe, while also finding ways to actively try and fix the issue. If you want to find out more, then simply take a look below.

A build in closet with white shelves and hard wood floor

Start with a Big Clear-out

It is suggested that you have a big clear-out as this is the best way for you to try and get things nice and organized. You need to decide what you want to sell, what you want to keep,  what you want to donate and what you need to throw away. Try things on as you go.  If you leave a big pile of clothes to try on until the end, the task may seem overwhelming. Some clothes may have fit once upon a time and may not fit anymore, an item may need to be repaired, your tastes may have changed, or you never know, there could be a gem that was lost at the back of the closet that does fit you. If you can be mindful of how your body and style change with time,  it will help you to keep only the clothing that suits you and prevent you from having a lot of items that do not fit anymore or items that are dated.

Adopt a System for your Wardrobe

Try to adopt the policy of one item in, and one item out. For every new item you buy, you need to make sure that you give one away. If you want to test yourself, then make it two items that you give away.  If you have a good clear-out, when you bring something new home, it will fit nicely in your closet, match other clothing, be the correct size and make it easier for you to get dressed in the morning.

Make Some Money

You might not like something anymore, that doesn’t mean that someone else will feel the same way. To reduce your shopping buy something new only when you have made money from selling something old. Make sure that you use sites such as eBay when you’re researching what your items might sell for. There are also consignment shops that focus on high-end pieces as well.  If you are trying to sell clothes to a store, they should be no older than 6 months.  Stores, like Plato’s Closet,  want to have current fashions and items that will sell quickly.  You may find that you are able to make more than you think, and it is a fantastic way to remove frustrating clutter.

Organize Everything

If you can take the time to organize everything then your wardrobe will look neater and you will save a lot of time choosing your outfit. When you need to get changed in a hurry, having your clothes organized can work wonders. There are many systems for organizing a closet. 

You can group clothing by type, pants, shorts, shirts, ties, sweaters, blouses, dresses, suits etc.  Next, you can group each category by colour.  This is a great way to see how many you have of each colour.  In my closet, I have enough black items (pants, tops, dresses).  So when I go shopping I don’t even look at anything black.

You might prefer to put your clothes into outfits.  Placing a top, bottom and third piece together makes it easy to pick your outfit for the day.  This system allows you to see how many single piece items you own.  Those items are the ones that don’t get worn often because they don’t go with anything.  That is a good category of items to donate. 

Thirdly, you might organize by purpose.  Group together all your work clothes, workout clothes, party/fancy clothes, casual clothes and lounging clothes.  This system lets you see how much you have in each category compared to how much time you spend doing these activities.  For example, if you work 40 hours/week, workout 5 hours/week, spend 15 hours/week doing things and 1 evening/week getting dressed up you can see that your wardrobe needs mostly work clothes, a few casual clothes, less fancy clothes and some workout clothes.  Check and see if you have a balanced wardrobe for your lifestyle. 

 If you find it hard to stay then organize your wardrobe 3 or 4 times a year to see if it is balanced by lifestyle and colour as well as how many unused single items are hiding. 

Don’t Forget about Shoes

As you get older your feet change.  You lose the strength in your arch and your foot flattens making your foot wider.  Try on every pair of shoes to see if they fit, if they are in good repair and a style you like. Group your shoes to make it easier to find what you need.  They might be grouped by season, colour or style. If you have a lot of shoes in boxes then tape a picture to the outside of the box.  It will make it easier for you to find what you need without having to go through endless boxes. You might want to purchase clear shoe boxes for storage.  There are many shoe organizing systems, over the door, under the bed, wall units, cupboards, racks etc. Look for an option that suits your needs and space. If you purchase expensive shoes get them repaired.  Zippers can be replaced, heels can be reheeled, soles can be replaced and once they are polished professionally they will look like new. Shoes can be donated too. 

Invest in the Right Equipment

Many people like matching hangers, purely because it means that you do not end up getting distracted by a messy looking wardrobe. There are many styles of hangers and sometimes you need specialized hangers for certain garments, pants, skirts, ties, belts, scarves etc.  If you have a small closet you will need to use less bulky hangers.  Wooden hangers take up a lot of space.  Felt covered hangers prevent items from slipping off but it takes patience to get a garment hanging smoothly.  If you’re not a patient person only purchase a few felt covered hangers.  Whatever style of hanger you like (plastic, metal, wooden, felt), purchase a good quality one so they don’t break, crack or bend. Try using boxes in the drawers or on the shelves to keep clothing organized. They prevent items from “moving” all over and making it difficult to find what you need. They work well for belts, bags, scarves, socks, smaller items etc.  If you invest in the right systems, that match your closet and personality,  you will find it is easier for you to stick to your system. 

Separate Clothing by Seasons

You may find it helpful to divide your clothes into summer and winter options if you have a smaller closet. Having only half your clothing displayed at one time makes it easier to find what you need.  When you change the clothing displayed for the next season, it is a good time for you to go through everything, donating items you didn’t wear, don’t like or don’t fit.  In some places, people have more items they wear year round and with climate change, there is becoming less of a need for 2 seasons of clothing.  This means you will need fewer clothes and it will be easier to keep everything organized. 

When you are deciding what clothes to keep and what to donate ask yourself:

  • Do I get compliments when I wear it?
  • Does it fit and do I feel good when I wear it?
  • Does it send the right message about the type of person I am? (confident, fun, honest, knowledgeable, healthy, etc)
  • How much is enough?

Reducing the amount of clothing you own, having a great closet space, and using good organizing devices will help you to have an organized wardrobe.  I think I have addressed many concerns about organizing your wardrobe.  Have I left anything out? Let me know in the comments.

A blue and white striped tunnel in the background with Julie Stobbe in the foreground wearing a white blouse.Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

 TwitterFacebook Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space

Click here to learn more about working with a Professional Organizer?

 

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What should I do with clothing I no longer need?

By Julie Stobbe / May 24, 2022 /

Clothes that are old and out of style are hard to donate so when you no longer want to have them in your closet make a plan so they can be loved by someone else.

1. Adopt a family

If you have children sort their clothes at the start of each season and put the clothes that no longer fit in a box or bag.  You may find it easier to put clothes that no longer fit into the donation box or bag right after they come out of the dryer.  Make a connection with a family that has children a year or two younger than your children and give them the box of clothes at the beginning of each season.  This helps both families to know what clothes they have and what they need to buy and you don’t need to figure out where to donate them because they go to the same family every season.

A little girl cleaning.

2. Selling 

There are many consignment stores that sell clothing.  You can find them online.  Each store will have its own niche market.  Contact them to see if they want high-end clothing, teenage clothes, baby apparel etc.

Clothing can be sold through consignment stores

Clothing can be sold through consignment stores

3. Theatres 

If you have unusual pieces of clothing like a nurse’s cape, old-fashioned outfits or accessories take them to your local little theatre group.  They may be able to use them in their productions.  It would help the theatre company to save money on their costumes.

Vintage and unusual items can be donated to theatres

Vintage and unusual items can be donated to theatres

4. Clothing Drives 

Sometimes communities have special clothing drives.  You may find that formal wear can be donated to groups collecting clothing for proms.  In the late fall, there may be a winter coat and boot drive for homeless people.  Running shoes can be donated at some running stores and they donate them to organizations that send the shoes overseas.

5. Shelters

Clothing can be donated to women’s and men’s shelters as well as thrift stores in your community.

6. Textile Recycling

For clothing that is too old, stained or ripped google textile recycling.  There are businesses that recycle fabric, leather, bedding and clothing.

Where do you donate clothing that you no longer wear?

A blue and white striped tunnel in the background with Julie Stobbe in the foreground wearing a white blouse.Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.

 TwitterFacebook Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space

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How to organize your wardrobe (with a change in the season)

By Julie Stobbe / September 28, 2021 /
Reading Time: 15 minutes

Fall is here, at least on the calendar. It used to be that people would stop wearing lightweight, sleeveless tops and lightweight pants in the fall.  With climate change, more people are wearing most of their clothes year-round.  They add a sweater or a pant liner to lightweight clothes for the fall. There will be some clothes you won’t wear in the colder weather because of the colour or pattern on the cloth.  Besides, it is fun to change up your clothing and feel like you have a new wardrobe without spending time or money shopping. You will learn many ways to declutter your clothing and 4 ways to organize your wardrobe.

Start wearing outfits for the last time this season 

Now is a good time to start wearing those items of clothing that you won’t wear in the colder weather one last time, wash it and put it away until the warmer weather is back.  You can put clothing in a secondary closet, in bins,  towards the back of your primary closet, set aside a drawer in your dresser or put them on a shelf.  Some people don’t like putting away clothing because they forget they did and buy new clothes in the spring.  If this sounds like you put a reminder in your calendar on your phone that tells you where to look for your warmer weather clothing.

Which clothing should I keep?

Whether you put some clothing away or keep all your clothing available year-round it is a good idea to organize your clothes every once and a while.  See if they fit, if they are in good repair, if you feel good wearing them and if you get compliments then you should keep it.  Donate clothes you don’t like wearing before they go out of style or become dusty.  Let someone else enjoy them.

Find a decluttering style 

Find a decluttering style that works for you. Some people like to declutter their clothes by:
  • category,  one category at a time eg. look at all your pants, then shirts etc
  • as they wear them – you put it on, don’t like it,  donate it
  • spending a little time every day and remove a few pieces of clothing
  • having a box in their closet and when they find something they don’t like put it in the donation box
  • spending an afternoon or evening and going through all their clothes at one time
  • one room at a time – you may have clothes in a number of places

Consolidate: only clothing in your closet. 

Sometimes organizing your clothes is more about organizing your closet.
Take everything out of the closet. Use the closet for clothes and not for other things.
Collect all your clothes together. Many people have clothes stored in multiple closets and don’t really know what they own.

Organize based on your activities

Group your clothes into categories by activity/lifestyle eg- work, party, pants, tops, sweaters, jackets, skirts, exercise, formal, gardening etc. Decide how much of your week you do these activities and keep a proportional amount of clothing in that category. For example, work 40 hrs/ week, exercise 3 hours/week, formal 4 times/ year, pants/ tops/sweaters 80% of the time, skirts 10% of the time. You can see you need pants tops and sweaters that suit work and casual, not many skirts, a couple of formal outfits with different accessories to change their appearance, 1- 3 exercise outfits ( not 15 because they feel good and are fun).

Organize a colour palette.

Build your wardrobe based on a colour palette, eg, blue, grey, and black than tops sweaters, jackets will be mixed and matched to have a large number of outfits without a large number of clothes. Consider the Pareto Principle you will wear 20% of your clothing 80% of the time.  Reduce the number of items you almost never wear by donating them so someone else can enjoy them before they go out of style,  get mouldy and dusty.
Now you know what types of activities you do, and you have a colour palette in mind.  Sort your clothes by category.  Pull out all your pants and decide how many you need and which colours.  Next look at sweaters, shirts, skirts, dresses, suits etc.

Decide what percentage of clothing to declutter. 

If you need a simpler way to start organizing your wardrobe, look at how much space you have to store your clothes.  Look at how many clothes you have.  Pick a  percentage that you need to reduce your clothing by.  Look at each category of clothing and reduce each category by the percentage you have chosen.  For example, if you choose to reduce your clothing by 25% and you have 16 pairs of pants,  24 sweaters, 32 pairs of shoes, 8 dresses, 40 exercises outfits.  You would let go of 4 pairs of pants, 6 sweaters, 8 pairs of shoes, 2 dresses and 10 exercise outfits.

Capsule Wardrobe

You may have heard of capsule wardrobes. Wikipedia explains a “Capsule wardrobe is a term used in American publications as early as the 1940s to denote a small collection of garments designed to be worn together which harmonized in colour and line. The term capsule wardrobe was revived by Susie Faux, the owner of a London boutique called “Wardrobe” in the 1970s.”  If you want to further reduce the amount of clothing you own, you may want to organize a capsule wardrobe.  Here is an article to help you design it in 5 easy steps.  The less clothing you have the easier it is to care for.

What do I do with the things I don’t need?

Here is an article to help you know what to do with the clothing you no longer want to wear.  Don’t keep it in your closet let others enjoy it.
Take time to clean up your closet while you are removing your clothes.  Wash the walls, vacuum or wash the floor.  You might want to add lighting or paint or a shelf.  Make it a space you can take pride in.

Did I miss anything? Now I’d like to hear from you. 

Which strategy from today’s post are you going to try first?
Or maybe I didn’t mention one of your favourite ways to declutter your clothing.
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

Need help?

If you need help decluttering and organizing your wardrobe book a virtual organizing appointment. It allows me to support your organizing projects by providing planning, coaching and mentoring while both remaining safely at home. https://mindoverclutter.ca/virtual-organizing-services/

 

Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.

TwitterFacebook Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space

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Scaling down, Living Large in a smaller space

By Julie Stobbe / May 4, 2021 /
Scaling down

Great ideas for downsizing, moving or moving a family member

This book written by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker is a complete guide to help you declutter and move. It has practical solutions for downsizing your clothing, collections and dealing with sentimental items.

It also addresses how to move a family member to a supervised living facility. The authors remind you that if your parent can make decisions that your purpose is to help them move happily from a large space to a smaller space not make decisions for them.

It suggests that you write a book about your life, put it down in black and white. A number of different ways of recording events about your life are provided.

It has a chapter on the step-by-step process of moving into your new home. They examine the psychology of making the scaling down change.

It is a great resource to have. Who knows when you will need it.

If you need help preparing for a downsizing move book a virtual organizing appointment with me.  

Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

 TwitterFacebook Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space

Click here to learn more about working with a Professional Organizer?

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Spring into action – Attack the winter clothes

By Julie Stobbe / March 26, 2019 /

Spring is here.  As winter slowly leaves so should your winter clothes.  As you wear something for the last time this season,  a warm sweater, scarf, pants etc.

  1.  decide if you like it,
  2. does it fit,
  3. do you get compliments when you wear it?

If the answer is yes then wash it and store it away for next year.  Continue with the process until all your warm clothing has been cleaned and put away making space and easy access for your spring wardrobe.  Any clothing that doesn’t fit, you don’t like, or is too complicated or expensive to launder can be donated.  Clothing with stains and holes can be donated to textile recycling

Winter clothing

Spring into action and pack away warm clothing after each load of laundry

 

Spring clothes

Make your spring wardrobe accessible, remove your winter clothes

If you need help decluttering your wardrobe book a virtual appointment with me.

Tell us your tips for organizing your clothing 

 

Julie Stobbe, professional organizerJulie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.

 TwitterFacebook Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space

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