It’s not just your clothes that you need to declutter, it’s also your wardrobe. The truth is, your wardrobe may feel endless and overwhelming at times. It can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to decluttering your wardrobe, and this can leave you feeling stuck. For this reason, I’ve listed seven reasons why everyone should declutter their wardrobe this weekend.
Julie Cliff, Declutter Coach at Space and Time and Gina Kingston, Personal Stylist specialising in people with health issues at ginakingston.com, combine forces to take you through 7 reasons to declutter your wardrobe this weekend.
1. Declutter to focus on clothes that you love and can wear.
C needed a knee reconstruction and had to give up high heels for 12 months while she waited for the operation and did her post surgery recovery. She had many of clothes that worked for her previously, but nothing to wear in the interim. We packed the clothes she couldn’t wear away and kept those in her wardrobe that she loved and could wear. C said “Gina helped review my wardrobe, showing me how I could still be stylish, modern and comfortable.”
2. Declutter so that you know what you already own.
If you have an overflowing wardrobe it can be difficult to remember what you already own. If you have less, it is easier to keep track of what you already own. Having a list or photos on your phone can help you avoid buying or accepting duplicates of what you already own. You can even store them in an app like Stylebook that lets you keep track of your clothes and how often you wear them.
3. Declutter to discover your wardrobe gaps and what you need to make outfits.
Clutter often wardrobe because they have lots of clothes, but they don’t have the right clothes to make outfits. They know they can’t put together good outfits, so they buy more clothes. However, without an understanding of what they need, they end up with more of the same. Simone had a wardrobe with plenty of tops, pants, dresses, and warm jumpers, but she didn’t have enough layers (toppers like jackets or cardigans to wear with them). Simone said: “The session with Gina has left me feeling far more confident about what is in my wardrobe and given me some great ideas of different combinations I can put together. I am really excited to start playing with my own clothes!”
4. Declutter to simplify your life and choices
Downsizing your wardrobe simplifies life by giving you fewer choices. Life is busy enough without having to decide what to wear and stress about “does this make my butt look big?” Whilst working with Julie Simone let go of all her outdated clothes, and those that no longer fitted and ended up with a capsule wardrobe that made it so quick and easy to get dressed in the morning. She said “I found it easier to return clothes to their permanent homes and it encouraged me to get the laundry done and back in the wardrobe rather than having washed clothes hanging around the home in washing baskets”.
5. Declutter to help you accept your body as it is today
If I had a dollar for every client that said “I’ll lose weight one day and get back into that outfit”, I’d be rolling-in-the-dough (Julie). Embrace your current size, and health limitations, and choose the clothes that flatter your current figure, hair and skin colour and let go of the things you wore when you were 15. Felicity felt “so much lighter” after she let go of the size 8 clothes she knew she was never going to wear again.
6. Declutter to make clothes more accessible and easier to find
Having less clothes means that you don’t have to wade through mountains of clothes to find the ones you are after. Make getting dressed faster and easier by putting those that remain within easy reach. Store clothes in your wardrobe or walk-in-robe based on the frequency of use.
Amanda said “If I wear it often, I decide whether to hang or fold it and make sure I can reach the height easily and ensure it’s not squished in too tight with too many other items because it just makes putting clothes away too hard.”
7. Declutter to feel calmer
According to a study performed by Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, “clutter makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you do in an uncluttered, organized, and serene environment.” Too many clothes in a mess is overstimulating and your brain finds it difficult to process all that it sees and this can lead to overwhelm.
Kylie said “before decluttering I’d walk into my overstuffed walk -in-robe and back out again (empty handed) because it was all too much”
Give it a go
Try the tips above to declutter your wardrobe this weekend so you love what you have, make life simpler, and reduce the stress in your home.
Still too hard?
Reach out to Gina or Julie if you have read all the above tips and you still don’t know where to start.
About the authors
Declutter coach Julie Cliff at Space and Time helps individuals live less stressed lives by advising them to declutter and organize their homes via behavioral change. Her services are loved by women pulling their hair out because there’s stuff all over their home and their to-do list is overwhelming and this stress and anxiety spills out into the rest of their lives. Find Julie at spaceandtime.com.au where she shares tips to take charge of your space and time.
Gina Kingston is a personal stylist from www.ginakingston.com she helps people with health issues look great with less time and effort so they can spend more time enjoying life. Also, she brings together style, science, patience and personal experience with illnesses, injuries and disabilities to provide wardrobe solutions that are practical and stylish. Her clients love that they end up with a wardrobe containing less clothes, but more wearable outfits. You may reached her at info@ginakingston.com