It Might Be A Good Time To Clear Out Your Wardrobe...

Here's your five step guide.

Maybe you feel like it’s a good time to have a wardrobe clear out? Or maybe you don’t (side note: if you’re currently pregnant or postpartum then I’d hold fire - I got rid of so much stuff when I was pregnant that I’ve spent the last two years rebuilding my wardrobe - although would I have done that anyway!? We’ll never know!) - then just save this post for later. But if you have got the itch then the satisfaction of completing one where you’re in the mood is HEAVENLY let me tell you and it doesn’t have to take an age, nor make you feel stressed or rushed. Imagine loving everything in your wardrobe, and it all fits! And it’s QUICK to find an outfit that you love. All of that can be yours!!! You just need to put in a little bit of prep and have confidence in your decision making, and that’s where this five step guide comes in…

STEP ONE: Get some direction

Before you even pick up a hanger, take a moment to get some direction and do this however you feel is best. Maybe you like to moodboard on Canva, collate ideas on the saved section of your IG or go old school and use tear outs of magazines to begin to map out any colours, textures, or just general ‘vibes’ that sing to you.

Personally I like to find my images via Pinterest, IG or TikTok screen grabs and then make collages in Canva, and then save them on my phone and to my Notion so they are easy to find and reference.

Then step back and see what you’ve got - notice common themes and items, or any silhouettes and fits that you keep coming back to. Now here’s the important bit - how can you marry that with your actual daily life? I find it quite helpful to a take a month, then you go through my diary to see what I did that day so I can categorise it.

I am really fun to talk to at parties - PROMISE!

December might seem like a skewed month to pick - it had a lot more family days than usual! But it’s also a good month to look back on as it’s typically when we have the most social plans which tend to be the occasions that can send us into the classic ‘I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR’ spiral. So from this I can see that I need outfits for (from high frequency to low frequency)…

• Casual family days (19 days)

• Working from home (5 days - on a normal month these top two would be swapped).

• Seeing friends in a smarter setting (2 days)

• Seeing family in a smarter setting (2 days)

• A day of meetings in London (2 days)

• Being a guest at a wedding (1 day)

Putting in this work before you start sorting will really help you to have an idea in your mind of what you’re actually dressing for. For example on my moodboard above there are a lot of pointed kitten heel shoes. In reality that isn’t going to be an item that features heavily in my daily rotation and looking at what is probably my most glamorous month of the year, there would still be only one or two days where they would be worn. So instead I’ve settled on a slip on, squared toe flat which is far more casual and something that work for a casual family day, or meetings in London. Same vibe, just adjusted to my actual daily needs. Ultimately your best wardrobe is one where you actually wear everything in there.

STEP TWO: Try it ALL on

It is important to stress that you DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS ALL IN ONE DAY!! But you do have to try every single item that you own on. In my eyes it’s the only way to do it. Sometimes I’ll do a small clear out one day and then a week later go absolutely IN and do a re-do of all the things that I just couldn’t part with. Other times it’s in reverse. I usually find my best clear outs happen over the course of a week to a month, sometimes you need some time to adjust and play with what you have. There are only two rules - try everything on, and when you’re bored - STOP! You are only going to rush and make bad decisions. There is no rush here - so if the process takes you six months, no biggie! Take your time and pounce whenever the mood hits you. A clear out when you’re really feeling in the mood is the best feeling.

So you’re trying on everything. Here’s the process…

• You love it and it fits with your direction - KEEP.

• You love it but it doesn’t fit your vibe - KEEP but move it to a different spot. It might get in the way and clutter the view, or you might find yourself missing it in which case add it back into your wardrobe and experiment to see how you can incorporate it.

• It doesn’t fit but you love it - KEEP if it can be adjusted. If not then DONATE OR SELL.

• It doesn’t fit and you hate it - DONATE OR SELL.

• Or maybe you just really don’t feel great when you wear it - DONATE OR SELL.

• You’re not sure - it happens, it’s cool! Don’t act too swiftly. KEEP - but move to a different spot. Make a note of any of these items on your phone and put a reminder in your calendar to see how you’re feeling about them in 6 months, then 12 months. If you haven’t worn or missed them then DONATE OR SELL.

In terms of selling items online, check out this video for my top tips.

STEP THREE: Get smart about occasionwear

Occasionwear is tricky, especially when we’re decluttering. We don’t wear it often, but occasionally (lol lol lol) we really need it! I feel like all the above scenarios are still applicable - it needs to fit and be something you enjoy wearing and that works with your style - you still want to feel like you, even if you’re at a black tie dinner, or a fancy wedding. Don’t feel the need to be extremely streamlined. I don’t just have one fancy black top for events, because I still want a bit of choice. I have a handful of tops that can work with jeans or the other trousers I have in my wardrobe, then a few dresses - some more evening-appropriate and others more summery. I have three pairs of heels - a nude, a black and a leopard print, a plain black leather bag and a patterned leopard print bag.

These two garment bags have me SORTED.

Here are two things I do. I keep all my tops in one garment bag and my dresses in another. Not only does it keep them clean and protected, but it means that I’m not seeing them everyday necessarily, so when I do need to wear them it feels like I’m opening up my own personalised occassionwear shop. From the pieces I’ve collected throughout the years I know that for most scenarios I have something that will work. The second thing I do is I rent out my occasionwear pieces on By Rotation. It’s not a huge earner for me but every now and again a rental request comes in and it’s just nice to know that things are being put to good use and not just sitting there gathering dust. Anyone can do it!

STEP FOUR: Keep it seasonal

Now how you set this up is going to depend on the space that you have to store your clothing. In our previous flat our wardrobes were on the smaller side so I would keep everything that was seasonally appropriate either hung up or folded where I could easily see it and the rest of my clothing I would vacuum pack and store under our bed. In our current place I have enough space for two rails, so I keep one as my seasonally appropriate rail and the other as my ‘storage’ rail, switching them once the weather shifts. The less you have in front of you the easier dressing becomes. However you decide you to do it - if it’s winter, then make sure all your cold weather clothing is easy to grab. Of course there are things like jeans and t-shirts and jumpers that are year-round items, but make sure you have your coats and heavy knits next to them so you can easily see them all together in one place.

STEP FIVE: It’s time to play

If you’ve got this far then WELL BLOODY DONE! This final tip is 100% one for reserve for another day, but - it’s time to play!! The best way to do is the simplest. Just reserve an hour or so and play dress up. Experiment with what works and what doesn’t, or pick a certain occasion and parse out some different ideas (I did this for NYE and it was not only fun but has given me plenty of ideas for when we host our next dinner party). I find the best way to document it all is to take photos on my phone and then just save them in my an ‘outfits’ folder on my phone. Then I basically have my own personalised lookbook at my fingertips. If you can’t find the time to do this, say as a monthly practice, then at least take a photo of your outfit every single day. I find that since I’ve been doing this (I’ve done it everyday since September now), I put more thought into my outfits and just enjoy dressing more.

The set-up doesn't need to be fancy. Just a mirror selfie suffices.

Once you’ve conducted your clear out it’s a really good time to digitalise your wardrobe if that’s something you’ve been wanting to do. Find all my top tips for that here.

You think that’s it!!? Oh no, there’s a part two coming soon all on wardrobe maintenance because I have a lot more to say on that matter! If you enjoyed this post then please consider becoming a subscriber to ‘The Wardrobe Edit’ if you like what you read. Your support is so appreciated and part two coming soon!