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LIFESTYLE
'I have nothing to wear!' - Tips how to declutter your wardrobe
‘I have nothing to wear!’
Yeah, hand on heart - how many times have you said this famous (by us women) sentence in your life? Even if your closet is bursting at the seams and buckling under the weight of your clothes, you still have nothing to wear tonight, right?
I’m no different. I love fashion, but I never in my life read a magazine like Vogue. I don’t wear trends, I don’t know if this autumn dots are back or strips. I simply love buying things I see and instantly know if they will match the outfit I bought the other day. But when I say 'buying things I see' I don’t mean in the likes of Quiz or Next. It's rare for you to see me in such shops, you will instead find me mingling around all the charity shops. Because as much as I love clothes, what I love even more is buying clothes that I can give a second chance. Plus, the money goes to a good cause, and it also helps the environment. And finding that dream outfit for a killer price helps too!
So, this weekend I’ve decided to completely re-decorate our walking wardrobe and declutter my clothes, shoes and makeup. Here are my ideas on how you can too. Today I will be talking about decluttering your wardrobe, including tips on how to make it as painless as possible. I'll also be showing you some of my best finds from the charity shops. I would say that 90% of my clothes came from charity shops, the other 10% I either bought online or did buy brand new in-store.
So, go make yourself a nice cup of coffee and let’s start!
(Disclaimer: I've added cheeky affiliate links to Amazon, where I got our products from and can 100% recommend them for the purpose of this article :)
Tip 1: Mentally prepare for it
Number one is essential. You can’t declutter your wardrobe if you don’t feel like it, you will end up hating it, and will probably end up throwing things away which you might regret later. You have to mentally prepare yourself for this task. Prepare a plan on how you want it all laid out, including what items you love and want to keep, and the ones you barely even wear and know they are just taking much-needed space. You have to feel it, maybe get a bit excited about it and then the whole decluttering process will be fun! Plus, it is not a five-minute task. It took me over four hours to do this. Not including the painting, decorating and putting up the shelves.
Tip 2: Take everything out
When I say everything, I mean everything from socks, tights, jumpers, jackets, skiing outfits, dressing gowns, etc. Put everything to one side or in another room, so the wardrobe or space where you keep all your clothes is empty. Take a moment to realise how much space you have and how many clothes you actually own. You'll probably end up surprised like me that how could you even fit it all into that space, right?
Tip 3: Re-decorate, invest in shelves and more hangers
There is no such thing as too many hangers. The fact is that there is never ENOUGH hangers. I don’t know what I do with mine, but I never have enough and always struggle to hang clothes up! We moved into this house last year, but with other things needing to be done, the walking wardrobe had to wait for some-time now. This week I bought some furniture from Facebook Market – furniture set for a child's room actually, including a beautiful chest of drawers with mirror and a bookshelf. It only cost me £40. The ottoman is also second hand, and that was £5. I’m lucky that Carl is incredibly handy, he bought, measured and put everything up himself. He also chose the baby pink dye for the wall, he knows what I like! He does get a small corner for his stuff in the pink room. But the end of the day, the walking wardrobe is more mine than his anyway, haha!
So, my tip here is to buy second-hand furniture if you can. Facebook Market is incredible for it, we've bought so many items for practically nothing, and the majority of them are in good condition too! I’m sure that that chest of drawers with bookshelf would cost me a lot more than what I paid. The ottoman brand new is about £13.
Hangers from Amazon - https://amzn.to/3jpgqzv
White Small Ottoman on Amazon - https://amzn.to/34lL3Qa
Tip 3: Sell, Throw, Maybe, Donate
Now the fun starts! Create three-four piles and even label them. We will put want we want to keep in one pile, things we want to sell or throw into another one, and then prepare a bag for items you want to donate to a good cause.
Sometimes this is an easy process if you know that you won’t be getting rid of anything, but by decluttering you should try to shrink it as much as possible, keeping only the items you know you wear or will wear, such as that beautiful dress for weddings, etc.
Us, women, like to take our time making decisions, that’s why I put a pile called 'Maybe'. If the jeans, or dresses still fit, but you are unsure if you want to keep them or if you end up wearing them, put them on top of the ‘Maybe’ pile. Try the clothes, mix and match with your shoes and take a moment to think. Ask yourself these questions:
How does it make me feel?
Am I feeling sexy and confident wearing it?
Am I feeling comfortable? (Sometimes sexy and comfortable don’t go together but you get my point).
Does it have any special meaning or a special memory attached to it?
If you're unsure, ask your partner, friends, parents or roommates for an honest opinion. If you still can’t decide, I say keep it for now and then if you don’t wear it, either sell it or donate it next time.
If the clothes are too old or damaged, and fixing them would cost more than buying a new or second-hand similar item throw it all away. If you want to help the environment, then wash it, cut it into pieces and use it for rags. You can use them for cleaning the house, or put them in the garage for your partner if he likes fixing his car or bike.
Tip 4: Create a holiday box
Realistically, in England, there are more rainy days than sunshine. For this reason, there are not enough opportunities to wear that beautiful summer dress all the time. Creating a holiday box is a great idea and trust me, once you re-open it, it brings so much joy! Put in everything you usually take on holidays such as bikinis, bikini covers, summer hats, summer bags and sandals. Plus doing so you will know where to find it, and you won’t spend hours looking for those lost bikini bottoms!
Tip 5: Rearrange items into categories
I don’t know about you, but I love arranging my clothes into categories. I like to know that all my gym clothes are together, so I always know if I have a matching pair of leggings and a sports bra. I also like to keep all my office trousers together, office skirts, summer dresses, cardigans, tights and bras, etc.! Plus, I prefer my hangers facing the same way as well! (Something else I learnt from Carl).
Tip 6: Use vacuum bags
A great tip if you live in a flat or your space is limited. I suggest decluttering every six months when you have to get your seasonal clothes out. Especially when it comes to winter, the jackets and cardigans take so much space. But once you put them in a vacuum bag, they barely take up any! They are accessible on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cVUvxr and they are super useful for keeping your clothes fresh for the rest of the year!
Tadaaaa, we did! Doesn’t it FEEL and LOOK great?
I’m extremely thrilled with the way my (okay, our) walking wardrobe looks! The only thing I want to get now are fairy lights to put around the bookshelf and mirror, but overall I’m satisfied! I'm almost thirty, but I have my very own princess room (hahaha)!
I’m curious to see if my article inspired you to go through your clothes, and please share pictures of your wardrobe, I would love them to see! Also, on the score 1 – 10, how do you like the change we did this weekend? 😊
Bonus: Here is also a short video of some of my favourite outfits I got from charity shops this year!
Until next time,
Karina x
Music: https://www.bensound.com
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Shi Hui T :
Great tips! I say "I have nothing to wear" all the time but my closet is full!
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Karina E :
Same. EVERY. TIME. After sorting everything for over four hours I realised I had too much crap in my closet :D
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Epsita M :
I am with you on this, Karina! I usually use these words, but deep cleaning/sorting my closet helps me ease my frustration or complaints. I love these tips and adding these videos in between is such a smart way to make this a very interesting read. Love it <3 Loved watching the videos again and again.
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Tessie G :
Omg you are totally adorable! Thanks for your tips and I love your Holiday box idea! I’m so going to do that I want your walk-in closet girl !!! Love your videos too! Take care
Tessie
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