7 steps to your decluttered wardrobe
Step one: Schedule the time
I recommend five or six hours with minimal distraction. No work emails. No children. No phone scrolling. Set a timer at one-hour intervals to keep track of time. If this is impossible, schedule three two-hour sessions during the week. Aim for the time of day you have more focus but don’t wait for the “perfect moment” because it does not exist. Six years ago I Kondo’d after long days at the office. A solid half day would have been more efficient, but done is better than perfect!
Step two: Prepare
Get most of your laundry done beforehand. Print out your free Organised Joy checklist. Have bin bags, post-it notes, a pen and pair of scissors to hand. Show up with energy (not hangry!) and a big bottle of water to stay hydrated. Stick on your favourite playlist. If hearing lyrics makes it hard to focus, opt for instrumental, foreign language lyrics or some classic FM! Take before photos of your wardrobe and drawers so you can look back at your progress.
Step three: Pile
Gather every item of clothing around the house onto your bed. Is this everything? Coats in the hall? Out of season clothes in the loft? Now empty your main wardrobe. Do this quickly and mechanically. If you are scheduling shorter time chunks, you can either a) make the pile in a spare room so you can sleep in your bed or b) take one subcategory at a time and skip ahead to step five.
Step four: Categorise
Make piles of tops, trousers, shorts, skirts and so on. Don’t start checking if items spark joy at this point. Channel your inner clothes sorting robot.
Step five: Choose what sparks joy!
It’s time to “joy-check” each subcategory on your tidying checklist in turn: tops, trousers, shorts, skirts, dresses, underwear, bras, socks, tights, PJs, loungewear, sportswear, swimwear, jackets, coats and other clothes. Then move on to accessories such as scarves, belts, jewellery, shoes and bags.
Hold each item in your hands and ask yourself “Does this spark joy?” Listen to how your body responds as well as your mind. How does the item make you feel? Do you enjoy wearing it? Does it fit into your ideal lifestyle? Do you feel a little thrill? Does it make you feel comfortable and confident? Would you buy it in a shop today?
If you’re feeling stuck, pick out three tops that you know spark joy. If you know, you most definitely know! Let this be your yardstick. Imagine a wardrobe containing only nines and tens on a scale of one to ten. Why settle for so-so when we tend to have too much stuff to begin with. Focus on what you want to keep in your life. “What can I get rid of?” does not yield the same results. Notice when your mind goes in this direction and try to reframe.
If it doesn’t spark joy, let it go into the discard pile with gratitude. Thanking an item for its service can help. Maybe you thank it for the good times. Maybe for what it taught you about this style/shape/colour on you.
Step five bonus: Advice I often give my clients when we do this together
1. Beware of “should”
If you catch yourself thinking “I should keep this” it may be a clue it doesn’t spark joy. Commons “shoulds” include:
“It was expensive.” Yes, but: You must accept the money has been spent. Storing the item in your home indefinitely has a cost too. Sharpening your intuition about what brings you joy, getting crystal clear on what you own and changing your shopping habits saves money.
“It was a gift.” Yes, but: The joy of the gift was in the receiving of it.
"It is great quality.” Yes, but: That make it ideal to sell or donate. If it doesn’t spark joy for you, it will for someone else.
“It is new” and “It still has the tags on.” Ditto!
“I might need it for XYZ situation.” Yes, but: Really? If “just in case” happens you can acquire something ideal. Is this potential situation part of your ideal lifestyle? If not, ask yourself if it is worth focusing your current energy and wardrobe space on.
“It used to be my favourite.” Yes, but: If you discard it, thank it for the good times. You still have the memories without the item. Life is short and memories are precious! If you won’t wear it but it sparks a lot of joy, set aside to tidy with your sentimental items at the very end.
“I love it but it doesn’t fit me.” Yes, but: Be discerning! Keep only those items you are most excited to wear again, if and when they fit. Store such items outside your main wardrobe.
“I am going to sell or gift it.” Yes, but: Set a deadline in your calendar after which you donate the item.
2. Drink lots of water, open a window and take short breaks if needed!
3. Clear space as you work through the pile. Fill up donate/sell/recycle bags. Your keep piles can go back in wardrobe to clear space as you plough on. You can fold and organise them afterwards.
4. Make a note of items you wish to replace, upgrade or mend as you go. Is it worth your time and money to have it mended?
5. Do not try on as you go because you’ll lose momentum. Leave a “maybe” pile to try on at the end. If a lot is “maybe” take a short break and revisit your “why”. Remind yourself why you are doing this. Your ideal lifestyle is your north star guiding your decisions.
6. Time management. When you have an hour left start putting things back. Twenty minutes if you have been tackling subcategory by subcategory. If you haven’t got to coats and accessories, leave them for another day.
Step six: Bag up discarded items
Bin bags are perfect for large capacity. Put donate/sell/recycle bags in your car boot or hallway. Make a plan to get them out of your home ASAP.
Step seven: Put the clothes that spark joy back into your wardrobe
Hanging:
Dresses, floaty skirts, some formal trousers and button-up shirts like to hang
Hang by garment type (dresses, skirts..) and then by colour
Items face towards the right and rise to the right i.e. long coats, then long dresses, skirts, tops
Aim for a matching set of hangers or at least the best of what you have. Metal dry cleaning hangers or plastic store hangers rarely spark joy. You can donate these to your local dry cleaner. I recommend calling ahead to check they accept them.
Folding:
T-shirts, vests, jumpers, hoodies, leggings, jeans, some dresses and many trousers fold well
Follow Marie Kondo’s Spark Joy book illustrations (a few examples below), watch her YouTube videos or check out my folding demos on instagram
The trick is to first create a rectangle with any odd shaped items
Fold similar items to the same width, using your first few to guide the rest!
Create “little parcels” that stand up by themselves if possible
Arrange items lightest at front to darkest at the back
Heaviest bulky items on bottom drawers and shelves to lightest on top
Think about keeping like materials with like - heavy knitwear, slinky t-shirts and so on
Shoeboxes or these excellent value IKEA Skubbs in white or grey make great drawer dividers or containers on your shelves - before using drawer dividers, ensure your drawer is shallower than the divider in question!
Photo courtesy of KonMari Media, Inc.
Photo courtesy of KonMari Media, Inc.
Photo courtesy of KonMari Media, Inc.
Step seven: Maintain and add more joy over time!
Once everything in your wardrobe sparks joy it’s time to cherish what you keep! You wardrobe is your personal shop display. Play around with it. Notice what’s working well and what isn’t.
You can read my maintenance tips here including: Take your clothes off the hanger, not the hanger off the rail, when you wear them. This way it’s obvious where to put them back. Always keep an outbox in or close to your wardrobe for donations. In your sock drawer reserve a little zone for lonely odd socks. Keep a wishlist on your phone to shop the gaps in your wardrobe intentionally.
Longer term, can you spark even more joy? I use the inside of my wardrobe door to display my favourite greeting cards from my husband and kids. How about displaying some sentimental items in your drawer so you get an extra little burst of joy every time you open it? This comes later once you have tidied your sentimental items.
Speaking of sentimental items, if a particular garment is an heirloom or keepsake, you can set aside to tidy with the rest of your sentimental items at the end. if it’s not something that makes you feel fabulous when you wear it, it might belong outside your wardrobe. I’ve seen clients repurpose old sentimental garments into artwork, quilts and cushion covers!
Depending on your volume of clothes and storage space, you may have a seasonal rotation. I explain this here.
Remember, beauty and order is not built in a day. The evolution itself is fun! Over time you can make your clothes and accessories storage more attractive. Use boxes you already own as dividers. You can decorate them with pretty paper or postcards you discover in your tidying journey. Down the line, you may upgrade your hangers and other storage elements. I urge you to begin by tidying. Once you live with your tidy results, you will purchase storage solutions effectively. I Kondo’d my wardrobe six years ago and purchased IKEA jewellery drawer inserts three years ago. My earlier jewellery storage solution gave me confidence in the system I had. The upgrade was a luxe treat, the icing on the top. I see lots of beautiful clothes hangers from the organising accounts I follow and I recommend wooden or slimline velvet hangers to my clients. Yet in my own home, I use the colourful pound store hangers I’ve had since I was thirteen years old. The matching hangers function perfectly and, for now, I don’t feel the need to replace them.
Good luck. You got this. And if would like some further support, you know who to call!
Photo courtesy of KonMari Media, Inc.