If I opened someone’s wardrobe and found it colour-coded with each crisp garment hung on cedar hangers spaced two inches apart, I would think: this person has too much time on their hands. Most of the clothes in my wardrobe are hung on cheap nonslip hangers, or – brace yourself! – the wire hangers from the dry cleaners. Because I have a lot of clothes, and a medium-size wardrobe, and I can fit more clothes in that way.
In other words, I am most definitely not one of those acid-free tissue paper freaks. I’m telling you this because I seldom read past the second paragraph of wardrobe reorganisation features. I usually enjoy the first bit, where it’s all, “It’s easy, it’s fun, it takes an hour max!” But before you know it the writer is jauntily suggesting you take a Polaroid photograph of each pair of shoes and tape it to the front of every shoebox for easy identification. Sorry, what? Who has space to keep every shoebox?
So when I tell you there are quick, easy ways to organise your wardrobe that don’t require you to use up half your annual leave, please take my word for it. You are busy and have more exciting things to do than create a spreadsheet for knitwear, but I promise you that a speedy overhaul will pay you back handsomely in saving future-you hours of rummaging.
April is the perfect time to reorganise
There are coats, gloves, boots, bulky sweaters, opaque tights and thick socks that you can stash away and not look at again until after the summer, which is both joyous and an instant space-saver. A couple of days before you start, wash your knitwear so it goes into hibernation moth-free. If storage space is limited, try vacuum storage bags. (I like the Rokey ones.) These reduce volume by about 75%, brilliant for puffer jackets and duvet coats. Suck the air out with your vacuum cleaner (it’s weirdly satisfying) and because there’s no stale air trapped, nothing smells weird when you bring it out later. If you are packing clothes into a box or suitcase that is difficult to access, before you close the lid, snap a photo on your phone of the contents before it gets packed away; keeping these photos in an album on your phone is quicker and more effective than lists and labels. If you have summer clothes stored somewhere, get them out now. Don’t wait for the early heatwave, or you’ll miss it while you’re poking about under your bed.
The three key stages to an easy wardrobe revamp
First is dividing clothes into categories. Next is getting rid of what you don’t need. Last is arranging your stuff so everything is visible. Take one category at a time and run through all three stages, to avoid that demoralising ransacked-house vibe.
No, you don’t need to throw lots of things away
So, you’ve pulled out all the dresses you own and they are in a big pile on your bed. At this point, I’m supposed to tell you to throw away anything you haven’t worn for six months. Well, I’m not going to – I have plenty of stuff I haven’t worn for years which I have no intention of getting rid of. I know the clear-out zealots mean well, but that mindset makes clothes feel more disposable than necessary. And shopping your own wardrobe (the best kind of shopping) works brilliantly when you have the opportunity to rediscover forgotten pieces. Be ruthless about what you buy in the first place, rather than what you throw away.
Pull out your treasures from the pile first: the dresses you love and wear often; hang them up and take a look. Seeing these together will help you work out how to make the stuff you theoretically like, but in practice don’t wear, work for you. For example: I had a black and white polka-dot ankle-length shirt dress that I was sure I loved, and couldn’t figure out why I never wore. When I hung my most-worn dresses together, they were plain or with a subtle print. This prompted me to dig out a navy sweater vest (that I seldom wear, because it’s a weird length with trousers) and add it to the polka-dot dress on the hanger, and – voilà – a new outfit.
The goal is to expand the proportion of your wardrobe that you wear, rather than circling through the same few outfits. It feels good to end a clear-out with a few “new” outfits styled up on hangers. Add a belt and necklace, if the fancy takes you. Having a few of these ready to go jump-starts your day, a bit like making a packed lunch the night before. Get rid of anything you really don’t like, or that no longer fits, or which is damaged beyond repair.
How to arrange your rail
Start with coats and dresses that need full-length hanging room, so you can utilise the space under the shorter pieces at the other end (I put scarves and swimwear in boxes there). Do not be tempted to arrange your clothes by colour. If all your black tops are next to each other, you won’t be able to find the one you want. Also, I don’t know about you, but I don’t get dressed thinking, “I want to wear blue.” I get dressed thinking, “It’s cold and I have to walk the dog.” So arrange each category by temperature-appropriateness instead: my tops go with camisoles at one end, thick shirts at the other, and skirts I wear with tights are separated from skirts that work better with bare legs.
If you hide, you seek
A neatly folded stack of T-shirts or sweaters on a shelf looks lovely for five minutes, until you pull one out – then it looks like a jumble sale. You need to be able to see as many pieces as possible and to take something out without feeling as if you just lost at Jenga. If you have deep drawers, try drawer dividers to keep order (get adjustable ones from Lakeland). Under-shelf hanging baskets are good for turning one deep shelf into two shallow ones. To avoid clothes getting hidden at the back, invest in a lazy Susan for clothes or accessories.
Expand your wardrobe with a walldrobe
In her Milanese apartment, La DoubleJ designer JJ Martin turned her bathroom wall into a display of necklaces, which doubles as easy-access storage. A stylist I know who loves to wear hats has solved the problem of where to store them unsquashed by tapping brass picture hooks all along her hallway for a gallery wall of fedoras and caps. They look glorious. And they make her life easier. Organised doesn’t have to mean antiseptic. Take it from one who knows.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Top image, left: scarf, £5, seasaltcornwall.co.uk. Shirt, £25, next.co.uk. Cardigan, £195, toa.st/uk. Trousers, £225, thefoldlondon.com. Necklace, £95, uk.missoma.com. Centre: blazer, £275, meandem.com. Silk shirt, £125, and bag, £110, both jigsaw-online.com. Jeans, £35, and necklace, £20, both next.co.uk. Right: jumper, £199, and shirt, £149, both allsaints.com. Skirt, £175, meandem.com. Hairband, £8, accessorize.com. Belt, £110, black-brown.com.
