Looking to minimise your wardrobe? I love going through my wardrobe and having a really good clear-out. It’s something I’ve been wanting and needing to do for years! It was well overdue with A LOT to get rid of. I find that when I’ve cleared out my cupboards and wardrobes I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Having a good declutter of your wardrobe means you’ll have more space to see what you’ve got in there. It’s like having new items of clothing all over again. Try minimising your wardrobe and see how you feel afterwards.

For me personally, it makes me get out of my routine of wearing the same old clothes again and again. I start to use other bits that got lost in the back of the wardrobe.

Everyone has different reasons for downsizing or having a clear-out. Perhaps you have clothes that no longer fit, or want to get rid of the clothes that no longer suit your personal style. Or perhaps you just want more storage space for shoes, bags…etc.

My wardrobe was once huge, and full to bursting with the excessive amount of clothes I had in there – even my wedding dress scrunched up at the back! Most of these items never even got worn or had the labels taken off. However, after a number of decluttering sessions, I’m now down to one half-size wardrobe and a chest of draws – mainly filled with all my gym clothes.

So, after much time decluttering clothes and accessories, here are my top tips on how you can minimise your wardrobe…

Preparing For Your Declutter

Before I started my first massive clear-out, I got myself prepared so I could get on with it. I didn’t have to worry about stopping halfway through because I had forgotten something.

Here is my simple decluttering checklist…

Create & Label Four Areas

This makes it so much easier to work out at the end which pile is which. Plus, you won’t end up throwing away the pile you meant to keep!

• Throw Away – old items, anything with holes in and that are just no good to anyone.
• Charity Shop/Thrift Stores – used items that weren’t quite good enough to sell but still had some use left in them. Anything that doesn’t fit anymore and won’t again.
• Selling Pile – for quality items that were still in good condition that others might get some use out of or that might still be worth something.
• Keep Pile – This was the pile that I would keep and that I still loved wearing and got lots of use out of. You could split this into seasonal items and store away the ones that aren’t suitable to wear at this time of year.

Large Black Bin Bags

This is so you can put each pile of clothes into large bin bags to dispose of after your clear out. Whether these are going to charity shops or the tip. Using old supermarket bags means you’ll need a lot of them which is wasteful.

Food & Drink

I find it’s so easy to get carried away with something like this. Especially if you have a lot to go through. Forgetting to have breaks for food or a drink of water. Having it nearby means you have it to hand and don’t get sidetracked on breaks to the kitchen!

How To Decide What To Declutter

There are many ways in which you can decide how you’re going to work out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of, but here’s what I do – I actually do the whole process twice to get rid of more.

So how I approach each item is I look at it and ask myself these three questions…

• Have I worn it in the last 12 months?
• Does it bring any joy to my life?
• Does it have sentimental value?
• Empty your car or make room in your boot for the bags you will want to take to the charity shop or the tip.

If the answer to all of these is no, then I get rid of it and decide which of the other three piles to put it in. I will do this process with each item until I have nothing left in my wardrobe and drawers. I will then go to my keep pile and go through it again, asking myself the same 3 questions.

However, while getting rid of anything, if you start to feel bad about anything you’re getting rid of, ask yourself the questions above again to see if that helps with your decision.

By doing this, you will be surprised at how much the second time around you decide you don’t really want. This way, the things you do have left in your keep pile after the second time around, you know are items that you really want to keep.

Keep On Top Of It

Once you’ve completed your massive throwout, don’t stop! I find doing this around two months later will help you keep on top of it. You’ll find there’re bits you want to let go of again.

Doing one big clear-out means you only have to do little clear-outs after that. It also gives you that energy and confidence that getting rid of things is OK. It doesn’t need to be something you’re fearful of.

The Buzz Of Minimising Your Wardrobe

I can’t tell you how amazing I felt after getting rid of bags and bags of clothing I wasn’t using. It felt great to give loads to charity where I knew other people would be able to make use of my unused items.

Plus, now you’ll know of the clothing in your wardrobe is stuff you really like. You could even create a capsule wardrobe for your everyday items and have somewhere separate for all of your special occasion pieces.