10 golden rules for decluttering your wardrobe (2024)

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Everyone wants a wardrobe that's neat and orderly, making it easy to see exactly what you've got and put outfits together with ease. Getting it organised will undoubtedly involve a clear out of clothes that no longer fit or you no longer love.

We all have items we know should go but when it comes to emotional attachment (and pretty clothes!) decluttering is easier said than done. Taking the plunge and decluttering your wardrobe is indisputably challenging, but the rewards are liberating and utterly worth it, says Annmarie O’Connor, fashion writer, stylist and author of wardrobe self-help guide The Happy Closet. "When we think of getting rid of things we think of loss," she says. "But you have to prune things in order to grow. You need to think a bit less about what you’re losing and instead think about what you can gain."

If having a wardrobe declutter is one of those jobs you've been putting off, here's how to tackle the task. We've compiled our top tips for getting the tidy wardrobe of your dreams.

1. Schedule a time to declutter

Decluttering your wardrobe can quickly turn into an overwhelming chore with clothes here, there, and everywhere. To make sure you get it done in one go, schedule a time to declutter in the diary - and stick to it. The average sized wardrobe should take around four hours to clear out.

Although, if you are tight for time, you can always break up the chore into shorter sessions and tackle your wardrobe in segments.

2. Make things visible

How often have you had to dig through your wardrobe to find something you know is in there somewhere? Probably too often! Having too much in our wardrobes and drawers makes it difficult to assess our options when getting dressed every day. It's a hard truth but you may need to part with some items that are rarely or seldom used - or at least move them to a different place.

To get started, pull everything out and lay it all on the bed. Go through every item and put into one of three piles - keep, sell and donate to charity. Only keep items which you either really need (for example, your favourite black trousers) or you really love (and we mean love, not just vaguely like).

Think about getting rid of anything which is difficult to wear, for example because it needs to be dry cleaned, needs fiddly ironing or requires a particular type of underwear you don’t even own.

Finally, look at what you have multiples of and narrow these down – for example, if you have six ‘useful’ white T-shirts, it's time to get rid of any that are greying or scruffy.

3. Put it all back in an organised way

Hanging your clothes in category and colour order means you can see what you’ve got more easily. GH's fashion editor Jo Atkinson recommends running from left to right: evening dresses and party wear / jackets and blazers / tops / blouses / trousers / skirts / outerwear.

Use non-slip hangers to keep your clothes in place.

Shoes need to be visible as well; repurpose or recycle empty shoeboxes and leave your shoes on display and accessible. Don’t let them pile up on top of one another; use a shoe rack to separate them, such as IKEA’s TJUSIG.

You can always turn these around as you wear them, as recommended for your hangers in point 9, to see what you’ve worn over the year. This can help you decide what to declutter at a later date.

4. Work in categories

Marie Kondo advises that you work your way through categories of items as part of the KonMari decluttering method, rather than sporadically. In doing this, you can see the full picture of what you own, which may help you to declutter the excess. This is as relevant to your wardrobe as to the rest of the home. For instance, you could sort through all your coats, and then move onto your dresses etc. Items are much easier to let go when you see just how many you own of each.

If you’re lacking motivation, it’s also a good idea to work your way from larger to smaller items. Through this, you can see the impact of your work that much faster and be better motivated.

5. Consider what really counts as sentimental

One excuse we frequently use for hoarding possessions is sentimental value. Whether it’s the dress you wore on your first date with your husband, or a top you always associate with a fun girls’ holiday when you felt epic, many items can end up hanging around in your wardrobe long after you stopped wearing them.

While it’s completely understandable that you may want to hold on to one or two items forever, it’s important not to use the word ‘sentimental’ as an excuse. Instead, think of how they could be put to better use. Is granny’s old coat happier gathering dust in your wardrobe forever, or finding a new home with a stylish student? Remember there’s joy to be found in giving clothes a whole new life, as well as from holding on to them.

Many of us keep also clothes that don't fit us anymore. Consider whether having these clothes around is just making you feel bad about your body — you might feel better after letting them go.

6. Create a holiday box

Realistically, there aren’t many weeks a year when it’s sunny enough to wear strappy dresses, kaftans and sandals, so having them clog up a sizeable chunk of your wardrobe just doesn’t make sense.

Instead, create a holiday box, full of items like bikinis, sun hats and floaty summer dresses which you only wear on holiday. Make sure items destined for the box are weashed first and pack into a plastic container with a sealable lid.

Make sure the box is clearly labelled and pop it up on a high shelf or in the attic so it’s not taking up valuable everyday wardrobe space. What’s more, you’ll feel a real sense of excitement every time you reach up and bring your holiday box down for a trip.

7. Rotate your wardrobe

Your summer wardrobe is unlikely to be worn at the same time as your winter wardrobe, so why would you mix the two? Separate the items you’re unlikely to wear for the time being and store them safely away until the time comes, much like your holiday box.

You can use vacuum storage bags to compress thicker items, such as SpaceSaver Vacuum Storage Bags. In doing this, you can save space in your wardrobe, while protecting your clothes from damp and moths.

8. Store occasion-wear separately

As with seasonal clothes, special occasion attire can be stored away from your everyday wardrobe – after all, a ballgown takes up a significant amount of room, and probably only gets worn once a year at most!

Pack special occasion items away carefully using acid-free tissue paper to keep them in perfect condition. Make sure the box is clearly labelled so you know exactly what’s in there, before stowing away on a high up shelf or above a wardrobe.

9. Appraise your wardrobe

"A signature style can often become a style rut – if we don’t tweak it, we can find ourselves wearing the same thing 10 years down the line and not having updated our wardrobes at all," says Annmarie O’Connor. "In fact, you should really be doing quarterly wardrobe appraisals."

As a way of assessing what to keep and what to cull, Annmarie has a nifty trick. "Start with your hangers all facing the same direction. Every time you wear something, twist the head of the hanger it's on the opposite side. Over two or three weeks you can use this visual marker to see what you’ve worn and what has stayed untouched." Then, she says, you can think about why that's the case and which items need to go.

10. Protect your clothes

One of the joys of creating a clutter-free wardrobe is that you can actually cherish and protect your clothes properly. Once you’ve done your clear out, first clean the entire inside of the wardrobe or chest of drawers, ideally using natural cleaning products. Next, add in some form of moth protection – cedar rings are a good choice.

Avoid wire hangers – these will misshape your clothes – and instead opt for skinny hangers which don’t take up too much room (wooden hangers can be very bulky).

Finally, make sure you don’t let you wardrobe get out of hand again; you could try a ‘one in one out’ policy, or just start regular pruning to ensure that everything you own truly deserves its place in your clutter-free wardrobe.