If your wardrobe is bursting at the seams, it may be time to declutter your clothes. As well as making it easier to get what you want, it can help prevent issues like musty or mouldy clothes.
But if you’ve never done a complete declutter for your clothes, here are three simple ways to approach it.
How to declutter clothes in your wardrobe
1. Add a container to your wardrobe for zero-effort decluttering
This approach helps you declutter clothes as you’re choosing what to wear. All you need to do is put an empty basket, box or other container in your wardrobe. Then, when you try something on and decide not to wear it, or simply spot something you know you won’t wear again, just put it in the container.
The idea is that if you decide not to wear something once, you’re unlikely to miss it. And once the container is full, you can choose whether to go through the clothes for anything you do want, or simply donate them (providing they are still clean).
2. Apply the 90/90 rule for decluttering your wardrobe
Created by podcasters and New York Times–bestselling authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists, The 90/90 decluttering wardrobe rule is a guideline to help individuals streamline their clothes and maintain a clean and tiny wardrobe.
In a nutshell, the rule suggests removing any clothing items you haven’t worn in the past 90 days and don’t anticipate wearing in the next 90 days.
This method encourages regularly considering the clothes in your wardrobe while helping you declutter. It also helps ensure you only keep the items you use and enjoy wearing.
But if you apply the 90/90 rule, make sure you also factor in seasonal changes. That way, you won’t get rid of anything you might need at different times of the year. The key is to find a balance that works for you and helps keep your wardrobe in order.
3. Use the 10-item wardrobe rule
Another wardrobe decluttering rule that’s become quite popular for its simplicity is the 10-item wardrobe rule.
The 10-item wardrobe rule was popularised by Jennifer L. Scott, who wrote about it in her book Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 stylish secrets I learned while living in Paris.
The idea is to build a minimalist wardrobe with a carefully curated selection of 10 core items you can mix and match to create various outfits.
Here’s a breakdown of the 10-item wardrobe rule:
- Tops (4 items): Include blouses, sweaters, or shirts. Choose versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down.
- Bottoms (3 items): Select a small variety of bottoms, such as skirts or pants, that complement your tops and can be worn for different occasions.
- Dresses (2 items): Include one or two dresses that can be styled in various ways. Opt for versatile designs suitable for different seasons.
- Jackets/Outerwear (1 item): Choose a classic jacket or coat that works well with the rest of your wardrobe and is suitable for your climate.
If you’re not sure about decluttering the clothes in your wardrobe to this extent, you could also use this method to make packing a suitcase easier. That would give you a way to test out how 10-items works for you, and might even save you space for souvenirs.
4. Declutter your clothes with the Core 4 Method
The Core 4 Method is a TikTok trend designed to help you organise spaces in your home. A key part of it is decluttering, which makes it ideal for your wardrobe. As the name suggests, there are four core aspects to the method: clear out, categorise, cut out, and contain.
So for your wardrobe, this would involve clearing out items that don’t belong there or that you won’t use again. Then, put everything into broad categories that will help keep items organised. For example, you could have jackets or outerwear as one category, pants as another, tops, dresses and even office outfits. You can choose the exact categories based on how you wear your clothes, but the key is to use the categories for organisation.
The next step after that is to cut out excess items, which is where decluttering comes into the method. Once you have everything in categories, it should be easier to go through each one and get rid of clothes you don’t want or need any more.
After that, you can move on to the contain step, which for your wardrobe means putting each category of clothing back in a logical order. For example, if you always reach for shirts first, have them close to the opening. Or, if it’s summer, you could put your coats and jackets in the harder-to-reach area. It’s up to you, so you can make it as easy as possible to get what you need from your wardrobe – and ideally put it back where it belongs later.
While it can be tempting to put off decluttering the clothes in your wardrobe, using one of these methods can help make it a bit easier to get done. And after that, you’ll hopefully be able to declutter as you go.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
