Wardrobe spring clean - How to clean out your wardrobe when the season changes

It's the perfect time of year to kick your excuses in the backside, open up those wardrobe doors and have a clean out like you've never had before.

This week, after cleaning out quite a few wardrobes myself, I thought I'd teach you how to organise your wardrobe for spring. This is the regime I go through once a year to really give my wardrobe some love, get rid of dust and ensure I haven't got things sitting in my wardrobe that I really don't need.

Spring is coming, so it's time to move those dark winter clothes to the back of your wardrobe and bring your coloured, running through a field of flowers while holding Colin Firth's hand, gorgeous outfits to the front.

Because our wardrobes are our wardrobes, and they're just a place to store clothing, many people think you hang up your items and line your shoes up neatly and that's that. But those people have very boring wardrobes and often are the ones saying 'I have nothing to wear', when in fact they've got a wardrobe FULL of things, but lack the motivation or ideas of how to wear those items.

Golden rule: If you haven't worn it in the last 12 months, reconsider its place in your closet

How To Organise Your Wardrobe For Spring

So, let me ask you this, if you were walking through a shopping centre regularly, maybe because you worked near one (or you're a closet shopaholic), would you go into a store that never changed its window display? Of course not! Because that store obviously is not getting the care it needs to be appealing. It's not fresh, or fun, and Colin Firth is certainly not waiting to hold your hand out the front of it!

Now, I'm often told by clients that they want to feel like they're 'shopping their wardrobe'. This means that they want to open up those doors, feel inspired and think 'what outfit do I want to wear the most today'. In order to do this, we need to organise our wardrobes like an effortless bitch would, and this is how you do it.

Step One:

Clean your room. Attacking your wardrobe when your bedroom is messy is like starting a diet with a fridge full of unhealthy food. You can't do your best. Starting with a clean room will help to clear your mind and it will provide enough space for your wardrobe to temporarily explode!

Step Two:

Start at one end of your hanging space and cull, then move on to your drawers and any other storage in your wardrobe or bedroom that relates to your wardrobe. If you're unsure of how to do a proper cull on your wardrobe, you can read my post that gives you a complete rundown on how to get rid of what you don't love and end up with a wardrobe of items you actually wear.

Don't forget to open the link in a new tab so you can continue the next steps on this page and learn how to organise your wardrobe.

Step Three:

Once you've worked out what's going and what's staying, take everything that's left out of the wardrobe and give it a good clean. Get in everywhere and wipe down the shelves, vacuum the floor and any dust that's collected in the drawers of your wardrobe and don't forget to give the front of the doors and drawers a wipe down along with the handles.

Stylish menswear store layout for wardrobe inspiration

Start Considering Your Wardrobe Space:

Work out where your space issues are because sometimes you need to do a little bit of a wardrobe redesign. One thing that's often a problem is lack of space for shoes which then usually leads to shoes stacked on top of each other, getting damaged. Remember, don't just think horizontally when storing shoes. You don't have to line them all up along the floor of your wardrobe. If you've got some space underneath a rail in your wardrobe, get a shoe rack to add some extra space.

Hangers:

While considering your space, it's also a good idea to think about getting some space saving hangers. Now, 'space saving hangers' sound as glamorous as 'shoes for comfort' but when you have all of the same hangers in your wardrobe, your wardrobe looks neater, and when you have the space saving ones, you'll have so much extra room in your wardrobe that you'll be able to hide in there with a pint of Ben & Jerry's when your in-laws visit.

Extra Shelving / Moving Rails:

Do not be afraid to add any extra shelves you may need or moving rails up or down to suit your wardrobe. Many wardrobes have DIY aspects and usually only take a screwdriver and a few of those thumb tack, push into the hole plastic thingy's that keep your shelves up.

Drawer Dividers:

Hallelujah, my drawers are worthy of a Pinterest board! On a trip last year to Ikea I picked up some drawer dividers, they're little fabric boxes in square and rectangular shapes in a range of sizes that you can put in your drawers to separate your clothing.

I've got mine in all of my drawers to separate types of knitwear, pretty underwear from nude underwear, socks and swimwear and they work like a charm. I went the extra mile and stacked my bras like they do in the Victoria Secrets stores but you don't need to be as obsessive if flawless angel wings aren't in your blood.

Walk in closet inspiring wardrobe organisation

Make It Pretty:

Add Some Light:

Calling an electrician can sometimes be costly and if you don't have the funds or would rather buy those new heels in Wittner, I get you. There are other options. Battery operated press on lights that stick to the roof of your closet work well, otherwise, adding a sheet of mirrored glass to the back of your shelving will help to bounce the light around and give it a more boutique feel.

Utilise Boxes:

Fabric covered boxes or cane baskets are great additions to your wardrobe that can allow you to store items that might not be used in the coming season, ie; raincoats, umbrellas, thick jumpers, etc. If you feel like you're a bit of an 'out of sight, out of mind' woman, get yourself some cute swing tags to loop around the handles so you know what's in what.

Change Up The Handles:

If you'd like to go one step further to make your wardrobe look extra shoppable, getting yourself some screw on handles can give your chest of drawers and inner wardrobe an update without costing you your pay cheque. These Zara handles are priced from only $7.95 a set and there are many styles to choose from.

Let's merchandise!

Last but not least, you should be organising your clothing by style and colour. To organise by style you'll want to separate your wardrobe into tops, jackets, pants, skirts, dresses and coats. Within this, you'll want to organise further by style. Sleeveless, cap-sleeves, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, etc. Continue to organise by style throughout your wardrobe and if you come across clothing you'll only wear in winter, store it in your boxes if you have the space.

To organise by colour, start with light and move to dark throughout your wardrobe and so you don't get in a style rut, next time you clean out your wardrobe, organise it by style. Constantly changing the way you've organised your wardrobe, even once a year can help you to keep making new choices when picking your clothing.

If you found this post helpful and want more how to's, whether that's more on how to organise your wardrobe, or you're after something else, let me know in the comments!