Declutter your wardrobe ready for summer

Sort out what’s behind your wardrobe doors with tips from DIY Homefit

Spring is here, and it’s the time of year when many of us resolve to make more use of our garden. And one aspect of

Summer is approaching and hopefully we will eventually see some sunshine! Which means that it’s time to get out the summer clothes from wherever they have been stored over winter.

But rather than stuff all your winter clothes into a suitcase, bag or cupboard, why not take the time to do a complete wardrobe declutter? Wouldn’t it be great to sort out your summer clothes properly and only keep what you really want and need? And, as you put your winter clothes away, why bother taking up storage space for any items that are not earning their keep?

In this article we share five top tips on how to declutter your wardrobe ready for summer, so that what’s behind your wardrobe doors looks just as good as the decor in front.

Tip 1 : Set aside time to declutter properly

Even if you love the idea of decluttering, it won’t just happen on its own. You need to treat it like any other priority and plan when you will do it. To do a good job you probably need to set aside most of a day if you want to do it all in one go. Otherwise break the task into 2 or 3 chunks and calendarise a couple of hours for each session.

As with anything, the main barrier to success is getting started then staying focussed until you finish. Dedicating some quality time to doing this will really help you to achieve it.

Tip 2: Work on one category at a time

Whether you are doing your whole wardrobe or just part of it, the first thing to do is to get everything out. Pile items on the bed or drape over furniture so that you get a clear picture of everything. It’s also a good idea to try on anything you haven’t worn for a while, just to check if it still fits, and to see if you like it when it’s on.

You may want to do your decluttering one category at a time. For example coats, dresses, tops, skirts, jeans and trousers etc. This can help you to identify multiple items and enable you to narrow down the ones you really want to keep. It can make it much easier to then get rid of items that are surplus to requirements. For example, if you have ten pairs of blue jeans, but only really wear four of them, then the rest can go. Why take up storage space that could be used for something else?

Tip 3 : Be ruthless

The best way to a successful declutter is to be ruthless. Work on the principle of “if in doubt, out” and you won’t go far wrong. You should only consider keeping an item if either:

• You really love and want it;
• You use it regularly;
• It has significant sentimental value.

If it doesn’t meet any of the above criteria, why keep it? 

Also be practical. Many of us hang onto clothes that don’t fit us, just in case our body shape changes and they might fit us in future. Get rid of them! If your body shape does change then you will need new clothes anyway. Similarly if an item is high maintenance, for example needs dry cleaning or is difficult to store or fiddly to iron, send it on its way.

If being ruthless does not come naturally to you, our next tip may help!

Tip 4 : Yes . . . no . . . or “pending”

We’ve talked about the importance of being ruthless as you sort through your clothes. One trick that may help here is to have three piles of clothes as you go:

• Yes – things you are definitely going to keep;
• No – things that are definitely going to go;
• Pending – things that are probably going to go but you are just not quite sure.

As soon as you have finished your declutter you need to deal with each of these piles. 

The Yes pile can be put away : read more about that in Tip 5. 

The No pile can be got rid of. The sooner the better. Make sure you do this mindfully so that your old clothes don’t end up in landfill. Recycle as much as you can, either by passing on to family and friends, taking to a charity shop, or selling online.

The Pending pile can be put to one side, for example in a spare room or garage. Leave it there for a couple of weeks. Anything you decide you do want can be given a reprieve and brought back into the fold. But at the end of the time, anything you haven’t really missed can be got rid of without regret.

Tip 5 : Organise your storage space for what you are keeping

After your declutter you should be left with a considerably smaller amount of stuff, and it makes sense to organise that stuff – and the storage space containing it – as well as you can. Imagine the joy of being able to open your wardrobe doors and, instead of clutter, see and access all your clothes quickly and easily.

The exact storage method is completely up to you. Some people prefer to organise by colour, others by item. Or perhaps a combination of the two.

However you do it, make sure that you use clever storage solutions such as those pictured below to maximise your storage space. You can find out more about DIY Homefit’s storage solutions on our Bedroom Storage page here.

It’s also worth using good quality hangers – or for folded items taking care to do it properly – to keep your clothes in the best possible condition. 

We hope that this article has given you some helpful ideas about how to declutter your wardrobe and keep it that way. It pays to declutter on a regular basis rather than letting things slide and ending up in the same situation again a few months later.

And if decluttering inspires you either to change wardrobe doors or even upgrade your bedroom completely, why not take a browse through our gallery of bedroom pictures to see how fabulous your bedroom could look by the end of 2024.

Remember to check back here soon for more home and lifestyle tips from DIY Homefit.