Cleaning up the Wardrobe – 7 Things You Should Throw Away Immediately!

Every woman knows it all so well what it means when we have absolutely nothing to put on. Sometimes it is really the case that all our clothes are being washed and the wardrobe is empty. However, most of the time our wardrobes are packed.

There are so many clothes that we have no idea what T-shirt will match the shorts, what sandals will go with the summer dress and where on earth is our favourite jeans jacket. As if that was not enough, there is the bag to match them all. But which one? When you find yourself in trouble like this, that means only one thing – you have too many clothes in your wardrobe. Let me give you a hint today so that you will know what to get rid of first.

Our bodies keep changing all life long, but let’s face it – if you really believe that you will lose some weight just to be able to put on a blouse or T-shirt, that will not really happen. Well, of course some of us manage to lose a kilo or two. The truth is that the majority put on even more. That is why whenever something catches your eye, don’t let the sales seduce you. Never buy things that are not your size because ‘you might be slim enough one day’ or ‘it’s so cheap that you must buy it’.

Although fashions come back, if your wardrobe is cluttered with ten years old stuff then it’s high time you did something about it. From my own experience I know that cleaning the wardrobe never takes 5 minutes only. You need to sacrifice at least half a day to put on every single piece. Then you will know what looks good and what has to be donated to a charity. Of course you don’t have to get rid of everything that is old. Vintage shorts will always match your jeans or simple high-heels or sneakers. Believe it or not, with fewer clothes in your wardrobe matching things will be much easier.

It wasn’t that long ago that I realised there were quite a few worn –off belts in my wardrobe. They buckles and the leather didn’t look good but there was never enough time to sort them out. One day I got down to it, threw away most of them leaving the best ones only. I also shared some with my friends as I didn’t need as many as there were left after the selection. In fact I kept two – one with a peculiar buckle and the other, which is plain black. It takes me much less time create well-matched sets.

It’s good to have in your wardrobe the so-called ‘basics’- clothes that are essential for every kind of stylisation. Of course it makes hardly any sense to have 10 identical black T-shirts. Turn the worst into cleaning clothes and the good ones donate to a charity.

Do you really need so many jeans jackets? A black one, a white one, a pink one and the classic one? I mean it’s cool to have so many of them but … seriously? Why don’t you keep your favourite one and replace the rest with, for example, a decent trench coat. The wardrobe will get a bit more spacious and you won’t waste so much time looking for the clothes you need. Give away the items you don’t need or use a next party as an occasion to swap. Don’t forget online platforms where you can sell them as well.

If you are into hats and have an impressive collection, why don’t you go through it to find out how many of them haven’t been worn for years? Hats, to look good, have to be stored properly. Reducing their number to a minimum will soon give you lots of free space.

Dirty tennis shoes? Well, throw them away or wash if possible. Tennis shoes or most trainers can be machine washed. If something is damaged or broken, throw it away as fixing will be either impossible or very expensive these days. Use a brush to give your suede shoes a better look and polish the leather ones. Save what you can and really want, donate the stuff in good condition and drop the rest into dedicated containers. Some shops collect old clothes and shoes so that later they can get sorted and recycled.

Another solution you can implement is dividing the content of your wardrobe into several categories. For example, ‘things I often wear’, ‘to sell or give away’, ‘ to throw away’ or ‘to be decided later on’. Of course while the first three categories are very easy to handle, the third one could be somewhat confusing. To solve the riddle, put all the clothes you’re hesitating about into a bag and store it in your attic. After 3 months try to recall what there is inside. If you can’t remember a thing, get rid of it without opening.