Wardrobe organisation tips can often only help you get so far. What I strive for in my organising systems is finding ways to keep things organised for good!
Organising your wardrobe is one thing. But keeping it organised is a whole other ball game!
It is time to Kondo-fy your wardrobe to guarantee that it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
The tips I share below are a curation of years of trial and error with my own personal wardrobes.
My experience comes from moving house 9 times in 6 years, including hauling my entire wardrobe overseas. I’ve now been settled in the same house for almost 3 years, and my wardrobe has remained just as organised as it was when we first moved in.
And that is thanks to the systems I have put in place. These simple yet genius wardrobe organisation systems are summarised below. You can also watch my YouTube video for a detailed look into my closet!
My 3 Organisation Rules
1. Every. Single. Item. Has. A. Home. (a big thank-you to my good friend Marie Kondo for this)
Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was the first organisation book I read (and yes, I’ve read a few!) A big take away I took from that book was that every item you own needs to have a place to live. Marie takes this very seriously and manages to empty her handbag completely every night when she gets home!
I’m not quite as anal as that. However, adopting the principle that everything you own, needs to have a place to live in your home is a great way to keep things organised.
And this doesn’t mean, your handbag lives on the floor next to your bed, or on the dining table. Your handbag actually needs a home.
This may require you to do a little decluttering and rearranging, to make more room for what really matters to you and what you really need.
2. Follow The One-Minute Rule
A very straight forward rule that I have followed for years, and is the reason my house remains organised and clean.
If it takes less than a minute, then do it!
So if you take off your shoes in the hallway, and it takes less than a minute to put them away in your wardrobe, then do it.
3. Labels are essential to maintain organisation
Labels do the same job as dividers. They help you to see what is where so you can find it quickly and they ensure that things are put back in their correct homes.
It might feel silly labeling things at first. You might think… “I’ll definitely remember this backpack is kept in this tub at the back of my cupboard under that spare blanket.”
And then 6 months later when you’re cleaning out that said tub, you find your backpack along with a few other surprises you had forgotten about.
Labeling helps you remember what items are where each time you open your wardrobe.
The main things I label in my wardrobe are the tubs in the top cupboard that have items in them that I don’t use very often.
Wardrobe Organisation Tips from my YouTube Video Summarised
1. Learn to love folding
Folding, it’s not exactly a sexy word. So how on earth do you learn to love doing it?
There are two things I do when folding. The first is that I make sure I’m never doing it in silence because then the folding is all I can think about. I usually listen to a stimulating podcast or a YouTube video. Something that might teach me a new skill or a general topic that I am interested in.
The second is that I fold in three’s, not two’s.
Okay, what does that mean?
I give a good demonstration in my video linked above.
But basically, the first objective is to create a long rectangle with your piece of clothing.
And then rather than folding it in half, fold it in three’s. This creates a clean edge on one side (which is rather pleasing to look at in the cupboard) and also creates a small solid rectangle shape that makes it is easy to stand the item up on it’s side.
For some strange reason, this technique of folding really has me hypnotized. It helps to make me enjoy the process of folding.
2. Use Boxes to section draws and cupboards
I honestly don’t think I could keep anything in my house organised without boxes. I use cardboard boxes, plastic containers and jars for various organisation uses around the house.
Here is a simple example. In your wardrobe, you could use a cardboard box to section off a draw and seperate your socks from your underwear.
In my wardrobe organisation video, I re-organised my jewellery draw. I gathered some old jar lids from the kitchen and used these to separate my rings, my earings and spare buttons.
If you don’t have dividers, over time, everything in that one draw is likely to get mixed up. Dividers help you keep your areas organised, and ensure that when you are looking for something, you can find it quickly.
3. Always be throwing away/donating unwanted clothes
I don’t really do big decluttering purges anymore. I just throw things away or donate them when I realise they are not serving me anymore.
This really helps me to keep on top of things.
Obviously you have to declutter first before you can accomplish this. I highly recommend Gretchin Rubins’s book, Outer Order Inner Calm, and Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
4. Keep clean folded edges on the outside
Aim to keep all the clean edges of folded clothes facing outwards.
This makes things look good at a quick glance, and when things look good, we tend to keep them that way for longer (watch my video linked for examples of this).
5. Test different systems and find what’s good for you
My systems might work great for me, but they just won’t stick for you. That’s probably because we have different personalities.
And I think it’s important we remember this when trying any system recommended by someone.
What works for me might not work for you, or it might work wonders! You never know until you try. So test my systems, test other people’s systems and find what suits you best.
6. Use different hangers for different items
In the grand scheme of things, it’s more important to me that things work, rather than look 100% cohesive.
Therefore I use many different clothes hangers, for different items. My wardrobe may not look Pinterest worthy, but at least everything stays on my hangers properly.
I use wooden hangers for coats and heavy items. I use velvet hangers for items that slip and slide off easy (the worst!)
And I use plastic hangers with hooks for items with thin straps. That means they’ll never fall off in my cupboard!
7. Store shoes on their sides to fit more!
I store some of my runners on their side (as they come in their shoeboxes). This means I can fit in more shoes on my shoe rack. (Yes, I have a shoe problem!)
8. Use clear storage containers so you can see what’s in them
I have 3 clear storage containers in the high cupboard above my wardrobe for items that I don’t use as often.
Not only are these containers labeled with what is in them, but they are also clear plastic. That way, at a quick glance, I can see what’s inside the box.
10. Maximize the use of the space you have
Take a moment and really think about the space you have. Are you using it to its best potential?
Could you move something around and have more room? Could you add a shelf?
Not sure? Try moving things anyway and experiment with your space. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.
11. Organise according to season
My pajama draw and my activewear draw are organised according to season.
When winter is approaching I will move my winter things to the front of the draw, and my summer things to the back of the draw.
This also allows me to refold my draw around every 6 months, and keeps it looking fresh.
12. Store items on their side in draws (another Marie Kondo tip!)
One of the most popular tips from decluttering extraordinaire, Marie Kondo, is to fold your items and store them on the side.
This way you can see everything you have, and it also reduces creases forming in the clothes that would have been at the bottom of the pile.
13. Ask yourself why your current system isn’t working so you can try to fix it!
Don’t just ignore your problems!
Try to work out why you can’t keep a certain area organised and what’s exactly stopping you.
And then adjust your systems and make changes.
For me, I couldn’t keep my jewelry draw organised. I realised the reason why was because I had not thrown away/donated jewelry in years!
I had accumulated a lot of new pieces but had not got rid of any and that meant my space was no longer optimized for the amount I had.
14. Use command hooks for belts, hats, jewelry, etc
Stick-on hooks are so handy! I use the command hooks to store my belts, hats, dressing gown and jewelry.
15. Recycle household items to help with your organisation (jars, cardboard boxes, etc)
Organisation doesn’t have to be fancy! It just has to be practical.
I recycle so many different items from around the house to assist with my organisation.
Mostly cardboard boxes to create homes for certain items, or create draw dividers.
I also use jars and jar lids. You could even get creative and use old egg cartons!
The world is your oyster!
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