Spring clean: wardrobe edition Helena Reeds advises on how you can Marie Kondo your wardrobe for the new season
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elcome to shopping addiction anonymous – it’s a safe space here – we don’t judge! Look, we’ve all been there: maybe you got bored during lockdown, just received your student loan or your first paycheck… and got a *little* carried away with the retail therapy. Next thing you know, your wardrobe door isn’t closing and your life is under threat from a mountain of clothes falling on top of you. Oh, just me? Well, whatever your wardrobe situation is, now is the perfect time to sort through your old clothes and have a spring clean. Here are my top tips on how to have a successful clear-out.
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Get in the zone
Be ruthless
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of the task at hand. It took me an entire afternoon to clear out my wardrobe – although I am probably an extreme hoarder in comparison to the average reader. Get a playlist ready, maybe some snacks or even a coffee. But most importantly, create four piles (you could use boxes or binbags too): keep, toss, sell, donate. Don't forget to wear something comfortable as you'll probably be trying on lots of pieces. Take everything out of your wardrobe or chest of drawers and get stuck in.
Just get going and start purging your clothes. Be ruthless here by considering a few criteria before keeping an item. Have you worn it in the last year? Does it still fit? Did you even know that you still had it? If the answer to any of those questions is ‘no’, then it’s probably best to toss. You can then decide if it’s worth selling, donating or tossing based on its condition. Items that are too damaged to donate can be recycled at clothes banks. In the UK, around 336,000 tonnes of our unwanted clothing gets thrown away each year.
Get organised
Once you’ve decided what you’re keeping, it’s time to organise your wardrobe. Firstly, if you have way too many clothes for the space, put your seasonal clothing into storage. As we come into spring, you probably don’t need all ten of your woolly scarves taking up a shelf in your wardrobe, do you? Have a look at some drawer organisers as they can really help to keep everything neat and tidy. Get creative too! You could colour code or move newer, unworn pieces to the front to inspire new outfits.
$ Make some cash $ And now for the reward. Whilst you’re still feeling motivated, take pictures of your old clothes and post them on any pre-owned clothing site to watch the money roll in. Personally, I use Depop or eBay for my old clothes. They are both really easy to use and I find that my items sell pretty quickly on both. You can also use Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and consignment sites. Just beware that you don't end up endlessly scrolling and therefore filling your own wardrobe back up again!
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