How To Marie Kondo Your Wardrobe To Spark Joy

What To Chuck

Most women wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time, according to decluttering professional Kate Ibbotson, who runs A Tidy Mind.

The best best way for you to get out of this cycle is to chuck out what you don’t wear, she says. Getting organised is all about wellbeing and calm.

But where to begin? “Get everything out of the wardrobe and clear the wardrobe space, and then you can categorise your clothes and accessories by putting all your jeans together, putting all your work clothes together, and once you’re going through the categories of clothing you can compare them to other similar things you’ve got,” she says.

If you’re not wearing some of these items there’s probably a reason that will prevent you from doing so in the future – maybe it fits but doesn’t look quite right, or it’s too low cut, or you need to wear a belt with it. It’s worth thinking about whether you’ll ever wear them or whether it’s time to donate them to charity. As you’re going through your clothes and accessories set aside the things you know you won’t wear and don’t put them back in the wardrobe. 

What To Keep 

“Ask yourself: when was the last time I wore this? Does it suit my style? Do I feel fantastic in it?” Ibbotson says – if the answer is no, then those clothes will just cloud your decision making when you look in your wardrobe.  

If you can’t quite bring yourself to part with some items then employ the “hanger trick”, she says. This involves turning all of your clothes hangers around the wrong way and turning them the right way once you’ve worn them. If you still have untouched clothes after six months, it might be time to part with them.

Danijela Coha, a professional organiser who runs the Wardrobe Fairy, has a similar method when working with her clients to sort our their clothes. 

“I will ask them when did you last wear it? How many do you have? How worn is it? Do you have space?” She says that often when people have so much in their wardrobe, or lurking at the back of drawers, that they simply don’t know what’s in there “and then they forget about it and buy a new one.”

People often hold on to items because they feel guilty about getting rid of them when they’ve hardly worn them, she says or because they no longer fit. But being honest with yourself about whether you’ll ever wear it regularly is key.