Take one or several after photos.

Make sure that everything you want to donate leaves the house today! If you decided to sell a few things, diarise it right now so it doesn’t block the entryway for the next 6 months ;-). The same goes for things you want to pass on. Grab the phone and find a date in the near future to meet with the person who will receive the treasures you no longer want.

1. Think about how you will maintain the order in your wardrobe as of today. Think routines and habits. For a starter, I suggest to strictly stick to the rule ‘one in – one out!’. Another important maintenance routine is to put everything back to where it belongs. Forget that floordrobe once and for all!

Take everything out.

Give the closet / shelves / containers a quick clean.

Declutter by asking the question: ‘Does it spark joy?’ and make piles according to your decision (keep, donate, sell, hand down, put in rubbish bin).

Re-think the zones and storage solutions, but don’t buy new storage solutions yet.

Keep like with like (as always) and put everything where it belongs.

Take everything out.

Give the closet / shelves / containers a quick clean.

Declutter by asking the question: ‘Does it spark joy?’ and make piles according to your decision (keep, donate, sell, hand down, put in rubbish bin).

Again, re-think the zones in your wardrobe and possible subdivisions for the smaller garments. If you need new dividers or containers, improvise with what you have at home and buy new storage solutions later. If you need some inspiration, check this out on Pinterest!

Fold everything neatly and enjoy the new look (for the Marie Kondo fans: check out this video)!

Take out all garments listed below from your wardrobe or wherever they are stored in the house. Throw it all on one pile. This is important so you can see how much exactly you have of each category.

– Tops (t-shirts, blouses, shirts, tank tops)
– Bottoms (long and short pants, leggings)
– Skirts
– Dresses
– Costumes / evening wear

Give the closet / shelves a quick clean.

Working through the sub-categories, take each piece in your hands and ask yourself this one question: ‘Does it spark joy?’ (read more about this method in this blog post). If this question doesn’t do it for you, click here to download and use my Wardrobe Detox Flowchart.

If it passes the test, it goes on the ‘keep’ pile. If not, decide here and now what to do with it – donate, sell, hand down, put in rubbish bin?

Before you put the ‘keepers’ back into the wardrobe, re-think your zones. Is it all going back to where it was or do you want to re-arrange things? Don’t forget to give the most accessible space to the garments you wear most often.

Put everything back neatly and enjoy the new look!

If you want to donate it all – where will you take it? Or do you need someone to pick it up? If you are not a regular donor, think about a charity or cause you’d like to support and find their addresses and conditions. If you’re Melbourne based, you might find this list helpful.

If you want to sell it – check out the options, e.g. local Facebook Buy Swap and Sell groups, Gumtree, ebay, or think about commissioning someone to do the work for you. You’ll get less money but hey, your time is valuable, too!

If you want to pass it on to someone else – think about who might be interested.

Have a good look at your wardrobe, just look and feel.

Take one or several before photos.

Grab a piece of paper and a pen and brainstorm thoughts about how you want your wardrobe to look, feel and even smell like. What should it do for you? Look nice, enable you to easily choose matching clothes quickly in the morning, etc.?

Summarise your thoughts in one or two sentences. Word it positively and keep it short and simple.

Not ideal as a vision: I don’t want a floordrobe anymore. Better: My wardrobe enables me to quickly choose matching clothes in the morning.

Put that piece of paper on your wardrobe door and let it sink in.