Your WARDROBE

We’re heading back to the bedroom for day five to tackle your wardrobe. First, are you a seasonal dresser or do your outfits work all year round (the answer will see you packing away garments or not)? We tend to keep clothes for lots of reasons, which often sees certain items forgotten about in an overstuffed wardrobe.

1

EMPTY IT ALL OUT

This is one where you need to bring everything out of your wardrobe, piling up on the bed. Sometimes the realisation that you have too many pairs of jeans/black jumpers/pyjamas is enough to spur you on to edit your wardrobe. 2

BE BRAVE

Start culling – if you haven’t worn it in the past three years, then it’s time to move it on. Your wardrobe needs to look great, with neatly hung or folded clothes, and make you look fabulous too, with things that fit, you love and suit your lifestyle today. 3

THE THREE-PILE METHOD ‘Keep’, ‘throw’, ‘maybe’. The ‘maybe’ pile is for those things you have a hard time deciding upon – put these items in a bag and store for six months (or up to a year if seasonal), and if you haven’t looked for them in that time, say goodbye to them. The ‘throw’ pile needs to be sorted into ‘charity shop’, ‘items you can sell’ and those that ‘can be recycled’ at the tip. 4 REMEMBER ACCESSORIES

If you’ve given away the dress that a particular pair of shoes goes with, ask yourself if you need to keep them. Try to store like with like, rolling scarves to save space, and pairing shoes in their original boxes. 5

MAKE A PLAN

Whether you go for a ‘one in, one out’, a monthly mini edit, or making a list of what you need to complete your wardrobe for the next year, make sure you can deal with anything new, without overfilling your wardrobe.

UTILISE SPACE UP TOP Make the most of your wardrobe’s height – hanging rails for tops should be at least 1m apart, which might allow space for a shelf. Shaker dressing room, from £2,000, sharps.co.uk

MIX ‘N’ MATCH Use a modular system to create a walk-in wardrobe, with a mix of drawers and hanging space. Novamobili Ben walk-inwardrobe, price on request, gomodern.co.uk >>

BOXING CLEVER Store seasonal clothes in lidded plastic tubs, which can be stacked under hanging rails or piled on open shelving. ORTHEX Smartstore Classic storage, from £7.75, johnlewis.com