How to organise your wardrobe

Take a minute to consider a wardrobe that is completely uncluttered and orderly. Imagine opening your closet each day knowing exactly where everything is neatly stored, making the process of choosing what to wear that morning a pleasure, instead of something you dread. Believe it or not, this image of pure bliss need not remain a pipe dream. In fact, it’s easily achieved.

If the inside of your wardrobe could do with a bit of a spruce up, here are some helpful pointers to organise your closet space, find room for all of your essential handbags and accessories, and make sure your bed sheets are folded and stored to perfection.

How to organise your wardrobe by colour 

Organising your wardrobe by colour has a multitude of benefits. From saving time when you’re getting ready for the day ahead to simply giving your closet a professional boutique look, this form of apparel categorisation is certainly something to consider when your wardrobe is in need of a major tidy.

There are also financial and creative advantages to arranging your wardrobe this way. A well-ordered, colour-based closet system can prevent the same, or very similar, items from being repurchased, thanks to your existing apparel becoming more visible and much easier to manage. With groups of colours banded together, it also becomes effortless to experiment with the clothes and accessories in your collection, with different combinations and ensembles all of a sudden far more identifiable.

To get started with organising your wardrobe by colour, there are a handful of simple steps you can follow:

-       Start by emptying your wardrobe and sorting your clothes and accessories into specific types: T-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, jackets, etc. This allows you to lay everything out and see what you have. At this stage, you can also make a pile of items you no longer want and these can be given away. This will help to declutter.  

-       Next, within your item-specific groups, start creating smaller sub-groups by colour. Group all red items together, light and dark, and then repeat for all item groups, and so on.   

-       Once each item group has been separated into different colours, a colour coding method needs to be selected. This can either be done from light to dark - starting with white items and gradually making your way to the darker colours - or through the use of the rainbow method - starting with your red items and working your way through each shade of orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. While your coding choice ultimately comes down to personal preference, the rainbow method is most commonly used, as the greater contrast between different groups makes the system quick and simple to apply.    

-       Remember, for any patterned items or multi-coloured designs, you can simply find the correct group by determining the dominant colour of the item. For more tricky items, a special section of your wardrobe can be created to house patterns, prints and stripes.  

-       Finally, it’s important to be adaptable and willing to experiment. Getting used to a wardrobe organised by colour may take some getting used to and there are no set rules to abide by. Simply decide which method of colour coding works for you and then start reaping the long term advantages.

How to organise handbags in your wardrobe

Whether you have a large collection of handbags, purses, and clutches or just a small roster of trusty bags used on a day-to-day basis, discovering how and where to store your collection can be a little tricky. Unlike the majority of your clothes, handbags can be bulky and sometimes need to be handled with extra care. This makes finding a good storage system in your wardrobe a necessity.

If you are lucky enough to have a spacious storage area inside your wardrobe specifically designated for your collection of handbags, shelf dividers are a simple and inexpensive way to organise them. These dividers sit on a shelf, ensuring your handbags are easily accessible, while also allowing them to be separated according to your own preference. A similar organisational system can also be achieved through the use of mounted hooks on the inside of your wardrobe door or the back wall of your closet.  

If space is at a premium in your closet, inner-wardrobe storage boxes and trays and are the best option for storing your handbags. With plenty of models available in a selection of colours and decorative patterns, something as simple as a plastic or wooden container is ideal for storing larger numbers of bags you don’t use often, but want to keep protected. Storage boxes allow you to arrange your collection of handbags using an array of different systems. Whether it be in groups based on specific styles or brands, colours or sizes, this space-saving pointer allows you to store your handbags in an orderly way, while at the same time making use of all available wardrobe space.

How to fold bed sheets

If your wardrobe also houses your family’s bed sheets and linen, knowing how to correctly fold and store these items is essential in creating and maintaining an organised wardrobe. Here are the steps you need to follow to ensure your bedding doesn’t become the downfall of your freshly organised closet:  

-       Fold your freshly ironed base sheet in half - if it is a fitted sheet ensure the top side is facing outwards and the elastic corners are tucked inside each other. 

-       Fold the base sheet in half again, once again tucking the elastic corners inside each other, before laying the folded sheet out on a flat surface, leaving it in a compact and neat rectangle.

-       Fold the sheet into thirds, lengthways, ensuring there are no exposed edges. 

-       Repeat the above for your duvet cover, until both sheets roughly mirror one another in shape and size, and then stack the duvet cover on top of the base sheet. 

-       Finally, fold your pillowcases into thirds, lengthways, and wrap across the stacked sheets.

Once your sheets are neatly folded and stacked, they are ready to be stored orderly in your freshly organised wardrobe.

Remember, a neat and tidy home is the key to a stress-free life, and this can start with a well organised wardrobe. If you stick to a specific system and are prepared to keep on top of maintaining your freshly rearranged storage space, you’re already halfway there.