Is your wardrobe/closet a mess? Do feel like you have nothing to wear, despite having lots of clothes? It's a good idea to set aside some time to go through your wardrobe and organise your clothes at least twice a year. The end result is more space, less clutter and a more manageable wardrobe.  Here's the steps to an organised wardrobe:
 
1. Take all your clothes and place them on the bed or somewhere else convenient- you'll probably be surprised by how much you've got!
 
2.  Go through each item and ask yourself some important questions:
- Will I ever wear this?
- Does it even fit me?
- Have I worn it in the past year?
- Is it free of stains and tears?
- Do I like it?
  
If the answer is no, then you need to let go of it. You should feel comfortable and attractive in every item that you decide to keep, if an item just isn't working for you then it has to go.
3.  You'll need to sort your clothes into a few different piles:
- Keepers: clothes that are going back into the wardrobe, things that you wear often, look good on you and are ready to wear.
- Charity: clothes that you can give away to friends or charity shops.  They must be in good condition, if not, they are throwaways.
- Sell/ return: clothes that still have the tags attached and can be returned or exchanged and clothes that are of a particular quality that can be sold online or to a consignment store.
- Throwaways: items that are worn out, stained or just plain hideous.
 
4. Once you  have completed steps 1-3, here are some simple tips for organising your wardrobe:
- Group like items together.
- Jeans and skirts can either be hung up or folded and placed on shelves.
- Jumpers/sweaters should never be hung less they become misshapen.
- T-shirts can be folded and placed in drawers or on shelves.
- Don't use wire hangers, they can corrode in humid environments and ruin clothes.
- Protect dresses and suits by hanging them in canvas bags. Plastic dry-cleaning bags hold the chemicals in which is bad for your health and causes the clothing to discolour.  Take the bags off as soon as you get your dry-cleaning home, hang outdoors if possible, to allow the chemicals to release.
- Scarves can be placed in a drawer or hung on a scarf hanger.
- Use drawer organisers to arrange your socks and underwear.
- Shoes can be stored on the floor, on shoe shelves or in canvas pockets that hang on the back of a door.
- There are many different ways to store jewellery- one simple thing to do is use Scotch 3M hooks on the back of a door or inside the wardrobe/closet to hang necklaces on.
- Use clear plastic containers to store out of season clothing.  Include cedar balls in the containers.
- Label the ends of your shelves so you can put items away easier.  If you have a housekeeper who speaks another language, put the labels in their language as well.
- If you are based in Sydney or another humid area, consider using Damp Rid to protect your clothes from moisture and prevent mould.
 
5. There are so many products available that will help you organize your wardrobe better. Target, Kmart and dollar stores are great places to find simple items and Howards Storage World in Australia and The Container Store in the USA have many products for organising specific items. Take a look at our shop for organising products.
 
6. Don't forget to bring the donations to the charity drop off!
 
Children's wardrobes are a whole different matter- we'll tackle them another time!