No two wardrobes are the same – especially in how they’re organised. You might have everything colour-coded or perhaps your shoes are stacked on a rack or maybe everything is just bunged in (no judgement). We organise our wardrobe based on what works for us.
But is there a wrong way to store your clothes? Professional organisers certainly think so! In fact, we spoke to five experts to stress the biggest mistakes likely to cause mustiness, wear and tear, clothes moths and clutter. Here’s what not to do.
1. Failing to switch seasons
While switching your clothes from summer to winter and vice versa does mean moving things in and out of storage, it’s well worth it. It means only the most relevant clothes are stored and easily accessible, but more importantly, it’s saving space.
According to Lynda Wylie, professional organiser from Tidy Rooms: ‘Having room to manoeuvre your clothes comfortably along a rail allows air flow to help prevent moths and dust, space to see what you are looking for and room to return clothes after wear and washing. Out-of-season items can be packed away in labelled storage until it’s time for them to come out again. Plus, the switch-over is a fantastic opportunity to declutter items you no longer enjoy or fit into.’
You’ll need to wash and dry clothes thoroughly before storage to prevent musty smells when the time comes to take them out again. It’s also best to opt for fabric containers that are breathable, but moth-proof.
2. Overloading
Even if you organise your clothes by season, you’re still likely to overload the wardrobe – especially if you love buying new clothes but rarely declutter. But overloading this space will take its toll on your clothes and your mood.
Vicky Silverthorn, professional organiser at You Need a Vicky, points out: ‘If you have to fight with your clothes each morning, the experience of getting ready isn’t enjoyable. Overloading and cramming means you have more items than your space can hold and it’s time to reassess and declutter. There is only so much you can actually wear!’
An overcrowded wardrobe also encourages clothes moths – they love a dark and warm environment with plenty of hiding spaces. And mould (and a smelly wardrobe) is more likely with a lack of ventilation, so decluttering regularly is key.
Juliet Landau-Pope, productivity coach and author of What’s Your Excuse For Not Clearing Your Clutter?, agrees that: ‘Reviewing and reducing the contents of any wardrobe should be a routine, not just an occasional project. Adding new clothes into a wardrobe without systematically sorting and selecting what to keep and what to let go will inevitably lead to clutter. Put simply, it’s impossible to get organised when you have too much stuff.’
Creating piles to keep, donate, sell or recycle is a go-to way to organise clothes. If you get stuck, ask yourself: when you last wore it, why you haven’t worn it since and would someone else get more use out of it?
3. Hanging what should be folded
Your clothes rail shouldn’t hold your entire wardrobe. In fact, many items don’t belong on it, according to Helen Sanderson, The Clutter Therapist and author of The Secret Life Of Clutter:
‘Knitwear is the biggest culprit. Hang a heavy jumper for long enough and the weight pulls it out of shape, leaving you with stretched shoulders and a distorted hem that no amount of washing will fix. T-shirts, jeans and casual basics are often better off folded in drawers or boxes, too. It frees up significant rail space for the pieces that genuinely need to hang, and those clothes will last considerably longer for it.’
Drawer dividers are handy for keeping your piles neat and separated, while organised compartments can help to contain smaller items, such as socks and belts.
4. Mixing hangers
Using a range of hangers might not seem like a big deal, but it can impact the efficiency of your clothes rail and make things look messy.
Lynda continues: ‘Using the same hanger style in a wardrobe can be very aesthetically pleasing and restful on the eye – you see the clothing rather than the array of hangers as you wrestle to find what you are looking for. Velvet hangers have long been my favourite because of their flexibility to suit most items. Plus, their uniformity ensures efficient use of the space available.’
Velvet hangers are ideal for the wardrobe because they take up less space and offer better grip than conventional plastic hangers. They also look better outright so it’s worth the switch. Keep wooden hangers for any heavyweight items though, like your winter coats.
Lynda says: ‘If you’re letting go of hangers, metal ones will usually be taken in by a friendly dry cleaner, while charity shops often accept unwanted wooden ones. Plastic hangers are a little more tricky to find homes for, but you may find a larger local retailer will take them for recycling.’
Plastic hangers are just one of the 10 things to chuck from your wardrobe.
5. Keeping clothes from a past life
We’re often holding on to clothes because of what they once meant to us. But these clothes heavily contribute to the clutter and weigh on our minds, as Helen explains:
‘A surprising amount of wardrobe clutter has nothing to do with clothes and everything to do with identity, who you were or who you want to be. The corporate suits from a job you left a decade ago. The jeans from ten years and two sizes back. The going-out dresses from a version of your life that no longer exists. It’s worth being honest with yourself: if that day comes, you’ll almost certainly want something new anyway.
‘We hold on to these things because letting go feels like admitting something, and that can be genuinely hard. But keeping clothes that belong to a past version of yourself takes up physical space and, in a quieter way, mental space, too. Every time you open the wardrobe and see them, they’re a reminder of who you were rather than who you are. Clearing them out isn’t a loss; it’s making room for the life you’re actually living now.’
Consider what clothes fit into this category and come to terms with your feelings before you declutter them. You can always remove them from your wardrobe temporarily and then see how the space makes you feel, as an experiment.
6. Leaving things in there you shouldn’t
There might not be a lot of ‘traditional clutter’ in your wardrobe, but a few things are likely stored in there that shouldn’t be! Shoe boxes for one.
Emma Kenwrick-Meehan, professional organiser and home stylist from Home Nip & Tuck says: ‘Stacking shoe boxes might seem like a good use of space, but it often makes shoes harder to access and easier to forget about. I regularly see people keeping shoes they never wear simply because they are hidden away in boxes. Many shoe boxes are also quite flimsy, so stacks become crushed, unstable and difficult to manage over time.’
She goes on to say dry-cleaning covers are a no-go, too: ‘It feels like it is protecting the garment, but over time, plastic can trap moisture and restrict airflow. Clothes generally store better when they can breathe.’ And your wardrobe should not be used as a long-term storage solution either: ‘Suitcases, paperwork, gifts, old technology and household overflow often end up squeezed into wardrobes, making it harder to see and use the clothes that are actually worn.’
The fix for this is making sure your wardrobe is decluttered routinely, as Juliet says, with every item serving a purpose without restricting access. For instance, if you want to keep shoes protected, switch from shoe boxes to transparent shoe containers which are accessible from the front. That way, you can see your shoes and readily get to them – plus, they’re still stacked!
7. Not washing away deodorant
It’s easy to put ‘worn once’ clothes back in the wardrobe, especially if they’re delicate items which require specialist cleaning. But leaving traces of deodorant on your clothes can encourage unwanted guests.
Lynda says: ‘Some people worry about putting lightly worn clothes back into their wardrobe in case they invite moths. This can lead to floordrobes and chairs cluttered with ‘still one more wear left in them’ items. For some, a simple hook on the back of the bedroom door can suffice to hang these items until they are ready for the laundry basket. For others, regular hoovering and decluttering as well as sticky moth papers in the wardrobe can deter these hungry pests.’
Clothes moths are attracted to any residue left behind on your clothes, be it spills, stains or deodorant. It provides a food source for their hungry larvae, so they’re more likely to set up shop nearby and lay some eggs.
As well as keeping your clothes clean, there’s a couple of moth deterrents you can invest in to keep them at bay. Cedar rings are always a welcome addition to the wardrobe, as are lavender sachets. You can also spritz your clothes with a moth deterrent spray if needed. Above all, keep the space clean, open and aired (with no humidity), and protect natural fibres that are liable to become a meal with garment bags, such as silk and cashmere.
Wardrobe declutter kit
