January has long gone, and with it many of our resolutions have fallen by the wayside. But fear not, spring is just around the corner and this nearly-here new season is perfect for making amends. Now’s the perfect time to embark on a wardrobe detox, and we have plenty of top tips from Marcella Caricasole, a fully trained member of the Association of Professional Declutters & Organisers (apdo.co.uk). Featured in The Sunday Times Style (26 January), she explains the psychology of decluttering: Women often feel the urge to declutter as a way of dealing with grief, divorce or menopause. (We’re guessing that the triggers of grief, divorce and mid-life changes also apply to men!). Her approach to a wardrobe is simple, with four clear goals to be achieved by the end of the purge:
• I’m going to hang the clothes I love and wear on the rail.
• I’m going to ditch the things I never wear or have no emotional connection to and donate them to a charity shop.
• I’m going to make a pile of clothes I’m unsure of, then reshop my wardrobe to see if I would buy them again.
• I’m going to set aside any expensive designer pieces for a house sale, with a donation going to charity.
As part of the detox she proposes a shifting approach to spending by changing our shopping habits. She suggests creating a budget spreadsheet with monthly outgoings, including how much you spend on clothes. Keep a note of this budget in your wallet or phone, and before each purchase ask yourself Do I need this? Do I have a similar one already . By applying a one-in one-out rule it should reduce the frequency of how much you shop.
Her approach is mindful of the emotion of letting go of clothes you love – those trousers that only fit when you’re lighter; the dress that you think makes you look like someone you admire – our identities are entangled in what we wear, explains the article writer Stacey Duguid. So Caricasole’s approach to a wardrobe detox follows these simple steps:
• Pile plastic hangers neatly ready for recycling.
• Bag metal hangers ready to hand back to the dry cleaner.
• Rehang the clothes that are going back into your wardrobe and hang them with the hooks turned the opposite way to normal (so that once you’ve worn the item you can turn it the usual way round. Over time this will give you an instant visual clue as to what you’ve worn and what you never wear)
• Fold t-shirts and arrange them vertically in your drawer to maximise space.
• Temporarily store summer clothes on a shelf.
• Hang clothes by category or colour code – whatever works best for you.
• Create a bag of clothes for the charity shop.
• Invite friends over to take anything they want.
• Use environmentally friendly cedarwood mothballs to protect your knits.
Futon Company says: Simple! What a user-friendly and inspiring approach to clearing the clutter from your wardrobe. Another thing we’ve found helpful (especially where space is limited) is to utilise hanging storage that zones your clothes and accessories – think designated sweater storage or a tie hanger. Happy detox-ing!
