Tips for a clothes de clutter

[ineedsomeinspiration]

I'm am fed up of having a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear. I need some help to reorganise and get rid of some.

A lot are too small and don't fit (haven't since I fell pregnant 2010), and I just look in there and get confused and baffled. Hanging on to this old stuff has served no purpose in helping me lose weight other than to make me fed up.

There's other stuff that's in there that must be at least ten years old if not older that I haven't been able to get rid of despite never wearing, surely one day I'll need a red polo neck jumper!

I'm going to tackle it today can someone give me some tips or rules to make me a bit ruthless and streamline it please?

Why are things like jeans that don't fit in your keep pile? Get rid of anything you wouldn't buy now - you def wouldn't buy anything too big/small so get rid!

What hippo said - you are aiming for a functional wardrobe full of things you can wear and want to wear.

have a read of the threads about Marie Kondo and the magic of tidying. lots of declutter tips about what to keep and why.

It's worth it in my opinion to separate seasons anyway. For me in the UK this roughly translates to "can I wear this with sandals/bare legs?" Sadly the season for bare legs is short and I get bored with my winter clothes from wearing them so much longer

No point cluttering up your wardrobe with summer dresses in winter - you need to simplify or streamline your wardrobe to make it as easy as possible to get dressed in the morning.

Getting my colours done was money well spent IMO. Makes shopping quicker and easier, most of my clothes coordinate with each other, and I wear only the colours that suit me. I have fewer clothes than ever, yet more to wear, ironically.

Ok I have got rid of too small jeans and a pair if trousers. Everything fits and is in good condition but still looking very full.

I have got rid of quite a lot.

I have still in there,
4 evening tops,
12 jumpers,
4 cardigans,
4shrugs,
Denim jacket,
Long wool coat,
Short smart black jacket,
Short grey everyday coat,
Dog walking coat,
3wooly scarfs,
4 hats,
2evening wraps,
2party/evening dresses,
1 black work dress,
1cream work dress,
2 smart dresses (could be worn out to lunch/dinner etc),
4 casual dresses,
2 long jumper type dresses,
8 vest tops,
9 t shirts/tops some smart some casual,
1 wedding skirt,
1 black evening skirt,
1 black day time skirt,
1 tartan skirt,
1dark red pencil skirt,
1 short denim skirt,
1 grey work skirt,
1 black harem pants,
1 purple jeggings,
1 grey slim fit trousers,
1 grey wide leg trousers,
1 black work trousers,
2 jogging bottoms,
1 exercise t shirt,
1 brown bag,
1 purple bag,
1 cream bag,
1 floral bag,
3 evening bags.

It's too much but I don't know where to go from here. There's a lot of work stuff and I only do 3 days a week.

out of your list, what did you actually wear in the past year?

and is there anything in there that doesn't actually form part of an outfit?

and do wide fit pants, slim fit, harem pants all suit you or should they belong to 3 different shaped people?

no to tartan skirt. remind me of the summer job in a scottish shortbread shop.

looking at what is in your wardrobe there seems to be a mix of colour palettes. i know we keep banging on about it, but find out what colour paletter suits you.

A couple of very warm jumpers, the wedding skirt, one of the evening dresses, a couple of the evening tops, some of the shrugs, one of the evening wraps.
I have deployed the hanger system someone earlier suggested so I can reassess I a month or so but would have liked to have got rid of more. Maybe I ought to think of today as stage one.
Nothing else in my life is this cluttered. I still have to tackle my shoes and underwear!

I like my tartan skirt :(.
The slimmer trousers I think suit me better although I'm not sure. I look nice in red, emerald greens, golds I seem to own a lot of brown and grey.

Could you eBay the stuff that doesn't fit but feels a waste to just chuck?

When I have a twice yearly chuck out, I tend to have three piles = Keep, Charity, eBay.

Keeps things manageable and I don't feel as guilty if I manage to get some money back.

I am attempting to get my online shopping addiction under control though.

Marie Kondo yourself. She is v amusing but I like her thinking.

Pick up each thing and ask "does it bring you joy?"

If the answer is "yes, I look great in it" or "yes these are really comfy for work" or "yes, it's a beautiful thing" then keep

If the answer is these are perfectly good trousers but they don't make me happy, or this is a nice dress but it doesn't fit - bin them.

I did find a pair of glasses I thought I'd lost! Off to walk the dog in the rain so will Google Marie Kondo when I'm back. I struggle with the coordinating outfits bit I think. I know what I like and what fits but can't look at it in a what goes together way. Also I don't really think I look fab in anything tbh.

I also like the Marie Kondo idea of getting everything out first, so you're making a positive decision about what to keep and put back, rather than what to take out and throw away.

Yes, take a look at the kondo thread. Though 'joy' seems an extreme emotion, 'like' it and it's functional and useful suits me better. Also, do not deceive yourself that you will wear something in the future, not having touched for years.

Will have a good read of the thread now as I need to do the same. I'm a skirts/dresses person and have approx 30 skirts at quick glance.

I think you should keep the tartan skirt if you love it. My friend looks fab in tartan, but I just can't carry it off. I know my wardrobe needs sorting desperately, there are dresses in there that I will never wear again! Well done for getting started

I was left with 17 cardigans in lovely colors that suited me and not much else.

although the main reason I was able to get rid of stuff was because of weight loss and cardigans kind of work in too big sizes (sometimes).

Definitely put out of season stuff away. Then you can just see things you will wear now. There is the fun of taking out spring or summer clothes later and having a change around. Also, make a list of any gaps in your wardrobe.

I like clothes that work hard and are versatile, so I don't have loads but lots of things work together.

I found a style day really helpful, it just consolidated what I knew and helped me pare things down.

Well it's good you have plenty of things you like to choose from!

Can I suggest looking at project 333? You choose 33 items of clothing (& accessories if you're feeling brave) and wear only these for 3 months. It sounds very restrictive, but really makes you think about what goes with what and which clothes you really like.
I've been doing this for 6 months and love having a wardrobe of outfits that fit together as (generally) everything goes with everything.

One way of approaching this could be reviewing your colours eg my basic neutral colours are brown, beige & black, with accent colours of deep red, purple and teal. My wardrobe generally focuses around these colours.

If you sort out 33 items and put away the rest, it will give you a real idea for the things you really like and want to wear.