Those who already know me well, will know that I like to have an organised space and love a de-clutter. I do believe in tidy space, tidy mind - which I know conflicts with my creative side, but I guess there has to be an organised creative amongst us! I have even been known to help others with their sorting too - its like I have a compulsion to sort! This picture definitely represents my food cupboard!
I thought it would be a good idea to share a few of my tips for having a good old declutter as the weather is getting warmer and that means that we always like to have a sort out of all the winter clothes, so that we can make room for next year! I know there have been a few of these posts around on blogs from Mrs Thrifty and Without Dash, but I think there is always room for my little clean-up operation!
Some people - who have much more space than my rented flat can spare - can put away all their winter clothes and get all their spring/summer clothes about now. I am afraid I am all about the layering up in winter and keeping it simple in summer and so my wardrobe just has the same stuff in it all the time mostly.
Now for the fun part. I always do a declutter in stages as I feel that if you have to be ruthless it can only be for a short time, otherwise your resolve tends to fade. I have split up some stages so that you can use them as a guide, but by no means is this how it definitely should be done.
Wardrobe
- Firstly, drag out all the winter clothes as these (hopefully) are not going to be needed till next year now so what's the point in them lounging in your wardrobe when they could be gone. Some of the following will apply to these items.
- Anything that is too short in the body or sleeves needs to just go as who needs clothes that don't fit.
- Items that when you put them on, your just not sure you really like them - they should go, because your never really going to like them.
- Anything with holes in it or that has faded to within an inch of itself should either go or be relegated to the sleepwear pile. I have plenty of old t-shirts to sleep in, so a cull of these every now and then needs to happen too.
- Things which haven't been worn this winter or the last really should go too, unless of course they are classics - but then if you haven't worn them for a while, will you ever wear them?
- You can even go through your underwear drawer - anything that doesn't fit anymore as you may have lost weight! yey, or perhaps just things that have lingered in the drawer a bit too long!
You can then go through all your other clothes and see if there is anything else that fits the above criteria, as we all know we are going to buy more clothes for spring/summer, so why not make a little extra room. There may well be things you loved last year, but are now, well just not really working for you.
Jewellery
- I love my jewellery and being allergic to Nickel means that its either real silver or plastic/wood in my stash as even the nickel-free stuff doesn't cut it. So I buy fashion jewellery and then change the ear posts to sterling silver - easy!
- When I was first getting into wearing colour, I used to buy lots of colourful dangly earrings to get my colour fix. I don't tend to wear them very much now and so I thought it was time for a bit of a cull.
- This is always the toughest part of decluttering for me as they are small bits, I always have that 'what if I need it' phrase ringing around in my head.
- I start with pulling everything out and working out when I last wore them and whether they are something special I should keep - presents etc.
- Then, the rest must go as they say - but I have a plan for them, so hang on to them for now!
Bags
- For this, I get to use Sammy as a proper example. She has ALOT of bags and a cull was definitely needed as they couldn't even fit into a cupboard anymore. (The pic is some of my stash)
- We all like to have bags for different occasions, but after a while you just can't see them for the amount you have and then you just use the ones you have most recently bought.
- Sort them out into colours or types of bag, clutch, shoulder bags, satchel etc.
- Then go through and see what you haven't used for a while, can you actually fit everything you need into it or is it broken?
- You can then start to get rid of those other bags that are pretty similar to each other, I mean how many black clutch bags does one girl need!?
- You can keep the presents or special ones as sometimes having a bag that is tied to many memories is just what you need.
Phew, after all that you will probably need a good cup of tea and a slice of cake - well, why not!
If your really feeling brave, you could even start on your shoe cupboard - all rules apply!
Check out Part Two next Thursday for ideas of what to do with all this clutter you have sorted through. Don't miss it!
H
P.S. If you feel you need a bit more help, I can always come around! ha, ha
