From: MR PORTER The Journal - Sunday Mar 29, 2020 02:00 pm
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If there was ever a time to get your closet in order, it’s now. Read more style news at MR PORTER’s The Journal...
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10 Steps To A Perfectly Organised Wardrobe
Words by Mr Dan Rookwood
Minimalism might be the smug Instagram ideal, but the reality for most people – those of us who like buying clothes anyway – is a wardrobe and cupboards that are over-stuffed at best and a precariously balanced landslide-in-waiting at worst.

If it’s a struggle to prise a hanger from the rail or a sweater from the shelf and doing so brings with it the garments either side, then you’re suffering from stuffocation and everything will end up looking creased. And all those items hidden away in the dark recesses? You never wear them. You’ve probably forgotten you even own them.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Clear away the clutter and you’ll be able to access all areas. Not only will that remove some low-level stress from your life, but you will open up exponentially more outfit possibilities, rediscover some old favourites and breathe new life into your everyday look.

And yes, OK, we will admit to having an ulterior motive. Because oh look, you can suddenly fit in more clothes. Turns out we can help with that, too.
 
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Japan, it seems, sets the gold standard for wardrobe neatness. Japanese life guru Ms Marie Kondo literally wrote the book on it. Her much-parodied bestseller The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying is a bit wordy, but one of the main takeaways will revolutionise how you organise your drawers. Instead of laying things flat in the drawer, you stand everything up on end like book spines on a shelf so that you are presented with a panoptical view of the contents rather than having to rummage to get beyond the top layer. This works for everything from boxer shorts to T-shirts (once you have first folded them as above) to knitwear. Instead of balling your socks, you lay them flat together in a pair, fold in half, then stand on end. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s a great way of keeping things neat and surfacing more of what you own.
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In a recent You Asked column, we explained how to conduct a wardrobe audit by playing a ruthless game of Yes/No/Maybe. Many people with limited storage space perform a wardrobe switcheroo in spring and autumn as the seasons change. These are the ideal times to purge. Remove each item in turn and ask yourself: “Have I worn this in the past year?” If yes, it goes in the Yes pile on your bed. If no, it goes in the No pile, straight into a black bin bag to be taken to a charity shop. (I allow my brothers and close friends to have a sift through first.) However, if the answer is no because you forgot you even had it, then it can go in a Maybe pile. (Part of the joy of this exercise is rediscovering some lost pieces.) If there are items that you really cannot quite bear to part with, they can also go in the Maybe pile. But you need to be ruthless. If it doesn’t fit, get rid. You might think you will miss it, but trust us, you won’t.
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