insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 15 - May 2016 | Page 70

SPRINGCLEANING
SPRING CLEAN YOUR WARDROBE cont.
perspective about how many items of clothing
you own and have been hanging onto. Use this
insightful moment to fuel your desire to pare
down your wardrobe for the new season.
Let the sorting commence
Go through each item and decide whether or not
you want to keep it. The Everygirl has a great
article (http://theeverygirl.com/7-questions-toask-when-cleaning-out-your-closet) asking seven
essential and very valid questions regarding each
article of clothing that you own. If you following
this checklist, you will discover that you have no
real reason to hang onto many things that you
were previously convinced that you should.
If you have less time or more stuff to sort through,
you might want a speedier technique than
categorising your belongings into yes or no piles.
For everyday items, the 12-month rule – quite
literally, if you haven’t worn an item in the last 12
months, chuck it; it is extremely effective at sorting
your essentials from your non-essentials. This
rule isn’t really applicable for seasonal wear or
outfits worn for special occasions, but it will give
you the quick answer you are looking for when
it comes to all-year clothes like T-shirts, skirts,
blouses, jeans, and the like.

You don’t have to be completely ruthless when
it comes to your winter clothing – it does come
around again every 12 months after all. You are
well within your rights to keep a few jumpers or
other cold weather items, but everything that you
choose to keep will return to your wardrobe, so
be mindful of how much space you can allow for
carryovers.

Get organised
A winter wardrobe sorting is the perfect time to
put in place a new regime of organisation. Your
clothes might have left your cupboard in one
gigantic avalanche of wool and denim, but there
is no good reason why it needs to return in the
same manner. You may be tempted just to stuff
everything that you’ve decided to keep back in,
especially after the emotional wringer that you’ve
just been through when sorting them, but now
is the ideal opportunity to instil some order to
your clothing chaos.
If you don’t have any at hand, make an investment
in some super slim hangers that will not only
keep your garments nice and crease-free, but
they will also take up less space than their chunkier
cousins. This will allow you to either keep more

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of your favourite clothing or give you more space
to store your new spring purchases.

Sell, donate, or chuck?
When the dust has settled and you’ve cried your
share of tears for your departing clothing, you
should look to sort your unwanted clothing into
three piles: sell, donate, and chuck. This trinity
of categories is the time-tested technique for
working out just where your outgoing items are
going to end up, and there is a knack to choosing
which pile your things belong in.
If you have clothes that are relatively new or
unworn, and are in a resalable condition, you can
go ahead and list them on eBay. You might not
get much for them, but every penny you earn
can go towards funding your new spring
wardrobe.
Clothing that is in decent condition, but probably
wouldn’t earn you much of a return can be
donated to charity. Organisations like Oxfam and
the British Heart Foundation are always looking
for clothes donations, and often offer free pickup services to make things easier for you.