Mornings when you're a mum can feel so rushed - you're finding someone's missing shoe, packing all the lunches, getting the kids ready, all while trying to get yourself dressed.. honestly most days just finding a clean, dry outfit for yourself can be a mission!
An organised wardrobe won't fix everything, but it will give you one less thing to think about. When everything is where it's meant to be and it's easy to grab clothes that look & feel good, you can be ready in minutes and feel much calmer & put together - and for me that has a flow on effect for the rest of the day.
It helps in the long term too - you can see what you own, so you don't accidentally by doubles of anything. You can say yes to a last-minute coffee invite without stressing about having nothing to wear. Your bedroom becomes a calm space to relax in, rather than a place with piles of clothes thrown about, waiting to be put away again.
An organised wardrobe means less overwhelm and reduces your mental load, and getting it organised doesn't have to be a huge job. You're not looking to create a Pinterest perfect wardrobe, you're just making your everyday life easier by setting up in a way that helps you flow through the "getting ready" party of your day.
Here's how to do it in five simple steps:
Step 1. Choose a section.
We're not doing one massive job that takes all day. We're doing one small section at at time, whenever we have 15 minutes available. Step by step, getting more organised over time so it's not another big thing on your to do list.
Step 2. Empty the section,
I like to take everything out and dump it all (gently) on the bed so I can see everything at a glance.
Step 3. Sort into four piles.
Keep, donate, sell, bin. Keep what works for you now, what you've worn or used in the last 12 months, and what makes you feel good whenever you wear it, use it or look at it.
Step 4. Give everything a proper home, grouping like items together.
This will be different depending on your wardrobe set up. A few examples from my wardrobe:
- For clothes, I have one short hanging space and one large one. In the short space I keep tops and shorts and I group them by colour. In the long space I keep pants, skirts, dresses, coats & robes, and I group them by type (jeans together, dresses together, etc).
- Jewellery goes into one of two spots - things I wear every day go into a little trinket dish so I can grab them and put them away quickly & easily. Other jewellery lives in my stacked jewellery organiser and I just open it for special occasions.
- Shoes are in a separate shoe cabinet like this one so I don't worry about getting dirt on my clothes or wardrobe floor.
I have space for all seasons in my wardrobe at the same time, but if you don't, pack your out of season clothes into packing cubes and put them in your suitcase so they don't clog up your space - it makes it so much easier to find clothes you want to wear fast and put them away again quickly.
Step 5. Set a few simple rule to manage it going forward.
My favourites are:
- One in, one out - if I buy something new, something gets donated.
- I keep a donation bag in the wardrobe, pop things straight in as I decide to donate them, and when it's full it goes into the boot of my car, ready for drop off when I drive past a donation bin (although this is changing as I've just discovered WhatNot).
- Whenever I'm putting clean washing away, I take a look inside, throw out any rubbish that found it's way in there (sometimes I stash chocolate wrappers, what can I say?) and give it a quick tidy up if needed.
These simple steps make it much smoother to get ready in the morning, I can see all of my items clearly and it means deciding what to wear is much easier. I feel more put together, I don't have piles of clothes around the room, I always find something nice to wear, and my bedroom feels like a calm haven, not a mess to deal with.
My kids are teens now so I have time to do these steps uninterrupted - if your kids are still young and by your side as you do this, I few a few hacks you can try (they worked for me when mine were little):
- Give them a job - putting empty hangers into piles, matching socks into pairs, etc
- Give them a couple of things to "dress up in" while you work - hats, scarves, a handbag, etc
- Set up a "busy basket" with a couple of toys, books, activities they can do by your side as you organise
And that's it! I keep it pretty simple.
If you're organising your wardrobe soon, let me know how you go with it!
x Marissa
Marissa Roberts
Organising tips to make life easier for busy mothers
www.beautifullyorganised.com
