9 Ways To Detox Your Wardrobe

Are your drawers overflowing, but you still can’t find anything to wear? Kate Finnegan asks the experts how to take the stress out of decluttering

Clearing out your house, and life, has unexpectedly become a hot topic – particularly when it comes to what seems to be everybody’s dirty secret: the wardrobe.

“I’ve been getting so many calls,” says Danijela Coha, who is also know as the Wardrobe Fairy, a professional closet declutterer and organiser.

“There’s been a lot of interest this year,” agrees Hayley Stevens of Vault Couture, a luxury wardrobe management service. “I think Marie Kondo has revealed how much better you can feel when you’re more organised, and now people want to do it for themselves.”

But can you do it yourself? How do you get from a daily state of wardrobe malfunction, with shoes stuffed in drawers and jumpers dangling from wire hangers, to the unlikely scenario of opening the doors and sighing with pleasure? We asked four organising wizards for help.

1 DON’T DO IT ALL AT ONCE

Marie Kondo gets her clients to take everything out of their wardrobes and pile it all in the middle of the room. Unanimous tip from all of our experts: do not do this!

“I can get everything out because I know what I’m doing,” says Danijela, “but if you’re by yourself, you’ll just lose your mind. It’s overwhelming.”

Instead, tackle one section at a time. “Do it by category,” says personal shopper and wardrobe organiser Anna Berkeley. “Get out all your T-shirts or all your knitwear. Or you could break it down into workwear – trousers, shirts, skirts for the office – or weekend clothes. You’ll get a sense of achievement with each section you do and that will encourage you.”

2 ACCEPT THAT THE MONEY HAS GONE

Anna says her clients often hang onto clothes because of guilt about what they cost, even if it no longer fits or has gone out of fashion.