Wardrobe | Frump to fab: Spring clean your wardrobe

INDIANAPOLIS - If your wardrobe or part of your wardrobe isn’t working for you, spring clean it! Make a list of the things you need to replenish it with – new tights, simple staples or accessories. Once you’ve straightened, folded and purged and added a few fresh frocks, you’ll feel ready to tackle spring with a clutter-free and fashionable view.

When the cleaning bug hits me, I become a madwoman trying to sweep up dust bunnies and get rid of clutter from the winter months.

And my wardrobe is no exception.

Recently, Sola Adelowo from ImageCube and I took a serious look at my wardrobe. What did I need to keep? What had I grown out of - literally and figuratively?

We assessed my current, and frankly bleak, state of affairs. I needed to put a lot of things in the Goodwill and Swap.com bins, pack up items for fall/winter and come to terms with the fact that I just couldn’t wear some articles of clothing anymore.

After a good three-and-a-half hour wardrobe-cleaning session, the bleakness faded and I felt a renewed sense of self, knowing that I can start spring with a refreshed attitude about my wardrobe.

Lessons learned during my image session can apply to anyone. Were some of the things I had representative of who I am today? No. Some pieces were not what I remembered them being, some were no longer appropriate for the grown-up world and some just didn’t fit.

I put gently-used items I thought I could swap on Swap.com in one bin and the bulk of remainder in the Goodwill bin – two great ways to recycle and renew your wardrobe.

I then made some general decisions about how I wanted my wardrobe to look and feel. The next step: getting down and dirty and reorganizing the chaos.

Here’s what I did:

The Dresser:

• I removed all the drawers and dumped everything into a big pile on the bed.

• Out of the insanity of everything from tees to tights, I began organizing by type, then by how much I wore something and finally by condition.

If it was barely held together by the threads, I tossed it. (Unless of course there was some sentimental value, like a friend’s band tee.)

• I lined all the drawers with paper and added some sachets. This keeps the drawers looking nice and your clothes smelling nice. I prefer lavender sachets, but I also made some with cardamom shells and cinnamon sticks. Check out this simple lavender sachet.

• I carefully placed what I’d decided to keep back into the drawers – socks and tights, tees, slips, etc.

The Closet:

• I am a shoe person, so this was the most difficult part of the editing process. But I persevered. I placed the shoes I had either not worn or worn very, very little in the last year in the Goodwill bin. I then neatly organized the shoes I decided to keep by style and color. I also had a bag of shoes to take to the cobbler to be repaired.

• I moved my winter clothes to the back rack of the closet and took coats out to the hall closet. It should be a good 6-8 months before I need these again, so out of sight, out of mind, and out of clutter.

• I combined my work wardrobe into one section and put all of my after work/fun time clothes on the other side, using separators for organization.

• Jeans I folded and put on a shelf.

• For extra purses, belts, and other accessories, I used some cool shopping bags I bought on a trip to Chinatown in New York City for storage by putting everything inside and then hanging the bags on sturdy hangers. This is a great way to keep things from falling one by one off hooks or hangers and onto the closet floor.

After many hours of work, my dresser and closet are now organized. We shall see how long it lasts!

Pro-tip: Separate clothes by color and shade. This can make selecting an outfit easier if you are feeling a little "green" or "blue."
 

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Twinkle VanWinkle ponders, creates and discovers cool stuff about music, movies, food, fashion and so forth. Her thoughtful writings and interactives give great advice about healthy food, cooking tips, DIY projects, fashion and more. She’ll teach you a thing or two about music as well. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

 

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