Takling your drawers

Now – once you’ve done your wardrobes you can repeat the process with your drawers. Everything out, working on one drawer at a time.

Allocate different drawers for different purposes, I have one for jeans & shorts, one for sweaters, one for T-shirts & polos, a half one for pants & swimwear and a half one for socks.

For the lady followers, a great way to store matching underwear sets is to pass the loop of the bra through the pants and then fasten – that way when you grab one from the drawer in a rush its partner is attached.

I like to keep socks bundled in pairs and keep belts wound tight (starting at the buckle end) and fastened with elastic bands, these go in a box in the jeans & shorts drawer. I personally only wear canvas belts – leather belts should really be hung out straight.

Ties are laid out and folded into three and placed in rows in a shallow box again in my jeans & shorts drawer.

Remember – try not to think of it as a big challenge. Work through it one drawer at time, you can sort out one drawer in an eveniing can’t you and before you know it, one week later your entire chest of drawers is done.

Don’t forget your daily routines, you know, bathroom, vacuuming, ironing, and are you all plumping your sofa and taking any cups to the kitchen before bed and prepping your work clothes for the next day? This simple process really does save the morning rush.

Have fun

Get to the back of the wardrobe

OK – firstly apologies for not being around for a couple of weeks. Life’s been a bit hectic what with shake ups at the office and then a weekend in London visiting the a friend, but I am back now. Hopefully in the time I’ve been gone you’ve taken advantage of my absence to get your kitchen cupboards glowing beacons of tidiness and order. Everything in there is something that you need or love and it’s in an order that works for you. The shelves and exteriors of the cabinets should also have had a nice wipe out too and everything good with the world! Ahh. This week we’re working on the bedroom, well with the wardrobe to be more precise, February is all about the bedroom. You may need a friend to help you with this one. I helped a good friend with this very task not very long ago and it was a great success. I’m not as bossy as you might think. Firstly, I want you to open your wardrobe doors and have a look in. Is there any order to it? Are shirts one side and trousers/skirts the other? Are there sections for work and leisure? Do all of your hangers match? Don’t let me think for even a minute you might have a wire hanger in there. Now, take eveything out and lay it on the bed. We’re talking purely wardrobe here, not drawers, under bed storage etc, this will all come next week, it’s all about hanging space. We’re now going to divide everything into three piles:

• The good
• The bad
• The ugly

 

• Good is things you love and wear regularly, or things you love but don’t actually wear that often but should
• Bad is things you never wear as they’re generally horrid, they’re too small/big for you, they’re someone else’s or doesn’t suit you
• Ugly is things that you don’t wear for a particular reason but would if it was fixed, as in the zip is bust, it needs taking up/in/out or it needs dry cleaning.

The BAD just needs bagging up and getting out of the house, by some means, either to a charity shop, throwing away, giving to a friend or perhaps selling on eBay (other auction sites are available). The sooner it’s out of the house the better. If you’re offering it to a friend call them to tell them about it and ask if they’d like it. Then arrange to either drop it round this week or ask them to come and collect it. Explain to them that you want it out of the house and set a deadline with them for it to be gone by and if it’s not you’ll be donating it to a charity shop. It’s all very well and good saying I’m going to give this coat to Dave but if three months later you’ve still got it in the back of your wardrobe what are the chances of him actually getting it.

Then tackle the UGLY. If you were to get it fixed, that stain removed, have it dry cleaned are you likely to wear it? If so then bag it up and take it to the necessary cleaners/menders or if you’re handy with a needle and thread as I am fix that zip or take up that hem (but not today).

The GOOD on the whole you’re keeping. Try every thing on (this is where a friend comes in handy) and then check it for stains, smells, loose buttons, loose hems etc. If it’s perfect and you like it (and will wear it) then it wins wardrobe space. Continue through the pile like this until you’ve assessed every piece.

Give your wardrobe a vacuum/wipe out and put everything that you’re keeping back in. Try to zone it in a way that works for you. My work and social clothes tend to overlap so that doesn’t work for me but I do have sections for trousers, shirts and suits. You find a way that works for you. Personally I like all my hangers to be the same style. I think there’s something lovely about the collars and shoulders of all of your shirts lining up but that’s just me being fanatical about such things.

I also like multi level trouser hangers. They’re a bit like a mini-ladder on which you can hang half a dozen pairs of trousers at once. I tend to keep shoes in the boxes they were bought in and stack these up in the bottom of the wardrobe but if you don’t have these they can be be purchased quite cheaply online. I can add a link later if you’d like.

Right – well that’s about it. Please – I can’t express enough at this point – NO WIRE HANGERS EVER. Have fun and I’ll be back in a week.

Any questions post them below. Richard