Happy New Year!

January is a great time for reassessing and reorganising and that includes your wardrobe. It can be daunting to do, but super satisfying once you are able to step back and survey your neat and organised wardrobe. You will be clear about what you need when you next go shopping therefore making it just that bit easier.

So here to help you is my step by step guide to giving yourself a Wardrobe Makeover:

1. Set aside half a day. If you can't spare half a day, set aside an hour at an allocated time and do one section of your wardrobe at a time eg; Trousers one day, jackets the next

2. Take everything out of your wardrobe and put it on your bed or a spare rail if you have one. Take this opportunity to clean out the bottom of the wardrobe whilst it's empty.

3. Item by item, go through and ask yourself:

• Does it fit me?
• Is it clean and in a good state of repair?
• Is it appropriate for my lifestyle?
• Is it a flattering shape and colour on me?
• Do I have the right thing to wear with it?

4. If you can answer yes to all the above questions then put it back in the wardrobe.

5. If you can't then put it in one of the following piles:

• Going - this is for the things that are worn out, tired, dated, don't fit, you don't feel good in or don't suit your lifestyle and that you can happily get rid of
• To do - this is for the things that need washing, cleaning, repairs, alterations, depilling (jumpers)
• Storing -  this is for anything that holds sentimental value or is a specific item for an activity you don't do very often eg; specialised sports gear. This can be stored somewhere that you don't need immediate access to. This can also be used for items that no longer fit but you are not ready to get rid of yet. Revisit them in 6 months time and if they still don't fit, it's probably time to discard them
• Not sure - go through this pile and analyse each item and if you're not wearing it analyse why not. Could you wear it in a different combination to how you normally do? Could you promote/demote it and use it for a different occasion?
  
  6. The aim is only to be left with things in your wardrobe that are wearable and suitable for now. By taking a realistic view of what you do and don't wear you should be able to see clearly where the gaps are.

7. Recoup some of the money spent on "mistakes" by selling on e-bay or make yourself feel good by giving to a charity shop with a cause you believe in.

8. When you put it back try and keep it organised. Buy decent hangers, shoe trees, drawer organisers, belt and tie hangers to make it easier to keep tidy and find things easily. Check out Stylebook App's Pinterest page for some great ideas.

9. Once you're done it's time to identify the gaps. Divide your life and it's activities into sections and estimate how much time you spend doing each activity eg: work, downtime, functions, sport, socialising etc. - does the type of clothing you have and the amount, correspond to the amount of time you spend doing each activity?

10. If you have thought of new combinations of clothing to wear together lay it out and take a quick shot of it on your phone so you can remember.

Congratulations! You'll feel cleansed and organised making is super simple to get dressed each morning and you'll be focused on what to buy when you're next out clothes shopping.

Of course if you need a helping hand with any of this then give me a shout.