Latest / More Organised Less Clutter / 265. Fixing Common Wardrobe Problems: Tips for better Storage and Visibility
Transcript
- 265 Final: Welcome to More Organized Less Clutter, a podcast to empower individuals and neurodivergent families with practical, realistic tools to create a more organized, sensory-friendly, clutter-free, and intentional home that works with your lifestyle and brain, not against it. I'm Norelle King, a professional organizer and neurodivergent mum who understands the unique challenges of family life. I help people just like you simplify your space. Build sustainable organizational systems and create more breathing room physically and mentally. Every fortnight you'll hear solo episodes and guest conversations filled with practical strategies on decluttering, home organization, routines for neurodivergent families, mindful living, and how to build a home that feels safe, calm, and functional. You'll walk away with actionable takeaways you can implement even if you only have 10 minutes to spare. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a messy wardrobe where nothing seems easy to find? I am going to be sharing with you today on More Organized Less Clutter some tips around organizing and maximizing your wardrobe storage and making it more visible. What to hang versus what to fold and those right coat hangers for the different items in your wardrobe. And I'll finish with four steps that you can do a 10-minute reset. Let's jump into this more organized less clutter episode to help you with your wardrobe organization. Welcome to more organized, less clutter. Today, on our solo episode, I'm going to be going through some of the common wardrobe storage mistakes that we see and some of the tips that you can actually use to maximize your wardrobe space and actually make clothes simpler and to make your clothes easier to find. And I also want to touch on choice of coat hangers and some of the types that I recommend, and especially for different types of clothing, and whether hanging versus folding is better for your wardrobe. So some of the common mistakes that we will see in a wardrobe is people filling it with so many clothes, and especially if they're hanging, and it's so full that you can't even slide the hangers along. So you can't then see the items of clothing and when the rail is just so full, it's also putting a lot of pressure on the rail. And I've seen rails that have completely collapsed because there were so many clothes on it. But it means that you just really can't see your clothes and everything's really creased and there's no breathing room. And this is when I also see mold issues within wardrobes because there's not a lot of ventilation in there. And you'll hear that common cry. I have nothing to wear. Another issue we'll see in wardrobes are like Cheap hangers, those like Y ones that have maybe come back from the dry cleaners, really flimsy plastic ones that are breaking. And that way it's also stretching maybe the neckline and the shoulders of jackets and and dresses. And you get what they call shoulder horns on your jumpers. And it might be that they are not holding the clothing and the items are then falling onto the floor, and then you're missing those items, and you think that you've lost them or you think that they've gone missing somewhere, but they're actually just on the bottom of the wardrobe. Another thing, another issue that we see is hanging knits. Well, is hanging really heavy knits. So when you hang a really heavy knit, it's going to stretch out at the shoulders and it's probably going to lose its shape. So it's better if knits are actually folded. I have some really small light knits that I actually do hang, but some of my chunkier knits I will then fold instead. Another problem we'll see is storing by category instead of by use. So there's all the tops that are together and then all of the bottoms are together. And this sounds great, but it just means that you have to look through every single one of them for say just your work clothes. And it's also going through your occasional clothes or your weekend things, and they're all actually together. Another thing is seeing no seasonal rotations. So, like your jumpers and your jackets are all crammed in there, and you've got your the summer outfits and dresses are all there too. And so if we can reduce that by putting some of those things we don't use into our seasonal rotation, it's not going to take up that prime real estate. Another, another mistake we see as shoes and bags just dumped on the actual ground. And the problem with this in your wardrobe is it actually attracts more dust and it also looks really messy. And this is going to create more sensory overwhelm by just having too many things on the bottom of the wardrobe. Another thing is people use the hanging rail and just stop there and they don't look at the shelves above. So thinking vertically is also going to help, maybe looking at the backs of the door. Or behind the door, there's so many different empty spaces that may be in your wardrobe. And then another issue we see is the someday pile, the whole area of clothing that might fit one day, or I might suit another part of my life, or I might actually get back to the other issue we'll see is that someday pile. And this might be an area in your wardrobe. That you've got, I might fit one day, or it might suit my life one day. And it means though that every time you're going in there, your brain is redeciding about them. And that's really exhausting. The other one is the there's no spot for those items that you've just worn once. It may be a chair that you're using as your wardrobe, the floor drobe, and that's a system problem, not actually. A problem or a problem with you. It's that your clothes need a home for the not fresh, but they're not ready for the wash yet, but they're also not dirty. So there's a few things that we could do to help solve that. So just a note is that visual clutter is also an extra load on your cognition. Another thing to note is that clutter, visual clutter, can be really overwhelming. Cause a stress response and also add to your cognitive load. So making sure that it's not too overwhelming is also going to help. I want to share just a couple of ideas on how to maximize your wardrobe space, but also help you with it so it's visible for yourself too. And these are like just 10-minute little steps that you can do. First one is like a 10-minute reset. So just face everything forward. So when you open the door, you turn every hanger so the clothes are facing that same way. And that means that you're it instantly looks calmer, but it means you can see everything that you own and it's easy to then lift out to wear. Then zone second the second thing you could do is zone by outfit, so not by actual garment type. And like what are you reaching for for work? Maybe what are you reaching for if you go to the gym or you're doing some exercise class? And then you might have your outfits that you're wearing on the weekend or even for you know getting dressed special occasions. And that way you're only going to that section rather than you're going to have to go through all the tops to find that particular one you want to wear to work. It's helping to reduce those decisions for you. I also, as I touched on before, rotating seasons. This is so important, especially if you live in a climate like I do, where it's very much cold weather, hot weather. We don't really have we have in between, but it changes. It's a very definite change. Our winter and our summer do not look similar at all. And this means that you can then put all your ones that are your seasonal ones you're using right now, front and center and in that prime real estate and just move the other items either along the shelf. or even up above on higher shelves, or sometimes it's maybe under beds, and I've used roller containers with with clients to actually place their cloth their clothing so it's not going to get dusty either. And it means that it's not actually gone, it's just packed away and it's just going to save you space. The next quick idea for you is put your current favorites at eye level. So, what you want to wear most should be between your shoulders and your knees. And the rarely worn ones can go in the other spots, a bit like the seasonal wear. Another tip is to use the vertical space. So you could add a second hanging rail under the first. And I've done this a lot with clients because they've got a few long dresses and skirts, but they actually have more tops or pants that they just want to put over a coat hanger and put it in half. And that way it saves a little bit of s space. And it just means that you're not stacking things and it's harder to get to. Another thing could be an over-the-rail door hooks for bags, belts, maybe scarves as well. Shelf dividers, which are clear, are really great as well because they help you to be able to see this is the pile of t-shirts, these are my pile of shorts. I find this works really well with kids in particular. And if you don't have that luxury of drawers, even adding a basket or a container that you can place the items in and then just lift that out really easily, have a look what it is, because then you can use the vertical folding method, then you can use the horizontal folding methods so you can see everything. Whereas when we stack things in a pile and we want say that t-shirt on the bottom, we're gonna pull for that and possibly the whole lot is going to fall over. Another rule I like to implement for myself, which may work for you, is one in, one out. So when I get a new jumper, it means one jumper is going out. And this keeps the amount from getting back to needing to edit or declutter. Another little tip is to flip the hangers around, especially when you do that decluttering. And when it's backwards and after a season, you can see which ones you haven't actually worn. And I've just done this myself. moving into sort of the spring season. And this is just really honest data, really saying I haven't worn that. But it's not that guilt, you're not feeling guilty. It's that really honest data about what you've worn and what you haven't worn. Obviously things like dresses that you don't wear all the time, particularly, that might be a harder choice because it just may not have had that occasion to actually wear it. But the things that you wear all the time, this is a great measure to see whether it stays or whether it goes. Now the next one is looking for a place. How are you going to decide about that worn but not dirty clothes and what you're going to do? It could be a hook, it could be a towel rail, which I've actually given to my daughter in her room to use. It could be a coat stand and you have some hooks on it. I have a client who uses her wardrobe and she has a small section and she just puts those clothes, hangs them back up and she can go straight back to there. But the problem is I find generally the clients I work with, they're not going to hang it back up because that's more work. So as least amount of work it's going to be, it's going to also help them find that item. Because if we have everything on the floor drobe, we're not going to be able to find those items easily. And then it's going to be mixed up with washing potentially as well. So for shoes, having just a simple rail or a shoe rack. on so they're not on the floor is actually going to help you maybe put your pairs together and also means it's going to be easier to grab and go and less dust building up down the bottom. I'm gonna do let's touch on now hangers. So there's different ones for different jobs. So hangers are cheap and there's something that's an easy fix, an easy change that you can make. So I find that if they're matching to the clothes, it's gonna also create that object permanence for you. You're going to be able to know that's my jeans. They're all on the wooden hangers or they're all on the hook hangers. And it's also going to mean that you're going to match them to the clothes. So first let's touch on the velvet flocked ones. So they're the really slim ones. They also are non slip. So they do help with fabrics like silk and satin, like a cami or a dress or a t shirt. And they also create space because they're slim. Now I know there's lots of people who don't like the texture of it. So alternative to that is going to be like a contour curved plastic that is going to do the same purpose. It's just going to, it's going to provide the same purpose, which is make sure there's not those marks in your tops. And it's also going to hopefully eliminate them falling off by having that curved section for you. The next one is the wooden coat hangers. I absolutely love these. They are thicker, so they do take up a bit more space, but they're just really sturdy. They're great for like a wide shoulder for a blazer and a jacket and they're structured coats. And I've even been using them for jeans this year because it helps to hold the shape. So I just put it over the wooden bar and it actually doesn't even leave a mark in it. The other ones are the clip hangers. And depending on how much depth you have in your wardrobe. But these are great for skirts and pants and shorts and again jeans if you have the length or you could use them and just pin pin the and then just clip the coat hanger in the center where I use the wooden over that section of my pants. And but if you want to, you could hang them from the waistband and then there's going to be no crease line. But I find there's not that much when you use just the clips. There are also those multi clips, and there's several clips on the one hanger. And this means that you can stack vertically, and these can be really good for smaller, lighter items. Like I've used them for denim skirts, I've used them for bike pants, I've used them for shorts. So they were smaller items and they were great in kids' wardrobes. So something just to keep in your mind is one wardrobe has one hanger. A rule of thumb that you could apply is one wardrobe equals one hanger system. So mismatch hangers just take up space and also look really chaotic. So as I've said, you know, I have my wooden ones for some of my items items, but then I have flock ones for my tops, but I can see that that's that area as well. Another really great tip is kit size hangers for items that have small shoulders. Or maybe you have smaller shoulders. You're not using, you've got a petite size. And so adult hangers sometimes can stretch those small clothing. So using a kid's style hanger is maybe going to help you. And then there are those ring and loop hangers, which are great for belts and scarves. So that are you a hanger versus a folder and what actually protects your clothes? So it depends on obviously your wardrobe. And what you're able to, what you have available to you. But I have helped people convert their folding space into hanging space because they do prefer to hang. And I've also done the reverse, change some of the things around so that we can do more folding. Hanging helps with structured items, obviously like dresses, blazers, coats, some of those delicate items and anything you really want visible. I find hanging is going to be so much easier. And really think about the hangers. I think When some people say I don't enjoy hanging, I wonder if it's because of the hangers that they're using, the coat hangers. And if they just change that, it might be then that they actually enjoy hanging their clothes. Folded clothes, it may be it'll be your knits, maybe it's jumpers, depending on the space you have. Same, it may be t-shirts, but if you've got the space, you may be able to hang them. Jeans like myself, I don't have jeans. I don't have enough space to fold my jeans, so I've actually started hanging them. It might be your loungewear. active wear leggings and things like that. Mine are actually not even folded. They're just stuffed into a drawer and they're easy to grab. The fabric doesn't require to be folded anyway. I think that folding things helps you find things, but only if you have them like horizontal, only if you have them vertically folded in the drawer. So you can see every item. If you stack them, then you're going to have to dig through like I said before. So that's when you might use some of your shelf dividers or a drawer divider or even just a basket. And remember, like even drawers, it's when you fold your items in drawers, they also need breathing room. So you want to make sure it's not so full that you can barely even pull one item out without all of them coming out. Something to remember is the right system is the one your brain can maintain on your hardest day, not your best day. So a quick reset for your wardrobe, 10 minute reset. So you're finished with everything else and you so I'll just walk through a quick 10 minute wardrobe reset. So here's what you need to do. First one is choose one problem. So don't don't start with a whole wardrobe. Just ask yourself, what is frustrating me most? Is that what I is it that I can't see my clothes? Is it that everything falls over or onto the floor? Or is that I have nowhere to put worn clothes like that dirty but not quite sorry, those worn clothes that aren't quite ready for the wash. Or is it that my drawers are overflowing? Choose one of these problems. Step two is remove what doesn't belong. So take out everything that belongs somewhere else. Maybe the shoes in the wardrobe that belong near the front door. Maybe there's paperwork on a shelf. Maybe there are clothes that need repairing. There maybe there are things that you've not worn in years. Maybe there's some sentimental items like a t-shirt or something from a concert you went to, but you're not going to wear it again, but you want to keep it as a sentimental item. Just remove those obvious three. Just remove those obvious things. Number three, to improve your visibility, look at the clothes that remain. Can you see them? Can you reach for them? Are there things stacked too high? Are your most used clothes like hidden and you can't see them? So then just make one small change. And number And number four, make the system easy. This is so important. So what would you put, what would make putting away these things easier? Maybe you need a basket. Maybe you just need a hook. Maybe you need to move the laundry basket. Maybe you need to remove a few clothes. Or maybe you need to stop folding certain items of clothes. Choose one of these small changes and make it. And then stop after you've done about 10 minutes. So if your wardrobe has been frustrating you lately, I want you to remember that the answer isn't always more organizing. Sometimes the answer is just less less clothing. Sometimes it's about better visibility. And sometimes it's about where something lives in your wardrobe. And so we're trying to make the system match something. So and sometimes your wardrobe is telling you that the way you've organized it. doesn't actually match the way that you live and the way that you think. Your home should support you and it should make your day, it should make to everyday task easy, not more har not more difficult. And your wardrobe is one of those spaces you use every day. And so instead of asking how can I make my wardrobe look more organized, try asking how can I make my wardrobe easier to use. And remember, you don't have to fix everything today. Choose just one problem. Give it 10 minutes and then see what changes and build from there. Thanks so much for joining me for another episode of More Organized Less Clutter. If you found this episode really helpful, I'd love for you to share it with someone who is constantly fighting with their wardrobe or wondering why their organized spaces never seem to stay organized. Remember, you don't need a perfect home, you need a home that works for you. Thanks for listening to More Organized Less Clutter. Do you have nothing to wear but a wardrobe full of clothes? Imagine mornings when you jump up, choose outfits that reflect your best self. A comprehensive guide walks you through each step to help you create a wardrobe that's both functional, organized, and full of clothes you love. Head to simply happy.com.au to the resources tab to get instant access today. I'd like to acknowledge the Wotherong people of the Kulin Nation on which this podcast is recorded as the traditional custodians of the land. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging.