My obsessive streak, or how my wardrobe is organised!

I am by nature a very analytical person, I have a maths degree, and have worked in an analytical/statistical role since graduating 7 years ago. I am definitely guilty of over thinking things, I love writing lists, organising and planning things, and am also a bit of a perfectionist. It’s perhaps not that surprising then that one of my favourite things to analyse, plan and organise is my wardrobe!

I have a system that I use to organise my wardrobe and the system is basically this: I think of my wardrobe as having two main elements, the first is my core wardrobe which is comprised of clothes, shoes and bags which are worn on a daily basis. This is further broken down into current season and out of season. The second element I consider to be ‘non core’ and this is comprised of:

*comfy clothes for wearing around the house
*sports/outdoor wear
*formal/occasional wear
*holiday/travel wear
*maternity wear
*work/office wear
*items to donate or sell
*items that I’m not sure about (I usually pack them away for 6 months, while I make up my mind)

(Usually, the work/office wear would be included as part of my core wardrobe since I’m at work everyday but seeing as I can’t fit into any of it and next year I will be off work this is currently in storage. The maternity wear is part of my core wardrobe at the minute, but this will also get packed away next year).

I find it helpful to maintain a list which looks at each element of my wardrobe, in this I list each item, flag up anything which needs tailoring, which I plan to cull, or which needs replacing etc. I also use this to identify any gaps, and keep a wishlist of things I plan to purchase. It probably seems unnecessary and far too time consuming to most people, but I find that it helps keep me accountable and keeps me from buying things which I don’t need.

Over the last few years I’ve really been conscious of trying to pare back and declutter my wardrobe. At first I started by just focusing on my core wardrobe, but I gradually realised that I was still ending up with bags full of unwanted clothes in the loft, or lurking in the wardrobe in our spare bedroom and I needed to look at everything. When I first began to seriously consider what was in my wardrobe a few years back I started with over 250 pieces of clothing, shoes, and bags. I found it was helpful to break things down into the categories listed above and to gradually assess what I could get rid of from each area. I also made a conscious effort to bring less into my life, which hasn’t always been easy at times. However, I’m pretty happy with the progress I’ve made and as it stands I currently have around 120 items in my wardrobe (both core and non core).

The focus of this blog is mainly on my core wardrobe, as the rest does not get as much use and remains fairly static. In the next few posts I plan to look at my core wardrobe for Autumn/Winter.