With the help of energising sunshine and the incentive of needing to find your warmer season clothes, spring is the perfect time to clean out and declutter your wardrobe! Here are ten top tips to help you with your wardrobe spring clean:

 1. Find your motivation

Before you start a wardrobe spring clean, work out your desired outcome. Is it to have a wardrobe where every item you pull out is something you really love and enjoy wearing? Or is to easily be able to find the clothes you need and put away your laundry? Perhaps you just want to swap out your winter wardrobe with your spring/ summer clothes to make them easily accessible. Whatever your goals, keep these in mind during your wardrobe spring clean to keep your motivation high.

2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Although it’s tempting to get everything out at once and pile it up on your bed to spring clean, this usually just results in a half-finished mess when tiredness kicks in! To avoid this, sort through one type of clothes at a time. For example, start by sorting through all your dresses and then put back in your wardrobe only those you are keeping. Then move on to another category. Having all the items you own of one type in front of you makes it much easier to decide what to keep.

 3. Decisions, decisions

For each item, pick it up and decide whether to keep or let go of it. Work out which questions really help you to make these decisions during your wardrobe spring clean. For example:

• Does this piece of clothing positively serve me in my life today?
• Do I actually wear this and enjoy wearing it? If not, why not?
• Would I buy this again now?
• Do I have something else that serves the same purpose and which I prefer wearing?
• How many of this item do I really need, taking into account how often laundry gets done?

 4. Sentimental stuff

If you have clothes which are purely sentimental and you no longer wear, consider whether it is really important for you to hold on to the physical item. Some people find taking a photo of sentimental clothing helpful as it enables them to let go of the physical object but retain the memory associated with it. If you want to hold on to the piece of clothing, store it in a memory box or in a way which preserves it but keep it in a less accessible place such as the top of a wardrobe.

 5. Make purposeful piles

For each item you decide to let go of, immediately put it into a bag either marked ‘donate’ or ‘recycle’. This will help to focus your mind on the decisions you need to make and makes it easier to let things go once your decision is made.

 6. Positive thoughts only

 Opening your wardrobe should be like entering a party where everyone you see is someone you like! We often keep clothes which make us feel bad about our weight or spending habits or just because we feel ungrateful getting rid of gifts we don’t like or use. Be kind to yourself and let go of those pieces which no longer bring joy to your life or serve a positive purpose for you.

 7. Put the ‘clean’ into spring clean

Before you put back the clothes you are keeping in your wardrobe, take the opportunity to thoroughly clean rails, shelves and drawers. Warm water and a cloth will do the job well. Set aside any clothes which need to be mended, dry-cleaned or washed so that everything is ready to wear. If you are short on space, use reusable vacuum pack bags to store your out-of-season clothes so you can swap them over when the seasons change.

8. Organisation is key

The next step is to organise the clothes your are keeping in a way that works for you. If an item doesn’t have a particular space to live in which is easily accessible, your wardrobe will quickly become messy. Organising by season, occasion, type and colour, are all options. Ensure that you can easily pull out and put back items. If you need storage products to help you organise, drawer dividers (which can be made out of shoeboxes or any other boxes you have around, shelf inserts and vacuum pack bags are all great ways to organise and maximise space.

9. Leave the building

Getting unwanted items out of your home is the last hurdle. With Wandsworth Oasis offering free collections for saleable items, it couldn’t be easier! It also feels bette to let items go when you know that you are supporting a great cause, keeping belongings out of the landfill and giving them a new home.

 10. Changing buying habits

Having a wardrobe spring clean also gives you the chance to change your habits to become a more conscious consumer. If you have any items missing from your wardrobe, have a look in Wandsworth Oasis  shops to fill the gaps! Knowing your buying patterns and learning what you really love wearing, enables you to change your shopping habits and buy more sustainably and responsibly.