Midlife Loves

"Timeless everyday style"

Midlife Loves

Wardrobe De-Cluttering

Whilst we're still enjoying some glorious sunny days & hanging onto summer by the skin of our teeth there's a definite nip in the air first thing & last thing at night. Which will in the coming days no doubt see us pack our summer outfits away until next spring.

The one thing we can't complain about this year is our summer....we've been incredibly lucky & enjoyed some glorious sunny & hot days, although no doubt in a few weeks time when we're inundated with rain it will seem like a dim & distant memory.

I have to admit that while I will miss the glorious sunshine & sun kissed skin (which will no doubt see me spend countless time & energy trying to replicate with the aid of fake tan & see hubby moan about the smell & state of the sheets from said tan) I do love autumn, especially if we're lucky enough to have some bright sunny crisp days.  I can't wait to get my jackets & scarves out again.  For me as you will no doubt have guessed, a jacket, jeans & scarf/necklace is definitely my comfort zone & where I'm happiest.  Yes I've loved wearing shorts & floaty numbers but if I'm honest I'd much rather wear one of my jackets & have only just about resisted the urge over the past few weeks.

So with the change of seasons comes the change of wardrobe essentials & what I'm interested to know  today is do you like me cram all your summer & winter wardrobes together or will you be packing your summer attire away & bringing your winter wardrobe out to play?

For years I have resisted the urge to either pack the previous seasons wardrobe away or move it into the guest room on the totally ridiculous argument that I should be able to fit all my clothes in the wardrobes in our dressing room & that I like everything to be together!  The result being me having to launch my full body weight against my clothes to part them to get a hanger in or out of the wardrobe!!  Not an enjoyable experience it has to be said & of course I've been totally missing a trick because if I'd split my wardrobe into the seasons I'd have had more room for new purchases....duh!!!

So with the approaching big birthday I have made the earth breaking decision this year to move my spring/summer pieces (not tops I hasten to add....as they can easily be layered up in the winter.....one step at a time & all that!) to the guest room so that I can once again enjoy getting clothes out & of course give the hubby a small area to hang his shirts, well I don't want to spoil him ;-)

Now I'd like to say this ground breaking decision was made on the basis on reaching that age in life where I can make sensible decisions but in truth I've realised that it was simply ridiculous to have the daily fight with my wardrobe.

So with hubby out in the States & having recently received an email from a reader asking me how I organise my wardrobe & asking if I would blog about how I rotate & mix my pieces I've decided it's time to face up to battle & be sensible!

Now as you may recall I did do a blog a while ago about how I store all my scarves, belts & jewellery (click here to see) & I must admit this collection like the clothes in my wardrobe have some how mysteriously grown (can't think how that's happened!!)  hence my need for re-organisation & action!

Of course if you don't fancy the idea of hanging your accessories on the inside of your wardrobe doors there are other ways of storing them such as these hanger for scarves/belts.






Of this great chest for jewellery which allows you to see what you've got without having to open the drawers.






But while my accessories will remain stored as before I have this year decided to store away my summer scarves so that I can not only see my autumn/winter scarves but so they don't end up too creased.  Of course this was the easy part although for some strange reason I still felt guilty storing my bright coloured scarves away as I know for me it will be a little bit 'out of sight, out of mind' but I also know it would be madness to have them taking valuable room when I'm not going to be wearing them for the next few months....I've just got to make sure I remember to get them out when the weather turns warmer!!!

I have also mentioned in the past how I have a tendency to be a bit OCD, so from a point of view of storage of clothes have to admit that my wardrobe is sorted into various sections.....tops, knitwear, skirts, trousers, jackets & evening wear & that each section is colour coded & arranged in shade order.  Yes I know small minds & all that but it pleases me (small things pleasing simple minds comes to mind but hey ho!) & you know what it really does make it easier to find things & also think about the different options you have when deciding to wear for example a grey top, as I will generally root through the colour I'm thinking of wearing & look at the different options/styles.

Now I used to have all my clothes on wooden hangers from Ikea but for the time being these have now been relegated to the loft due to a. the amount of room they take up in my wardrobe, b. the fact that some tops/blouses are forever slipping off said hanger if you so much as look at them & c. some tops simply didn't fit the style of hanger.  As you're probably getting the picture I'm a bit of a neat/matching freak so have had to replace said hangers with all matching ones & I have to say my new hangers are a real find.  Not only are they fab for giving you a lot more storage (think metal dry cleaner hanger thickness) they also come covered in a black velour which is simply AMAZING for making your tops stick to said hanger so no more top slippage, which I have to admit used to drive me insane!  I got mine from Amazon (click here) & I can't rate them highly enough as they have given me so much more space in my wardrobe.




Having sorted the hanging issue & having moved my summer dresses into the guest room the last task to remain was the addition of a shelf, which hubby did before leaving for his business trip.  Not only has this provided additional room for new purchases (well we have to be realistic don't we?!!) but by puttitng the shelf in the bottom of our wardrobe full length clothing can still hang freely but instead of all my jeans (who knew you couldn't just manage with three let alone one pair of jeans in one shade!!!) taking a whole heap of room up when stored on hangers, they can now be neatly piled (colour coded of course) on said shelf.  Meaning they are still easily accessible, can easily be pulled out (providing of course they're not piled too high otherwise the result would be like when you're out shopping & your size just happen to be the bottom pair & you try & delicately pull your pair out only for the whole pile to descend on the shop floor.....of course it could just be me that this happens to?!).  It's also a great way of making use of space, especially where you have full length hanging & are only using half that space with jackets etc.

As for the rotation of clothes I try & give myself five minutes of a night but generally first thing of a morning (usually when out for my early morning run & trying to distract myself from the pain of running up hill) to think about what I'm going to wear & the different tops/bottoms I have to go with that item.  Of course some days are easier than others & inspiration can come instantly while other days I can be standing at my wardrobe thinking 'I've got nothing to wear!!!!'

So having sorted out the wardrobe & even tided our drawers I'm now feeling suitably smug & excited at the prospect of choosing tomorrow's outfit....all that remains now is to polish my halo!  Which is already starting to tarnish because of course there's also the matter of the additional new space now created & needing to be filled..............

So before I distract myself with this task, here's a quick round up of what I've been wearing the last few days.


Outfit One





Striped Jumper - Boden
Jeans - Zara
Sparkly Ballet Flats - Zara


Outfit Two





Camisole - Zara
Necklace - Brought in Majorca
Bracelets - Banana Republic
Belt - Zara
Skirt - Zara
Sandals - Zara


Outfit Three





Necklace - Zara
Camisole - Topshop
Blouse - Zara
Trousers - Topshop
Gold Ballet Pumps - Massimo Dutti


Outfit Four





Top - Zara
Necklace - Handmade
Skorts - Zara
Bangle - Banana Republic
Sandals - Zara


As always I'd love to hear your thoughts & know if you will be packing your summer wardrobe away in the coming weeks & if so where you store it?  Perhaps you store it in a spare room or pad out your children's wardrobe?  Or are you really efficient & use those vacuum storage bags or place it in suitcases in the loft?  Or maybe you're like me before I saw the light & have a daily battle with your wardrobe by continuously cramming all seasons together.

I'd also love to know of your secrets for storing your clothes & accessories...after all it's only going to go one way & no doubt soon my newly acquired space will once again be brimming at the seams so any future tips would be really appreciated!!!

Enjoy the rest of the week & see you in a few days x


22 comments

  1. I've already started to change over my Summer wardrobe and unpack some Autumn stuff too.....think I am past wearing white dresses and shorts so I do it in stages!! I feel sad to see Summer go but I do love Autumn so looking forward to wearing some of my new purchases!!

    They sell the thin flock hangars in Primark too! They are in the homeware section and you get a bundle of ten for £4.

    Love the clear plastic drawers....they are definitely worth investing in so you can see exactly what you've got! Great post Jane x

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    1. Thanks Michelle, yes I'd forgotten that Primark do the hangers too....I'm a total convert to them.....think we'll all be packing the summer clothes away in the coming days if the forecast is anything to go by! x

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  2. Great post - I use underbed storage bags and put them under the bed (where else?!) and also on top of our fitted wardrobes (behind the sliding doors!) I mostly leave accessories out all year round tho. LOVE that necklace storage solution - off for a closer look. Looks like exactly what I need in my life! x

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    1. Isn't it fab Avril & not only can you see everything without having to open it, it keeps the dust of all your bits and pieces too! Now I just need to find somewhere to store it!! x

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  3. I've not rotated anything yet which is amazing for me as I love autumn! I keep all accessories accessible though. Just ordered some new scarf storage solutions as I had a disaster! I hang my necklaces and bracelets on the inside of my wardrobe door but I need to look after shoes more!!! Lynne x

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    1. Lynne I got hubby to put up some shelving for my shoes which is perfect for storing them & means I can see what I've got although I also have to rotate these with the seasons. What happened with your old scarf storage? x

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  4. I'm so blessed as we have an attic now & I will definitely be sending some of it up there! I love the clear drawers for the jewellery - its so neat! Ax

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    1. Andrea I'm loving the sound of your attic, sounds like you'll have plenty of room for new purchases ;-) x

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  5. our inaccessible,very hot, (houses boiler system etc) garage is being turned into one huge wardrobe for us all. I bought the mirrored sliding doors on ebay, but my carpenter has disappeared to las vegas!

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    1. Oh wow that sounds like the perfect use for a garage, if only ours wasn't full of gym equipment....tell you carpenter to get back quick, he's not allowed a holiday! ;-) x

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  6. I have several wardrobes that hold a lot of stuff so I don't ever swap my clothes over with the season as it's all there right in front of me and as you said, summer tops can easily be layered up so they get used most of the year.

    Rather than buying summer stuff in the sales I bought knitwear, jackets and chinos that I can use through autumn and winter to make the most of them. Not worn any of the knitwear or jackets as yet though, been enjoying the warm weather far too much to even consider it!

    Louise x
    whatlouwore365.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh you're soo lucky Louise to be able to have enough space to store everything together.

      I like you try and buy clothing suitable for the next season in the sales but like you say it's been too hot to get any of it out yet....although I think that's about to change! x

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  7. I have my 'totally summer hot weather' stuff already in the spare room - it stays there all year round! I leave everything else out all year because I always layer up everything!

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    1. At least this year Fiona I've managed to wear my hot summer clothing in the UK as well as abroad....it's been nice to get a bit more wear out of it lol! x

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  8. I have a big wardrobe in my room, and another big wardrobe in my sons room. I know this is just ridiculous and part with clothes quite easily, but find it hard to stop spending!

    Some really good ideas here for storage - Ikea is great to create your perfect wardrobe too.

    www.Fashion-mommy.com

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    1. Yes Ikea is fab too, I keep thinking about building a wardrobe from scratch to get the shelving & storage just right but it never gets beyond the idea! x

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  9. Snap ! My Husband has an allotted space, in our wardrobe, for his 'ever so exciting' selection of shirts. I have some things in the wardrobe too but most of my summer stuff is strewn across the bed, floor and window cills of my second spare room. My Autumn/ WInter bits and bobs are in under bed storage or our blanket boxes. I really, really need to have a good clear out. Are you like me though ? I look at things and um and ah and think to myself that I may wear that or I may not but do not have the heart to chuck/ recycle or sell. I am pathetic and a slave to my clothing. Great blog post Jane

    H xxx

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    1. Thanks Helen. I tend to go through & put things I don't think I'm going to wear into the spare wardrobes & then every so often have a mad clearing out session & as long as I've not gone looking for them in this between period then they go! Looks like you might be needing to bring your autumn/winter wear out from under the bed if this weather continues :-) x

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  10. I've got the Primark hangers and went in today to get some more. They are reduced to £2.90 for 10!! Love a bargain. I store all my out of season stuff in my loft but it always makes me think of the Michael MacIntyre sketch about women and the loft and the "loft whores" that are up there walking around in all the things that don't fit me anymore lol xxxx

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    1. Wow that's a complete steal for the Primark hangers....don't you feel really smug when you grab a bargain, or is that just me?!!! Must keep an eye out for the Michael McIntyre sketch it sounds brilliant x

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  11. I've a dedicated dressing room in our new house that I cannot wait to get filled up! It's the most important room in the house for me!! I love those hangers too, hoping to replace all mine by the time we get into the house, I buy a few sets every few weeks so they are gathering up rightly. X

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    1. It sounds perfect Trea but if you're anything like me you'll soon find it fills up really quickly!!! I bet you can't wait to move all your clothes & accessories in x

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