It’s that time of year people. I don’t know whether you do this too, but it’s reached that time where I start looking to swap my shorts, bikinis and sandals with my jumpers, coats and boots.
I started storing clothes I don’t wear in a particular season last year, with the first rotation being from Summer to Autumn/Winter. Then I made the rotation with Autumn/Winter to Spring/Summer. Now I’m about to…well, you get the idea.
Storing clothes seasonally is something I wish I had started earlier. I’m so glad I can have less of a crammed wardrobe each season rather than fighting with the coathanger rail for space and making horrific noises when screeching the hangers on the rail. Yeah, not a nice sound.
This task may sound like a ballache and tiresome, but it’s a job well worth it and worth doing right. Now I’m onto my third transition and I’ve definitely learnt things from the first two I have already completed beforehand. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learnt in how to rotate seasonal clothes effectively:
1) STORE THE CLOTHES PROPERLY
Yes, storing your clothes properly is key. I store mine in some storage clothes bags which I bought from Amazon and they’re HUGE. You can most definitely fit so much in them, even your biggest and thickest of coats. After I’ve filled the bags, I store them somewhere cool and dry, either in my wardrobe or in the spare bedroom. I wouldn’t store them outside in the garage/shed etc, purely for weather and insect reasons.
2) HAVE A SYSTEM BEFORE HANGING UP
When I grab the storage bags, I evaluate, analyse, reason, debate and agonise which clothes I keep and which ones I give to charity or some I just recycle cause they have holes in or the quality has gone out of it. A while ago, I read a post by Victoria from InTheFrow about tips and tricks for refreshing your wardrobe and she wrote about a system she uses when decluttering and sorting out clothes. It’s a three-tiered system of items to keep, give a second chance to and clear out. Since following this method, it has become so much easier rotating my clothes and my wardrobe looks so much tidier and less crammed. Sometimes you have to be ruthless, but it’s for your own good!
3) WASH CLOTHES BEFORE SWAPPING
Even though I store my clothes properly, I get conscious that they’ll smell a little, well, dusty or musty when they’ve been stored away for a long few months. Before making the big seasonal rotation, I take the sniff test and anything I feel needs a rinse in the machine, will get a rinse. Nothing worse than wearing clothes that smell like the equivalent of mothballs!
4) DON’T FORGET THE SHOES!
I honestly don’t own a billion pairs of shoes; I never store them away as they don’t take up too much space. But every season, I’ll have a clearout (however big or small) of them and again, follow the system above. I forgot to do that before the Summer started, so a shoe clearout is well overdue!
5) MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOU’LL KEEP ALL YEAR ROUND
Items such as tee’s, jackets, trainers and leggings are items that can be worn all year round. Whether that be for layering etc, all it takes is a little versatility and creativity to make different outfits out of those types of clothing items in particular. Write a list when you rotate your clothes to see which items stay in the wardrobe all year round.
Rotating clothes is one of those chores which we love to hate! It’s one of those tasks where it gets worse before it gets better, but when it’s finally complete, it’s bloody worth it!
