out, out, out! wardrobe clean-out

As part of my revamp, I started from the source and chaos of my wardrobe. Its quite an achievement.
Credit: Fashion Cents' article on cleaning your wardrobe was the spark that galvanised me into actually tackling the mess of my wardrobe

Here's how I did it
1. Dump everything anywhere except your closet.
I mean really everything,
from the dressy gown down to the raggedy t-shirt and dont forget the lingerie and socks. I dumped mine on partially on the bed and on a blanket placed on the floor.

2. Give your closet a wipe-down.
Disinfect it if you wish and let it air out for a while. I just got a wet rag and gave every surface a quick wipe. The closet had plenty of time to air out while I sorted through the mess of clothes

3. Sort your clothes.
I separated them into 2 piles first: Keep and Rags. Throw the Rags!
Of those to keep, put those that you'll wear immediately (ie your favorites) back into the closet. Take out those that need mending into another pile. Separate those old sentimental favourites that for one reason or another you just cant throw into another pile. Sort those that you think may need in the future but are irrelevant with your current lifestyle into yet another pile.

In summary, these are the categories:
Favourites: Things that you cant do without. (ie they define your style.)
Fit and relevant: these are clothes that will fit into your daily life. Something like your wardrobe staples.
Mending: Things that need some mending/alteration. Potential reconstructions also belong here
Useful (maybe useful in the future): Clothes that fit but are not very relevant to your current lifestyle. (ie, office wear for a college student, formal wear)
Sentimental: Things that bring back memories, regardless of their wearability.
Rags. Things that you no longer want, no longer fit, or are just rags

4. Organise your clothes.
Favourites: Back into your closet asap
Fit and relevant: Closet
Mending: Next to your sewing machine or a bag for the tailor
Useful: store in closet only if there is extra space, otherwise store somewhere that is still accessible but out of immediate reach (ie, under the bed, attic, basement)
Sentimental: keep them out of the closet, period. Suggestions include under the bed, attic, basement. A creative solution is perhaps to display them like art
Rags: Thrift shops/consignment shops if they are in a good condition. If not, shred them for rags

5. Rearrange.
Now that you got a handle of whats going back into your closet. Think if there is another way to arrange your clothes other than your old method. For myself, I realised that I had a lot of tees that could be folded instead of taking up hanger space, so I went down to IKEA to buy
this:
and arranged my tees by the different styles (ie off-shoulder, long/short sleeves) using the different shelves. Now my closet is more spacious
and neater, making it alot easier to find the clothes I want.

Taadaa. And we're done! I had a very self-satisfied smile when I was done. :)