Wardrobe Decluttering Tips From a Professional Stylist

Ever opened your wardrobe one fine day, and stood there overwhelmed and anxious, thinking “what do I wear?”

Yes, we’ve all been there.

With little time to decide, more often than not, the answer to your question would have been, “I have nothing to wear.”

But here’s the thing. Your wardrobe should make getting dressed feel exciting – not anxious, overwhelming, or exhausting.

If your wardrobe is overflowing with clothes, and you still cannot figure out what to wear in less than five minutes, or worse, feel like you have nothing to wear, it’s time for a reset.

These wardrobe decluttering tips from a professional stylist will help you clean up the clutter, rediscover your personal style, and fall in love with getting dressed all over again.

It doesn’t matter if you are moving homes, or just tired of the exhausting decision of picking daily outfits, this step-by-step wardrobe detox guide will help simplify your mornings and restore your confidence.

Why You Need to Declutter Your Wardrobe

The clothes in your wardrobe hold many stories. For many reasons, there may be pieces you haven’t been able to let go, even if you have never worn them, or worn only once.

Similarly, you have been growing and changing through the years. Clothes that you used to wear, perhaps even loved three years ago, probably don’t fit you anymore. Some may not even suit your upgraded lifestyle.

For these reasons and many more, your wardrobe develops clutter. And a cluttered wardrobe doesn’t just lead to messy hangers – it causes decision fatigue (a big reason why you could even end up avoiding stepping out altogether), wasted time, and a distorted sense of style.

You may find yourself buying the same items, holding on to “someday” clothes, or simply rewearing the same pieces over and over again.

When you declutter your wardrobe, beyond making space, you also bring clarity. With a clear choice of outfits to pick from, you start dressing intentionally, and not reactively.

Professional stylists call this process a wardrobe audit. It involves a complete evaluation of the pieces you own, the outfits that work, and the outfits that have to go.

The result?

A well-curated closet that reflects and celebrates your current lifestyle, not five years ago, or 2 years later.

Step-by-Step Wardrobe Decluttering Tips

Here’s how you can clean up and declutter your wardrobe without feeling too overwhelmed.

Step 1: Empty Out and Assess Everything

Start by pulling out everything you have – yes everything. If you have way too many clothes, you could do it over two sessions – divide your closet into two parts, and take care of it one part a day.

Next, lay everything out so that you can see what you own, clearly.
Stylists love a blank canvas, because clarity comes from visibility. You cannot style what you cannot see.

Step 2: Sort Into Three Piles – Keep, Edit, Store

A stylist doesn’t just ask, “Do you wear it?” They ask, “Does it fit, flatter, and excite you?”

Sort the clothes laid out in front of you using these criteria.

• Keep whatever you love, makes you feel confident, and fits well. Remember, all aspects of this criteria (love, confidence, fit) are non-negotiable for every piece.
• Edit whatever is outdated in style, doesn’t fit, is damaged, or doesn’t reflect your current self – image, shape, or lifestyle
• Store seasonal or sentimental items (just a few). When you store sentimental items, don’t store them in your wardrobe; put them in a memory box of valuables and keep them elsewhere.

Pro tip: If you wouldn’t wear it on your best, it probably deserves to go.

The “I Didn’t Know” Method

You can also try using the “I didn’t know” method to pick items to edit/throw, recommended by the Minimalists; hosts of the Minimalists Podcast and stars of the 2021 Netflix documentary The Minimalists: Less Is Now.

The rule is simple. For every item you’ve laid out, ask yourself the question, “Did I know I had this?”

If your answer is, “No, I totally forgot I had this,” that’s a clear sign it belongs in the edit pile.

What to Do With Your Edit Pile

You can throw away, donate, repurpose, or alter the things in your edit pile. You can decide later if it’s too overwhelming. As a general rule of thumb, set aside the pieces still in good condition for donation; similarly, the ones too damaged can be thrown out.

Step 3: Build Around What You Love

The goal of wardrobe audit and decluttering isn’t just to get rid of things. It is also to reveal your signature style.
Stylists are attuned to finding and recognizing patterns. You can do the same; maybe you have a visible inclination towards soft neutrals, or bold structured pieces. These distinct pieces can become your style anchors.

Stylists are trained to find and recognize patterns. You can do the same. Maybe you notice a natural inclination towards soft neutrals, or bold, structured pieces. These recurring favourites can become your style anchors.

Once you identify the pieces you love this way, everything else becomes easier to edit.

Step 4: Adopt the One-Year Rule – but Refine It Smartly

The classic rule you’ve probably already heard of is “If you haven’t worn it in a year, let it go.”

But wardrobe decluttering tips by a stylist go one step further; if you haven’t worn it in a year and it’s and it doesn’t fit your current lifestyle, it needs to go.

For example, a dressy silk jumpsuit is pretty. But if you work remotely now, or are less likely to go for fancy dinner parties and similar occasions in the near future, it’s not serving you daily.

Because, decluttering your wardrobe should align with who you are today.

Step 5: Organize: By Colour, and Function

The next step in a stylist’s wardrobe decluttering tips list, is crucial. It is time to group and categorize your pile or “keep” clothes. And it is important to organize by function or use case and not just hues.

Take some time and separate your clothes by:

• Workwear/meeting wear (tailored pants, blazers)
• Casual daywear (jeans, summer dresses)
• Evening or occasion wear (maxi dresses, bodycons, silk skirts)
• Seasonal layers/ travel essentials (jumpers, sweaters, leather jackets)

Within these categories, you can also group by colours for ease of selection.

Separating your clothes into these primary categories makes outfit-building effortless and almost automatic – you can instantly see what to mix and match.

What to Do After Wardrobe Audit and Decluttering

Once you have eliminated the clutter in your closet, it is the perfect time to build a capsule wardrobe – a much smaller, smarter and more efficient collection of essential pieces that can be styled in multiple ways.

This is where a virtual wardrobe consultation will help you.

A professional virtual fashion stylist can transform your “keep” pile into a potent and promising capsule comprising new and fresh outfit combinations that you may never have considered before.

With the help of digital lookbooks and personalized shopping links, you can see how a few intentionally picked pieces can create dozens of fresh new looks.

When to Call a Professional Online Stylist

If you:

• Feel overwhelmed or anxious every time you open your wardrobe
• Keep buying new clothes but end up wearing the same few pieces
• Struggle to find a personal style
• Worry about judgement whenever you decide to wear something new

…it is time for a wardrobe audit and decluttering, with a professional online stylist.

A stylist sees patterns and details that you can’t – identifying your best silhouettes, colours, and textures is done based on science and theory. They don’t just offer wardrobe decluttering tips, they rebuild your wardrobe into a system that works for you.

With Lune by Bhagya, you will experience a calm, non-overwhelming, judgement-free process that helps you rediscover your confidence through what you wear.

Ready to find your most confident self?

Book a wardrobe audit and consultation today, and receive a personalized capsule wardrobe lookbook tailored to your lifestyle.

FAQs

How long does wardrobe audit and decluttering take?

The duration of a wardrobe audit and decluttering session depends on your wardrobe size and complexity. A typical session can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, divided into smaller sessions. A stylist-led wardrobe audit is more structured and efficient, making it easier and less overwhelming for you.

What’s the difference between a declutter and a wardrobe audit?

A wardrobe audit is a comprehensive and strategic process that involves assessing your clothing, understanding your style and preferences, identifying gaps, and building a cohesive collection that reflects your style and personality. It allows you to get more clarity, reveals working outfit formulas, and direction.

A declutter on the other hand is simply removing the items that you no longer need or wear. It is a part of a wardrobe audit; in fact, it is the first segment. However, an audit is more strategic with a strong focus on elements like fit, colour, use, and personal style, meant to curate a functional wardrobe.

Do online personal stylists help with shopping after decluttering?

Yes, a virtual personal stylist can create digital lookbooks with shoppable links so that you can fill wardrobe gaps easily and intentionally.

Transform Your Wardrobe With a Virtual Personal Stylist

At Lune by Bhagya, we offer full blown audit and consultation sessions with digital lookbooks, reviews, and revisions if needed. Our services are designed to help you feel good and confident in your clothes, so that you dressing up becomes joyful again.

With our wardrobe audit and consultation, you get:

• A full audit
• A detailed report on colour analysis and body shape analysis
• Development of personal style
• Curated digital lookbooks
• Video review and revision sessions

All to help you style what you already own.

Book your wardrobe audit session here.