Virgo Heaven
Finally, phase one of the Great Wardrobe Project is complete! Not for lack of trying, but other pressing matters keep pushing this project to the bottom of the list. Well, that was until I decided to take a total ‘time out’ on my weekend, not leave the house even once, employing my mini troops in the battle against chaos. Occupying children when you have every piece of clothing and accessories you own scattered around, can be a little tricky. So I armed them with swimming goggles, spray bottles (of water), dusting cloths, cameras and clip on earrings! Rather than tackling the Everest that is all my clothes (that is costumes, collection etc..) I stuck to only the current day to day wardrobe. With vacuum in hand, plenty of boxes, tape, surface spray for warding off any critters; we set to work.
Taking everything out of the wardrobe is the best time to check for any creepy crawlies, give it a thorough vacuum, wipe down and take measures to protect your threads until next time. And while you have everything out, check its condition – holes, buttons, seams, threads, cleanliness. Only the pressed and perfect go back in, and I keep a clothing rail in my studio for all the fixer-upers.
Maximise your space with clever thinking. All my long necklaces and belts are housed on tie racks at either end of the wardrobe, making use of the depth of the wall rather than more horizontal space. All the larger, soft handbags and totes go into a big plastic storage container with pictures at the front. Each bag is in its own dust cover inside and these are rotated out seasonally. I don’t like to keep things in plastic as a rule, as plastic gives off fumes that aren’t great for textiles. But this container has a front opening door that allows me to reach inside and pull out what I want without taking the whole box down.
Special occasion hats are all in various hat boxes, with those I use most frequently, able to be grabbed at a moments notice. I love to colour block my clothes, but the various lengths and space restrictions make this tricky. So they are blocked by colour and length to allow for more shoe storage and drawers under the shorter garments.
Of course, there is never enough room to house ALL the shoes, so those not worn quite as regularly as housed in boxes with their photos on the front. An old trick, but a good one, as even though you can now buy those see through plastic boxes, I resent paying for something that comes with the shoes already and is better for the environment and the longevity of my shoes than yet more plastic in the closet.
My dressing table houses the majority of my accessories, and as you well know, accessories are one of those things you really need to be able to see at all times or you totally forget what you have. So I make good use of all the drawers, using yet more old boxes to help separate and store things so they don’t become damaged and jumbled. Even the scarves are folded and stacked so I can see the ‘spines’ of each of them to help identify them quickly.
And as for all the hair & makeup stuff… how do you tame that beast? With the help of fishing boxes from the hardware store, makeup cases, and lots of hooks. Also, having a handy MR. SKM around to get the shelf on the wall was rather critical to the success of this one too!
If all else fails and you know like me, that your wardrobe has to extend into the rest of your house just to find homes – get creative.
China cabinets need not just be for nana nick nacks, they are the perfect place to do a bit of visual merchandising with your favorite handbags, hats and small plastic friends!
…… and Done!
If you’ve got any other great wardrobe organisation tips – share them with us in the comments.
Dear Kiwi mama
Thanks so much for those organising tips. The china cabinet is a great idea! I have two suggestions:
(1) I try to use padded hangers (like the ones you get at fetes) and also give my clothes a rest from hanging up to preserve their shape (so for my off-season clothes, I fold them and place at top of wardrobe)(particularly important for suit jackets I have found)
(2) an alternative to commercial moth repellants is a bag of herbs, particularly rosemary, with a bit of lavendar extract poured on it (use a mesh bag like the ones you get from the Body shop or Priceline). I find some of the commercial repellants too smelly.
I would also be interested in your views on airing versus dry cleaning. I try not to dry clean my vintage garments too much because (1) its bad for the environment and (2) wears out the garments if they are cleaned too much. I usually air my garments on the line (or under verandah) for a couple of hours (unless they are stained). I would be interested in how you approach this issue.
By the way, I love your blog and you always look gorgeous!
Regards
Maria O’Sullivan
Oh Wow. Can you please come and do my wardrobe too? haha. The problem we have is our bedroom is teeny tiny and the wardrobe is infuriatingly small, so for clothes horses like me and Henry there just isn’t enough room. We now have an extra clothes rail and shoe rack beside our bed, we had to give up bedside tables for that to fit, but we still don’t have enough room. It drives me crazy. I have thrown out so much too, but it never seems to get any smaller. You’ve inspired me to try again today to finally get in in control!
Your wardrobe looks so lovely and organised now, I’m inspired! Saw you on the back of The Age this weekend, although they seem to have got your name mixed up with your friend’s!
Such a massive wardrobe – envy!! Wish I had that much space and that many clothes
It must be such a relief to have everything nicely organised 
Looks great! I have been moving lots lately (life of a student) so everytime I need to pack up, I try to free up space in my wardrobe. One tip I have is those little fabric shelves that hang over the rack in the closet are great for holding a few pairs of shoes in each cubby.
Holy cow… you did an awesome job… can I go shopping in your room? I saw some furs, hats and purses I would die to have!!! hahha you can come to California and do mine now… Please!
Hey Super Kawaii Mama,
This entry has really got me inspired to do a wardrobe cleanout of my own. Thanks for the distraction from study! (I’m honestly not being sarcastic – study=not fun.)
Oh wow!! I actually just did this a few weeks ago. We moved 4 months ago and my wardrobe was still asking to be organised.
Another great tip that I like to do is – I brought a huge beautiful clear glass plate and I keep all my hair things and bracelets and stuf in it. It kinda has curved edges so that you can do this with it. I looks great on my dresser with all the feathers and flowers and beads from my accessories!
Thank-you for sharing this; I absolutely love learning clever new ways to store items. I have been very space-challenged since moving in with Maiki but I am happily organized now. I posted recently about jewelry armoires and shared how I made an armoire for my jewelry out of a bathroom cabinet:
http://gothicburlesque.blogspot.com/2009/09/jewelry-armoires.html
Until I have my armoire shipped from the U.S. it will work very nicely for me. You do indeed need to be able to see all your accessories or you’ll forget you have them!
I wish I had a china cabinet to put my bags. I have to squish them all into a small section of my wardrobe.
Ahhh wardrobe envy…
XXASAB
I agree with Angela- wardrobe envy indeed! My wardrobe always seems to be full even though everyday I think to myself “what the hell can I wear?” [Does anyone else get that problem?]
All I know is that I’m going to need some storage help cause I’m off to uni this weekend and the wardrobes are so teeny… Does anyone have any storage tips for tiny rooms and wardrobes? xo
Wow, very organized!
I sort my clothes by color and length as well
I think you should have your own TV show. Teach us how to organize our closets and dress as fab as you do.
-meream
Oh.My.Goodness. You have so many clothes! What a lucky duck you are. I love the cabinet idea. I find my hats are the most difficult thing to store because I can never remember which box I put what hat in. I think the photo idea you use for your shoes is just the ticket!
Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife
You Kawaii Kitty you, I love your site. A definite bookmark in my site
a china cabinet is really all i need now. i gotta go thru your post again soon. thanks!
Great post! I used to display stuff on my bookshelves, but then I can’t get at the books. I organize my clothing by type, so all of the skirts together, ect. That way if I have a shirt I want to wear, I just go to the skirts or pants section to find something to wear with it.
Can you put swing tags on everything and let me come in and shop? Promise I won’t keep asking you to open the cabinet (maybe just a few times)
xx
Some clever idea’s for organising your closet there SKM.
I’m about to embark on a spring clean so I might take notes
Very inspiring! I agree with The Glamorous Housewife… my biggest problem is hats! My vintage hat collection is quickly growing out of control so they are in hat boxes, hanging on the wall, piled on top of my wardrobe, on my shelves, everywhere! I know it’s not very good for them because they collect dust but am unsure what else to do with them.
As for dealing with an excess of clothing, I wrap them in plastic bags and keep many of them in old leather suitcases (that used to belong to my grandparents). Seems to do the trick. Love your blog. xx
Good work. I love a wardrobe clean up, sort out and rearrange.
Wow, you’ve got a lot of stuff! Feeling just a little bit jealous right now…
Here are a couple of tricks I use to orgamise my closet:
firs of all I keep my things sorted by occasion, for example: all my homewear t-shirts in one pile all evening tops in the other and so on.
I also have a cardboard sheet that I use to fold all my tops and sweaters so that when folded they are all the same width. It really maximises the closet space.
I hope this helps
I hope you’ll find
OMG I envy your Wardrobe.
It looks so like a “Shop” rather then a “Room”!
Even the bags are on shelves.
Jealous muchhh!!!