Energise your wardrobe with these 3 hacks

And energise most other things too

When you take responsibility for a well-organised wardrobe, you get more out of your clothes by becoming aware of energies, letting go and circulating resources. Here‘s a surprisingly simple how-to guide.

Most of us have too much of everything—including clothes. When our wardrobe becomes messy and unmanageable, we buy something new instead of tidying up and replenishing our wardrobe with good energy. Basically, tidying up is about systems—and using a simple one makes it easier for you to follow through on your new habit.

So, there's hope. Let's start by introducing our decluttering mentor, officially Heart of Simplicity, Kamilla Brix. She has a passion for systems and hacks that adds calmness and energy to our lives instead of consuming them.

Here are Kamilla's three best hacks to energise your wardrobe—and most other things too: 

1. Stick to your own pace when tidying-up

Do you tidy up regularly—or do you prefer doing it all at once?

To discover your own tidying-up pace, start by noticing how you usually approach it.

For some, pulling all the clothes out of the wardrobe is a demotivating punch to the gut. If that's you, or you don't feel you have the time, take small steps: a drawer, a shelf, or a series of hangers.

Make tidying up an act of self-love to make it easier to be you—be happy about your achievements instead of resenting what you don't overcome. Only managed to tidy up your trousers? Great! You've built a foundation, making the next step easier.

No one wants to tidy up; everyone wants to get ready for tomorrow. 

– Kamilla Brix

2. Group your clothes into three types

Good energy: Your favourite clothes that support you perfectly and you love to wear. Make room for them and use them as much as possible, instead of sparring them for special occasions.

Dead energy: The clothes that just fill up your wardrobe. You typically have too many identical garments and can't separate them from each other—like a stack of white t-shirts of which you only wear three. Pick what you wear most (hint: they're at the top of the stack). Let go of the rest.

Energy killers: Those that make you unwell just looking at them—and make you feel wrong about yourself. Let them go – even if they were expensive – and even if there's nothing wrong with them.

Clothes in sacks absorb energy too; you have to get them out of the house and pass them on to friends, family, textile sorting or recycling centres.

– Kamilla Brix

3. Figure out how many of each piece you need

Figure out how many garments you need in each category; bottoms, tops, jackets, etc.

Here's how:

1. Pick a category. Let's pick tops as an example
2. Put all your newly washed tops in a neat pile somewhere convenient
3. Wear a top
4. Wash it
5. Hang it in your wardrobe
6. Wear it again, if you like, but let it back into the wardrobe after washing it.

You'll notice a curious thing: some tops go into the wardrobe—the rest stays in the pile.

Now, count the number of tops in your wardrobe.

That's how many tops you need.

Bonus: As you figure out how many garments you need in each category, you'll probably end up having fewer clothes. This means you don't have to put your winter clothes away in the summer and vice versa, so you won't lose the overview. Instead, combine your garments in new ways and use them all year round—also a way to discover better ways of using what you have.

Everything must have a place—the less you have, the easier it is to find space and put it in place.

– Kamilla Brix

Last words on letting go

The fear of losing or missing something is human—clothes included. A nice thing to remember when it's hard to let go of what you don't use. If this happens to you, try to think about it like this:

What happens if I don't have this warm sweater? 

– I could keep warm by wearing two sweaters.

– I could wear an undershirt.

– I could borrow a warm sweater for the occasion.

Also, think of the life you wish for your clothes—their purpose is to be worn, so let them.

Lastly, embrace when you change your style, body shape and needs throughout your life.

Tidy-up, let go, circulate.

Repeat. 

"Everything you own wants to be of use to you."

– Marie Kondo