31 Days to a calm, clutter-free home: {Day Four}

I'm back! So, baby arrived earlier than expected, which meant that I didn't get quite as far on my '31 days to a calm, clutter-free home' project as I'd hoped! I haven't given up, though - it's just going to take me a little longer than expected, but all the more reason to keep at it! If I can turn my home into a calm and orderly space in just a month with a baby to look after and all the normal household chores, then so can you! Today's task? The closet: part one.

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 Decluttering and reorganising my wardrobe is one of my best and worst chores. I love having a neat, organised (often colour-coded!) closet, but I detest the fact that this huge job often requires hours and hours of work. The initial stages are fun: chucking out all your clothes onto your bed, emptying your shelves and dreaming of the end result. I typically get to the point where I feel like throwing in the towel once I've finished those steps and I'm faced with a mountain of clothes strewn across my bed. There has to be an easier way!

I decided to break the task up into manageable bits and to tackle the mammoth task of reorganising my wardrobe over a couple of days. To begin with, simply open your wardrobe and start going through all the garments you've hung up, asking yourself the following questions as you go:

- Do I like it? Really, really like it? If no, toss it onto your bed.
- More importantly, do I wear it? How often? If you haven't worn a particular item in over 6 months, chuck it onto your bed, along with all the clothes you don't really, really like.
- Does it still fit me? If not, you guessed it: onto the bed it goes!
- Does it need to be repaired in any way? Think broken zips, ripped seams, hemlines that need adjusting...Set any garments that need to be repaired aside.
- Toss any garments that are faded, worn and generally beyond reparable onto the bed.

Now spend some time going through the garments left hanging in your wardrobe. Group your garments into sections: hang all your dresses together, followed by skirts, trousers, blazers... you get the picture. I like to hang all my clothes facing the same way (front of garment facing to the right of my wardrobe), with my hangers pointing in the same direction. (A great tip I read recently: have all your hangers pointing towards you to begin with, then point it towards the back of your wardrobe once you've worn a garment. You'll soon be able to pinpoint exactly which clothes you haven't worn in a while, making the tossing process that much easier). If you're in a particularly fussy mood, you might even like to colour co-ordinate your wardrobe at this point.

Next, move onto each shelf, going through all folded garments and following the same process as above. You can do this on the same day, or tackle each shelf as and when you have a moment. (We all know what I'll be doing between feedings!)

Once you've finished tidying your wardrobe, turn your focus to the pile that's accumulated on your bed. If, like me, you're pressed for time, place all these garments into a laundry basket to deal with when you have some free time. As you go through each garment, decide whether you'd like to give it to your friend/ sister/ mother, or whether you'll be donating the item.

If you're looking for homes/ shelters to donate your unworn garments to, find one in your area by clicking on the links below:

- Western Cape shelters
- The Durban Hospice for Women
- Johannesburg shelters