A well-organised wardrobe guide

Decluttering and clearing out the wardrobe

A good sort-out is needed before you can put everything back tidily. So completely empty out your wardrobe and/or your drawers. Find a large surface – your bed, for example – where you can lay out your precious items and see exactly what you’ve got altogether. Now that your storage furniture is empty you can give it all a good clean and make it sparkle. Now it’s time to get down to sorting your clothes out and making some space. Have a good look at everything and think about which items you haven’t worn for over a year. Take them to a second-hand shop or used clothes collection. Or you could give them to somebody as a gift? 

The top section in your wardrobe

Every wardrobe has a “top section”. One which is perhaps not that easy to reach. This is the perfect place to put all the clothes and accessories that you don’t use every day. It’s also great for storing hats and hatboxes as well as seasonal clothing, such as caps and sportswear. Suitcases and bags can also be kept here. Just remember that you might not dust this section that often. This means it’s not the place for expensive or delicate fabrics or items. Our tip: If your wardrobe does not have any integrated lighting  for the top section, which is often dark, an LED strip from IKEA will soon brighten things up.

What belongs on clothes hangers

Clothes hangers are really handy for organising your clothing. It’s well worth using good-quality hangers instead of thin wire ones – unless you really don’t have much space on the rail. Delicate items can go out of shape or get damaged. At IKEA, you’ll find top-quality hangers, made out of wood for example. There’s space for skirts, dresses, shirts, suits and blouses on clothes hangers. There are also special hangers for expensive trousers. Are you familiar with the multi-use hanger – also available at IKEA – which saves space by holding your scarfs, belts, ties and other accessories? Multi-use clothes hangers are also a good way of saving space if you don’t have enough room on the clothes rail. They occupy a slot on the rail but allow you to hang up several items of clothing. Multi-use hangers are ideal for less delicate items so there’s little creasing when they’re packed tightly together on the rail.

Wardrobe door or wardrobe interior

A great place to store ties, necklaces, scarves, belts and other accessories is on the wardrobe door or inside the wardrobe. At IKEA you’ll find special hangers, door hooks and clothing hooks for wardrobe doors – you’ll have a smart storage solution in no time at all. Our tip: If your accessories make too much noise jangling on the wardrobe door, you could insert a strip of felt for soundproofing.

Separate clothing rail/additional clothes racks

Coats and jackets often take up a lot of space. The ideal solution is a small wardrobe or perhaps a separate clothes rail.  These items of clothing could also be kept in the hall or another room of your home. Very much in line with the principle of sorting out seasonal clothing and storing them to save space until they are needed again next year.

What should you put in your wardrobe’s drawers?

Commonplace but not very practical: T-shirts or pullovers should not be stored in drawers (except for sleepwear). They can move and crease when drawers are opened and closed. Fresh air cannot get to shirts and pullovers piled on top of one another either. Drawers provide perfect storage for socks, tights, leggings, underwear and accessories, such as sunglasses and costume jewellery. It’s best to give delicate silk underwear and bras their own drawer. Socks, boxer shorts and pants can be rolled up in another drawer. It’s a good idea to put expensive tights in plastic bags to protect them. Special inserts are great for jewellery and accessories. They fit perfectly into drawers and mean you know exactly where your precious items are. Got any more room? You can put belts (rolled up), scarves and neckties (folded) in drawers if you can’t store them on a multi-use hanger.

Tips for more storage space and a tidy wardrobe

After sorting out your wardrobe and methodically putting everything away again, let’s take a closer look at the wonderful new way in which clothes are organised: You’ll find out how to sort out your clothes. And how to make everything even tidier with storage boxes and create more storage space by hanging things up.

Sorting out items of clothing

Sorting out items of clothing? Isn’t that a bit tedious? Maybe but it will give you a better overview of what you have, will allow you to plan better, save you time, make you feel good and help you to combine outfits. If your clothing is arranged by type of item and/or colour in your wardrobe, you can see your options immediately. Which blue tops do you have? What would they go well with? Unless you can always remember what’s in your wardrobe, arranging everything neatly will mean you know exactly what you’ve got. Sorting your clothes out may take a while first time. But it means you’ll have a system  that will make getting dressed, changing and styling an absolute joy.

Using and labelling storage boxes

With wardrobe and clothing boxes you can make everything much neater – especially if you have an open wardrobe without doors. The storage boxes will ensure everything’s spick and span in no time at all. At IKEA, you’ll find extremely practical boxes (made of cardboard or plastic, for example) which you can label. This means you can store shoes and accessories etc. dust-free and you’ll always know exactly where to find them.

Using the depth of shelves and space between them

Use all the space your wardrobe has to offer – no matter how small. T-shirts can be rolled up to squeeze into tiny nooks without creasing them. Also try to use the depth of your shelves. You can put clothes you don’t wear that often at the back. Put your favourite clothes right at the front where you can see them – at chest height and eye level. Storage solutions – from IKEA for example – will help you to make optimal use of the space available to you. Boxes, hanger storage, multi-use clothes hangers, jewellery inserts and many other options can work wonders in even the tiniest of storage spaces.

Using hanging storage solutions

Hanging storage solutions are a great way of saving space. They range from simple loop systems, where you can keep dozens of scarves, belts or ties, to hanging storage solutions with compartments which take up very little space on the clothes rail but create lots of new storage space – such as for socks, expensive shoes, underwear or accessories.