IN OR OUT OF THE CLOSET

To live as a follower of fashion I am obliged to update my wardrobe more than average. Disturbing? Not at all, a conscious choice. Fashion is my passion. My motto is: a day without shopping is a day not lived. My only concern is to give those new must-haves a neat place in my closet. This means rigorously cleaning out, getting rid of, and reorganizing every new season. But how do you do that? How?

That means you remove everything, yes the complete contents of your closet, then tackle the shelves and drawers with something like Jif, Ajax, or Mister Proper (what a creepy, inflated little man that is. But that aside...) Keep the season in mind when reorganizing. Things you think you won't wear for a while should be moved to the highest shelves or stored in the basement.

Gather everything you plan to tidy up (for example on your bed) and make sure you have a long mirror at your disposal and see if you still think that Gucci dress from three years ago is still so beautiful. Maybe there are clothes and shoes in there that you haven't worn in ages. Get rid of them! This is the moment to create order. It's a fact that we don't wear everything from the closet. A waste of precious space, right? Okay, I admit, it takes some discipline but try to set aside a number of distracting thoughts when you get started. Such as:

* Later there will be an occasion when I will want to wear it.
If you haven't worn something for a few seasons, say goodbye to it. You can try to sell expensive designer clothes. (www.designer-vintage.com)
* Maybe I'll fit into it later. Believe me, by the time you fit into those jeans from three years ago, you'll be ready for a new model.
* How ‘me’ is this?
There are phases in your life when your body and look need change. Subject yourself from time to time to a critical look or ask a trusted friend for advice.
* Maybe it will come back in fashion? Surely, but by the time that happens, you'll probably be too old for it.

• Invest in good (wooden) hangers. It's a one-time investment, looks neat, and moreover, your clothes won't lose their shape. Cedar wood is the most ideal - it prevents moth holes - but there's nothing wrong with a cheaper version from Ikea or Blokker.
• Knitted tops are best stored folded. On a hanger, knits, especially the heavier ones, quickly lose their shape.
• Hang and lay everything by type. So cardigans with cardigans, skirts with skirts, jackets with jackets. I also try to sort everything as much as possible by color: pastels together, black in a pile, etc.
• Try not to cram. Your clothes need space to avoid wrinkling. It's also handy to close the buttons on jackets and blouses so that the shape stays intact.
• Put your shoes in shoe trees immediately after you take them off. This keeps the shape like new.
• A pleasant side effect of all this is that you can decide much faster in the morning what to wear and less often miss out. You can see at a glance what you have and what you can choose from. Everything hanging and lying in your closet is okay. Moreover, it often turns out that there is space left when all the junk is removed.
• Finally: Store the washed or steamed clothes that you won't wear this season in covers or boxes. An anti-moth strip can be wise for wool.
• Write on a nice label what is inside. This lowers the threshold to unpack the bag again later. A polaroid of the items can also be helpful.