How To Organise Your New Wardrobe

If you're shelling out on a fancy built-in wardrobe with all mod cons, it's well worth putting some effort into figuring out how best to organise it. The important thing is that you have a system in place right from the beginning and that you stick to it--and it's a good idea to plan ahead to make sticking to that system as straightforward as possible.

Make sure everything's stored in an appropriate place

Most people have had a time in their life when their wardrobe didn't suit their needs--and it's no good for either your clothes or your ease of getting dressed in the morning! Built-in wardrobes should have plenty of room for both full-length garments and shorter ones, so make sure you've put a little effort into getting everything in the right place.

Hang things that need ironing in a part of the wardrobe that has a little more space, and set aside a portion of the storage for 'going out clothes': the outfits you wear for parties and special occasions. These things will benefit from not being disturbed so frequently, and they'll make you smile every time you open that door!

Arrange stuff how you do use it, not how you might

It can be tempting to use a new custom-built wardrobe as an opportunity to change everything: re-organise your clothes, change up how to dress, embrace a whole new sartorial you. This is usually unrealistic, and in the long run you'll appreciate having everything arranged in a more realistic way.

Don't look up guides online or in magazines to decide how to arrange your clothes or what goes with what: think instead about how you actually wear them.

Use add-ons to keep everything in order

Not everything that goes in a wardrobe wants to hang on a classic hanger. You should have a minimum of two kinds: shoulder-style ones for most things, and clip ones for skirts or trousers. You might also want a rack hanger for scarves, pants or ties.

Give some thought to where you keep your shoes, too. A set of hanging pouches is a great plan, as is a movable rack in your wardrobe's floor. Incorporating slots or shelves into the wardrobe itself could also be done in the planning process.

Sliding hangers attached to runners at the sides of your wardrobe are a great way to organise scarves, belts and hanging jewellery. You're also far more likely to actually wear those things if you can see them easily!