Wardrobe decluttering checklist
Sort your wardrobe in manageable sections, decide what to keep or pass on, and organise the clothes you actually wear.

MAKE A MANAGEABLE START
- Choose one drawer, rail or clothing category to sort first
- Set a time limit that leaves room to put everything away
- Clear a clean surface for sorting
- Prepare separate bags or boxes for donation, sale, repair and textile recycling
- Check what local charities or collection points will accept before filling bags

SORT EACH ITEM
- Check whether the item fits comfortably now
- Ask whether you wear it and whether it suits your current routine
- Check for stains, damage, missing buttons or a broken fastening
- Keep clothes you enjoy wearing and have space to store
- Set aside useful items that need a specific repair or alteration
- Put items you no longer want into the appropriate outgoing group
- Keep sentimental items separately if you want to save them without filling daily storage
- Give uncertain items a small, clearly defined space and a review date

PREPARE OUTGOING CLOTHES
- Wash or clean donation and sale items according to their care labels
- Empty all pockets
- Pair shoes and fasten matching pieces together
- Describe wear and damage honestly when listing items for sale
- Check the receiving organisation's rules for underwear, footwear and damaged textiles
- Use an appropriate local textile collection for items that cannot be donated
- Keep wet or mouldy items out of donation bags

PUT THE KEEPERS AWAY
- Wipe shelves or drawers before refilling them
- Group clothes by the way you use them, such as work, everyday and sportswear
- Put the items you wear most where they are easy to reach
- Fold knitwear and other items that can stretch on hangers
- Store off-season clothes clean and dry if you have suitable space
- Keep matching items together
- Leave enough space to remove and return clothes easily

FINISH THE JOB
- Choose a date to deliver donations or take recycling to an accepted collection point
- Book repairs or set aside time to make them
- Set a deadline for selling items so unwanted clothes do not linger indefinitely
- Write down genuine gaps before buying anything new
- Revisit the uncertain-items box on its review date
- Stop when the chosen section is organised rather than emptying the whole wardrobe at once