As GH’s resident household advice editor, you’d think my wardrobe would be as organised as it can get – with shoes and bags lined up and categorised, my clothes rail colour-coordinated etc. That’s a far cry from the truth, but that’s not to say it’s a complete disaster. I can at least close the doors!
I know where to find what I want to wear in my wardrobe and yet, while I recently decluttered it, it felt like many items were still going unworn. To put this to the test, over the last month I’ve been trying out the ‘Reverse Hanger’ declutter technique. Turns out the problem was much worse than I thought! Here’s what happened.
What is the ‘Reverse Hanger’ trick?
The premise of this method is a simple one; you reverse all the hangers on your clothes rail so they’re facing the wrong way around. Then, once you’ve worn the item, you replace it on the hanger and switch it the right way around again.
You’re encouraged to do this for six months, during which time you should see more and more hangers reverting back to normal. Then, once time is up, you can see what’s been worn and declutter the rest! It’s quite a long-winded but effective way to declutter your wardrobe and quite brutal, as I found out.
What happened when I tried the ‘Reverse Hanger’ declutter method
I only practiced the reverse hanger method for one month, but it was more than enough!
My dresses were the first to turn (I was fairly confident I’d wear all of these) but after about a week, I soon noticed I was wearing the same items over and over. The reverse hanger method was handy at first for making sure I didn’t wear the same item more than once during one week but from then on, it left me feeling self-conscious about wearing the same items to work.
It did encourage me to bring out some of the dresses I don’t wear so often, some of which even earned me a few compliments around the office. I wore a dress I thought was a little too striking for work, but that bagged me a compliment from the managing director. Another was the dress that I wore for my graduation; it had memories attached so I didn’t want to get rid of it, but it wasn’t worn so much these days. I managed to just squeeze into it and it felt great to wear again.
Moving on to my coats, I wore three out of nine. That’s a bit depressing but, in my defence, five of these are winter coats so they don’t really count at this time of year. Still, it did bring me to the conclusion that I have far too many. One is a brand-new winter coat that, in retrospect, looks a little like it drowns me, so I’m going to sell it. Another looks well-worn but, with a fabric shaver, I think it’s definitely still got some life in it. I also have two raincoats (one of which I wore), the unworn one isn’t likely to be worn again so I’m going to see if I can find it another home. The other winter coats are going to be stored properly in garment bags to protect them from moths and mildew, until they’re needed again.
My shoes are probably my biggest problem. I’ve stacked two shoe racks with them (24 pairs in total) and had to move them out of the wardrobe due to the height colliding with the hems of my dresses. I decided to turn each pair around as I wore them to make the method applicable to my shoes, too. I was quickly horrified by how often I wore the same three pairs (a brown pair of boots, black pair of boots and trainers on the weekend).
The method made me strive to wear more shoes and in doing so, I made a few discoveries. First, I tried out a new pair of boots (I had worn them once previously and was worried they would rub) and realised they were more comfortable than I first thought. But, a second pair of boots were, after trying them out, too large for me. These still look like new, so I’m going to try to sell them. My mum’s been trying to find a new pair of trainers, too, so I’m going to pass on a spare pair to her. Some of the shoes aren’t suitable for the summer, so I’m going to store those in the meantime, so they’re not on display throughout the year. Just making a few decisions like these increased my regularly worn shoe collection and got rid of some of the excess.
So, what wasn’t worn? Plenty, as it goes. There were a couple of black dresses that I keep on standby for formal events. I tried these on to see how they fitted. One looked far too young for me and the other was too tight, so I’m pleased such an event didn’t crop up on short notice. There was also a cardigan that I just didn’t like the look of anymore, so I decided to recycle it.
Wardobe declutter kit
CrazyGadget 32 Litre Large Plastic Storage Container
There were a couple of sentimental items, too; my prom dress was still here. I’d previously defended it from my sister years ago when she wanted to make adjustments to it to wear on a cruise. I considered if I’d ever wear it again – absolutely not. It’s far too small for me now and I wouldn’t have the right occasion for it. So, I decided it was time to let it go. I offered it back to my sister to give it the chance to be worn again. Turns out, she wants to keep it for my niece, so it’s found a new home – one where it can come in useful.
There were some categories of items I hadn’t touched at all, including my silk scarves and handbags. I was annoyed by this considering how much I loved these items and the effort I’d gone to with their storage. Each scarf was hung neatly on its own smaller velvet hanger, while my 14 handbags (yes, I counted and was horrified!) were lined up on the top shelf and hidden under the bed. I decided to make a conscious effort to wear both more.
Going forward, I’ll plan out my outfits the evening before, so I can match a scarf to what I’m wearing. And each time I do a Sunday reset – during which I empty out my handbag – I’ll swap to a new handbag, so I can rotate them. I’m also going to reorganise my bags – at the moment, they sit on a high shelf in my wardrobe that isn’t easy to see or access. Plus, there are two larger bags at the very front, blocking my view of the rest. I’m going to move what I can to the floor of my wardrobe once I’ve cleared some space, so they don’t go forgotten about anymore.
Verdict
While it takes a while to declutter with the ‘Reverse Hanger’ method, you’ll see the results quickly. Within a couple of weeks, you roughly know what proportion of your wardrobe goes unused. And it’s an easy way to decipher what needs to go.
For me, I’d worn a total 32 out of 91 items across my clothes rail, shoes and bags. That’s just 35%, which is a little heartbreaking, considering I was trying to wear as many things as possible. By breaking it up, you can see what categories you wear more than others, too; for instance, I’d worn 9 out of 13 dresses, but only 1 out of 14 handbags, so I know where to focus my efforts going forward.
This method’s handy in that it almost acts as a challenge to wear the items you usually wouldn’t and address why that is. It encourages you to change your habits and make decisions on things you don’t want to, or simply don’t have the time for. But it’s a brutal reality check as well. It’s not good to know that your wardrobe is bulging and that you’re only wearing a few of the items.
This method does need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Firstly, there will be seasonal items you won’t wear across the six months, so those need to be discounted. Plus, this method takes a long time to complete, so you need to stay dedicated to it and remember to keep switching those hangers. And, just because you’ve not worn an item, doesn’t mean you should finish with it as a snap decision.
Try these items on and ask yourself why you haven’t worn it; do you no longer like how it looks, or perhaps it doesn’t fit any more or it’s such a specialist item that there’s never an occasion to wear. If so, perhaps the space in your wardrobe would better serve something you do wear. The unused item(s) could be donated, recycled, sold or stored safely elsewhere (for a future event where it’s needed). Sentimental clothing, which has an emotional meaning and you’re not prepared to let go, is better off stored safely away, too, where it’s protected from moths and musty smells.
Ultimately, this decluttering method gave my wardrobe a thorough reset; it takes time, but the results are undeniable. Just try not to wear an item to reverse the hanger and then forget about it again – I noticed I was doing this with my shoes, and it defeats the purpose! Your wardrobe should be reserved for items you wear regularly.
