Happy Spring Equinox, folks! With the seasons having officially changed, there’s no better time to create space in one’s closet for that which is lighter and brighter. Although our finicky weather dictates much of what we wear (hello, April, May and June showers!), there’s no pressing reason to keep a Polar Express down-quilted full-length hooded coat to hand. Once the mercury starts to rise, finding a place to store your off-season goodies is that is neither too hot nor too cold, too dusty nor too damp is the perennial question. Shopping channel vacuum pack storage bags may seem like a boon for the space-deprived (or the lazy) but shrink-wrapping your favourite threads come at a hefty price, namely damage. If you plan on maintaining the happiness of your closet year on year, getting familiar with storage etiquette is key. As for entertaining an attic or a basement for storing anything sentimental or expensive is simply asking for it. Here’s why.

Hand-washing is a dirty word, not least when it comes to caring for our unmentionables. The idea of tending to your smalls in the sink seems as quaint, if not totally unnecessary. Surely a washing machine can do the job? Not if you’ve caused it to choke on an errant underwire which it will chew and regurgitate with much in the way of hissing and spitting, not to mention a three-figure repair bill.

I am a stickler for hangers.  When tasked with decluttering any closet, the first order of business is a deep and meaningful on proper hanger usage. I bring my own stash for demonstration purposes and back-up and a wagging finger of shame (patent pending) should things get ugly. This might be seen as taking it a bit too seriously. I say you can never be too serious about hangers. Why? Used properly, these humble tools can carry out a few basic but critical functions:

Store or display? That is the question. And the answer? Anything in your wardrobe that doesn’t receive the hanger treatment is generally that which needs the most attention. Take a quick gawk into your storage space and you might find some tangled scarves, shoes still in their boxes, necklaces entwined together – you get the […]

Everyone has one: a straight-up-no-chaser buddy whose regular shots of honesty make the room spin. Serving up reality in a full-length mirror is part of her charm so don’t ever try and change her. Why? Because it’s folks like the Frank Friend with No Filter that can fast track you from a state of closet […]