5 ways you can organise your wardrobe and get dressed in record time

We often tell ourselves that we should pick out an outfit the night before so that we don't spend the whole morning raiding our cupboards and being late for work. But yet somehow, that rarely ever happens.

If planning the night before seems too cumbersome, there are ways that can help you to cut down the time spend in front of your clothes. All you have to do is start a system that organises your clothes in a way that works for you best.

Here are five ways that you try out.

1. SORT THEM BY COLOUR

Cher Horowitz swore by this method in the book Cher's Guide To Whatever. Arranging your clothes by colour makes it easier to find a particular item on a crazy morning.

Looking for your fave blue top? Go to the blue section. That way if you need to colour match your outfits, you can clearly see what colours go together.

2. MERCHANDISE YOUR CLOTHES LIKE A DEPARTMENTAL STORE

Another way of organising is to create a system where you hang clothes based on the type of apparel product group they belong to.

This means, tees go right at the corner, followed by long-sleeved shirts, then shorts, skirts and finally long pants. Dresses can go right at the end.

Essentially, hang them by length so that there won’t be uneven space within your wardrobe.

But if you're the kind who searches for clothes by feeling the material (this makes sense if you’re very conscious about dressing appropriately for the weather), putting clothes of similar fabrics or material together might work for you. Place cottons with cottons, denim with denims and so forth.

3. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HANGING SPACE

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You can also organise your clothes by folding selected items and hanging the rest. For example, you can fold all the tops and hang the dresses and bottoms. That way, you won't have to go through your whole wardrobe just to find a pair of jeans.

Smartly folding your clothing items will also free up space you never knew you had (Marie Kondo taught us that). It will also prevent you from rushing to steam or iron a crumped item you need to wear in the morning.

4. USE THE INWARD AND OUTWARD METHOD

If you're the kind who's particular about repeating outfits, keep track of what you have worn over the past week by placing the hangar facing outwards. This is a great way to track the clothing items that are under-utilised.

So the next time you think about adding another white silk blouse into your wardrobe, take a quick check to see if you even wear the current one you have that often.

5. ORGANISE THEM BY THE FREQUENCY OF USE

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Take note on which clothing gets used the most often. Are they your office wear? Or your gym gear? Maybe your job is dependant on you attending formal events so you need your favourite cocktail dress on standby at all times.

If this makes the most sense for you, then adjust your organising style. Think about it.

When you get dressed in the morning, you’re more likely to think of the activity you’re doing for the day as opposed to the colour you feel like wearing.

The functions that you attend the least should remain at the back or in storage.

This article was first published in CLEO Singapore.