New year clear out

Before

After

January always makes me re-focus on the home - preparing the nest for the cold winter months - and part of this involves re-assessing my wardrobe in order to accommodate new arrivals, plan winter outfits and identify any gaps that the January sales could help me plug.

This year I acted on tips from Elika Gibb's Practical Princess guide, taking everything out of the wardrobe, being ruthless when picking items for the charity shop (four bags full) and reorganising clothes by type, colour and print before placing on plastic hangers. I also invested in 50 space-saving, kind-to-clothes velvet hangers - alas not nearly enough for my full collection - which were prioritised for dresses.

A few hours work and I've rediscovered many old favourites, which can be afforded a new lease of life now that I can actually see what I have, and also learnt a few things; namely that I don't need any more cat-themed pieces of clothing and I'm not afraid of colour and print.