Create a sustainable autumn wardrobe

A well-assorted and carefully-planned wardrobe will save time, energy and money. Looking after and making your clothes last longer is also good from a sustainability standpoint. The storage company Elfa has teamed up with fashion journalist and sustainability expert Emma Elwin to give you tips on the best way to organise your wardrobe.

As autumn approaches, maybe it’s time to switch from summer clothes to warmer autumn and winter wear. The transition between seasons can be the perfect opportunity to do a thorough edit of your wardrobe. This will help you create a more organised system, leave space for items you actually wear and take care of your clothes in a sustainable way.

A recent Sifo survey, commissioned by Elfa, reveals that one in four people clean out their wardrobe once a year at most. Slightly more, 28 per cent, give theirs a spring clean every three months, which is an excellent way to protect clothes from pests like moths and fur beetles. There are also plenty of smart tools in the market that help extend the longevity of garments. Emma Elwin, an expert on sustainability, has teamed up with Elfa to offer you some valuable and simple tips on the optimal way to store and look after your items of clothing.

Sustainable garment care

• Plan your wardrobe to leave space for your garment care tools.
• Keep washing to a minimum. Use linen spray instead and hang clothes out to air.
• Invest in a wool or cashmere comb to remove pilling.
• Look after leather shoes by applying a wax polish or cream at least every two months to keep them supple.
• Buy laundry bags to protect delicate items when washing them in the machine.
  

Top tips for storing clothes

• Knitted sweaters should be folded and ideally stored with cedar wood balls.
• Trousers with a front crease down the leg should be hung with the crease facing outward.
• T-shirts can be folded or hung on a hanger.
• It’s always best to hang up shirts, blouses and dresses.
• Use a shoe tree to keep your leather shoes in their proper shape.
• Suits and wool coats should be hung on a shoulder support hanger.
• Avoid shelves that are too deep for you to reach the back.
• Think about the space between the shelves. The piles of clothes will topple over if there is too much space.
• A good tip is to use hooks to hang clothes that are too clean to wash yet not clean enough to put away.
• Shelf and drawer dividers make it easy to keep things neat, orderly and quick to find.
• Shelf for recycling bags. Simple to fill and take to the recycling bin when full.
• Place accessories in shallow baskets or trays and avoid unnecessary purchases because you know exactly what you have.
  

Plan your wardrobe to maximise space

There are some good tips for making optimal use of space when you are building up and planning your wardrobe. This will help you stay organised and save precious time since everything is easy to find. Storage expert Christine Dalman gives her top tips:

• Avoid shelves that are too deep for you to reach the back.
• Think about the space between the shelves. The piles of clothes will topple over if there is too much space.
• A good tip is to use hooks to hang clothes that are too clean to wash yet not clean enough to put away.
• Shelf and drawer dividers make it easy to keep things neat, orderly and quick to find.
• Shelf for donation and recycling bags. Simple to fill and take to a charity shop or recycling bin when full.
• Place accessories in shallow baskets or trays and avoid unnecessary purchases because you know exactly what you have.
  

* Results of an online panel survey conducted by the Kantar Sifo market research company between 15 and 18 June 2021. A total of 1,023 people from ages 16 to 79 years were interviewed. The online panel is representative of the country as a whole based on random selection of participants.