How the 90/90 decluttering rule can transform your wardrobe (2024)

Spring is undoubtedly a natural time of year for a wardrobe tidy. As days get longer and that bit warmer, cosy jumpers can be packed away, as can thicker coats and winter scarves. In their place come finer knits, tees and floaty dresses.

Yet, there will always be some items that lurk in the cupboard; that top that never quite sits right; those trousers that were an experiment with a new trend; the dress bought for a long-ago special occasion, which hasn't seen the light of day since.

According to a study on clothing habits from WRAP, a climate action NGO, the average UK adult has 118 items of clothing – of which a quarter go unworn for at least a year.

So, it's likely most of us could do with a declutter and donate pieces where we can. After all, something that you never wear could become someone else's go-to outfit. Or pieces beyond repair can be recycled at a textile bank.

It can be hard parting with pieces, as there's always that nagging feeling that you might one day suddenly have need for them. Or perhaps something has sentimental value. That's why many turn to popular prescriptive methods to help, not least those popularised by social media – including the 90/90 decluttering method.

The premise is simple and somewhat brutal: if you haven't worn something in 90 days and don't see yourself wearing it in the next three months (90 days), then it's out the (wardrobe) door.

The term was coined Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists Podcast and stars of a 2020 Netflix documentary The Minimalists: Less is Now. Their goal is to help people "streamline" their lives and make it a little easier to let something go. As they put it on their blog: “Rules can be arbitrary, restrictive, boring – but they are often helpful when we hope to make a change.”

The Minimalists do advocate flexibility, suggesting for likes of a seasonal wardrobe, the 90 days could be extended to 120 days or six months. "Whatever your rule, be honest with yourself. If your material possessions don’t serve a purpose or bring you joy, then they are likely in the way of a more meaningful life."

The "joy" element brings to mind perhaps the original tidying influencer: Marie Kondo, who uses her trademark KonMari method, which also takes a philosophical approach.

She suggests creating separate piles for items to 'keep', 'donate', 'sell', or 'discard', encouraging them to try pieces on and to aim to create a capsule wardrobe that reflects their personal style. "Declutterring and organising at the same time is a process, and it's okay to take time with it," she says.

Katherine stresses the importance of letting go of clothes you may have bought for what she terms "your fantasy self". She says: "You might admire clothing on somebody else and buy certain clothes, only to find that they aren't the most flattering for you or you don't feel comfortable in them."

If money allows, she often advises clients to invest in a personal styling session to help them find the styles and colours that work best for them. Dani too works with a personal stylist and finds that advice can stop clients making costly mistakes in the future.

However, Katherine warns against being too ruthless. "Decluttering is not about scalping your place and leaving yourself devoid of all variety and enjoyment," she says. "The William Morris quote 'Have nothing in your houses you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful' allows you to have uplifting items around you, even if they don’t serve a practical purpose." She also warns to avoid comparing yourself with others online as those completely pared-back, hyper-organised spaces we see on social media can often be heavily staged versions of reality.

If you're umming and ahhing over a piece you wear infrequently, Katherine suggests asking yourself some key questions, which may also help you to make more sustainable choices.

• Do I need to own it? Could I hire or borrow it – for renting try peer-to-peer services like ByRotation and Hurr.
• Could it be lent to others? Could others use it to justify the space it takes up between my personal usage? You could also make money renting out your own pieces.
• Can I afford to re-buy it? The Minimalists also have a "20/20" rule: If they can replace something they truly need for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from their location, then the item can go.

Dani and Katherine's approaches to how they organise newly-reduced wardrobes demonstrates that it all comes down to the individual. Dani groups items by category and is an advocate of arranging by colour in to create "a visually appealing" wardrobe.

While Katherine also groups clothes in categories, in her own wardrobe, she puts them in what she terms "weather order", "going from no-sleeves to short-sleeves to three-quarter-length, to longer sleeves to jackets and cardigans and any jumpers that need hanging."

For those garments not quite ready to wear, Katherine has what she calls a "Snags Box" at the bottom of the wardrobe for anything that needs repairs, dry cleaning or alterations.

Katherine recommends deciding on special pieces at the end of the process. She adds: "Have a box or bag on one side to place sentimental items into so you don’t lose momentum getting the lion’s share sorted." For anything unlikely to be worn again, if it's particularly precious, she suggests researching companies that make the likes of memory bears or quilts with swatches of the fabric. Or taking photos of outfits and creating a memory book. Though be sure to think about how a piece makes you feel. "If the item doesn’t bring positive memories I’d say discard immediately," says Dani.