3 Tips For The Ultimate Wardrobe Clear Out With Irene O'Brien

These days, lots of us are finding ourselves stuck at home, unable to leave for our usual hobbies and mental health checkpoints. It can be difficult to know how to positively impact ourselves and those around us during these uncertain times.

However, a good place to start is doing all the annoying household jobs we've been putting off. After all, a happy and clear-minded you will have the best chance of dealing calmly with whatever life throws at you, so what better way to do this than having a nice clean living space?

The past couple of weeks on our Instagram, we have been hosting takeovers in order to give our readers tips and advice on all things health and wellness.

Recently, Irene O'Brien (better known as @ireneobrienstyle on Instagram) took over our Instagram to reveal how to do the ultimate wardrobe clear-out. She is a big believer in the idea that a clear space will give you a clear head, saying that the organisation gives her a feeling of peace. She also maintains that clothing is powerful. She says "there is something called 'enclothed cognition' which, essentially, is the theory that clothing can feed into our self-esteem and wellbeing. I think that's true of clothing and how we organize our clothing as well".

Here are some of Irene's top tips for the ultimate wardrobe clear out.

Tip #1 - Empty the whole wardrobe out.

We've definitely all heard this one before, but have we ever really done it? Irene says "I know, I've felt really lazy and not wanted to do that, but I've never gotten the same satisfaction and the same results as a huge refresh."

She advises: "Take it all out. Put it on the bed or somewhere with easy access, and then you're going to be going through stuff bit by bit."

Tip #2 - Ask yourself how the piece of clothing makes you feel when you wear it.

We all have clothes that make us feel at the top of our game - the perfect fitting pair of jeans, the heeled boots that go with absolutely everything and a classy blazer. But what about the rest of our clothes?

Irene says, "you might have clothes that you are holding on to because you say, 'Oh it'll do - I'll hang on to it for A,B or C' and that's fine, but if then A, B and C happens, and you're wearing the clothes and they're actively making you feel bad about yourself, they have to go." If it's too tight on you, or you're fixing it all the time, or you're dreading running into someone you know while wearing it, Irene says you're going to be at a disadvantage.

Irene maintains that "the best we can do for ourselves is to put our best foot forward and it doesn't mean being a glamazon all the time. It just means ensuring, at the very least, that we feel comfortable in our own skin - and clothing."

Tip #3 - By reducing what's in your wardrobe, you'll actually have more outfit options.

Have you ever been getting ready for a night out only to cry out in frustration that you have nothing to wear, even though your drawers are literally overflowing with clothes? Well, maybe it's because you actually have too many clothes.

Irene says, "the chaos of clutter overwhelms us and results in us re-wearing the same few pieces on rotation."

So be ruthless - when you're clearing out the things you never wear anymore, think about the fact that you're making space for gorgeous new pieces that will make you feel great about yourself.

To see the rest of Irene's tips, go to our Beaut Instagram page where the full takeover is saved in a highlight. For all things style, chat and travel, follow Irene on Instagram here.