This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I make a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure here.

I used to find it so hard to dress during the summer. Between sweaty fabrics, unflattering shapes, and the mountain of clothes stuffed in my wardrobe that I didn’t truly like, it was overwhelming. Plus, it was annoying feeling like I had spent a ton of money buying clothes that were leaving me feeling blah when I’d put them on.

That was me a few years ago. And I used to think the solution was to simply buy more clothes, so I would have more options. 

It turns out I simply needed less.

In this article, I am sharing with you the nine steps I’m taking right now to reset and declutter my wardrobe, keeping only about 30 pieces in my wardrobe (apart from accessories or shoes).

Keep reading below or watch the video:

1. Lifestyle check-in

Step number one for me is to check in with my lifestyle and activities for the summer.

As a mom of two, what do I do on a regular basis? I go to soft play areas and play parks. I go to the farm with my kids. Also, because my kids are still young, I’m on the floor with them a lot.

So I don’t want anything too short or revealing. Nothing wrong with that, but these outfits make me feel uncomfortable, and I can’t fully relax. In my case, my clothing needs to fit in with how I usually spend my days.

Besides thinking about the activities that I do, I find it really helpful to consider any outings or holidays that we have planned this summer. And I don’t feel like we need to buy a new wardrobe just because we’re going on holiday. Now that I have a more curated wardrobe, I find it so easy to come up with outfit ideas for our upcoming trip. We are going to the Isle of Wight this summer, and I didn’t actually buy any one particular item for the holiday. I’ll use the same classic items I’m going to wear all summer long.

And also, in this step, it’s really helpful to think about the climate, obviously.

We are in the UK, and even though it’s summer, we do get rainy days now and again. And there are two things I keep in mind here.

The first one is that I want light layers this season, like a light and breezy shirt, because even though sometimes the weather isn’t too hot, it can be really humid. And I don’t like wearing anything that’s too tight or sweaty or uncomfortable during summer. 

The second one is that I also need some rain gear, like my lightweight raincoat that stays out all year long. 

Daily activities, upcoming holidays, and the climate. These are the things I keep in mind at this step.

2. Pick the colours

It took me a long time to figure out what colours I actually like wearing. For the longest time, I would pick items in the colours that were trending. Every season, there are new colours and shades that are “in trend” because brands decide so. But I realised I do not have to keep up with all of those. 

Creating my digital wardrobe made me realise that actually, I prefer a lot of neutrals with a few pops of colours. Looking at it, I can see that my most worn are beige, white, black, blue, grey, and pink.

When I go shopping now, I can keep my colours in mind. It doesn’t mean I can’t buy any other colour. It just means that I know these are the ones I love wearing and I tend to gravitate towards.

Plus, if I want to add other colours to my wardrobe, I can check and see if they go with the other items I already have in my wardrobe. It’s so much easier to mix and match when I have a good set of essentials in very basic colours, and then some pops on top of that.

3. Pull everything out

This is what I do at the moment: I’m taking everything out of my wardrobe and going through all of the pieces with a more intentional perspective, keeping in mind all of the things I mentioned before. 

I will say, though, that if you are just starting decluttering your wardrobe and there are piles in there (that was me in the beginning), I do not recommend getting everything out because it will likely be very overwhelming. 

If you’re just starting out and you feel really stressed by everything, maybe start with categories. Take out all the jeans and go through those, or take out all of the leggings or all the T-shirts.

This approach proved very helpful as well when I didn’t have a lot of time to declutter, but I wanted to. It helped me be more mindful and not just throw a lot of things away due to decision fatigue and regret later. So, doing it like this might be helpful for you if you’re just getting started.

In my case now, because my wardrobe is a lot more manageable, I can pull everything out without it feeling so intense and overwhelming.

4. Store away the unwearables

I store away anything that’s off-season. During the spring, I kept a few more items than I normally would. I find the season to be more of a transition period, so often I need different types of layers, lighter or heavier depending on the day. But during the summer, I think I can stick to 30 pieces of clothing. So I’m storing away anything that’s off-season.

Also, anything that doesn’t fit, I’ll most likely declutter. I’ve stopped keeping items that don’t fit anymore. My weight doesn’t fluctuate that much now that I’m past the postpartum period.

But if you’re in a transition period—for example, if you’re postpartum or in any transition period—and you want to keep different sizes of clothing, then you can store those away as well and keep them for the future if you do need them. Or maybe keep them for a few months and see if you reach out for them.

5. Pick the heck-yes pieces

These are items that I look at and I just know I’m going to wear. I just know I love them. My favourite pair of jeans, my favourite T-shirts, the things I gravitate towards the most. Those are the things that are going to go straight back in the wardrobe. I just know I’m going to wear them. 

At this step, just go through each category of clothing and see which ones are your heck-yes pieces and which ones you want to think about a bit more as you go through the process.

6. Fill in the 30 pieces

For this next step, I’m picking my 30 pieces for the summer. 

These include 11 short tops, short-sleeved or sleeveless:

• two bodysuits by Zara, which I have worn a lot, and they’re such good staple pieces for me
• two black tight-fitting T-shirts: one is a V-neck, and one is a crew neck
• two white T-shirts: a Cos one, my absolute favourite, and a recently added to my wardrobe, a V-neck T-shirt by Uniqlo
• a grey T-shirt
• a beige cropped top from H&M that I had for a very long time
• a blue Zara cropped top, which was a Vinted find
• two vests, both by the T Store, sent to me last year

Then I have four long-sleeve tops. They are actually shirts as I realised that I really like wearing light layers in the summer. And I’ve also been gravitating more towards timeless, classic pieces like shirts.

One thing I noticed since I’ve been paying more attention to the fabrics that I like is that I’m making better choices when I shop for clothes, be it in shops or on Vinted. And I realised there are a few fabrics that I enjoy wearing. Linen blend is one of them, like linen with cotton, and linen with viscose, which I find to be lightweight, fluid, comfy, and not crease-prone.

Back to my shirts, one of them is pink striped, lined with cotton, and I found it on Vinted. Another one is a blue striped shirt by Uniqlo, which is a linen-viscose blend. It feels very comfy and lightweight, especially for the summer. I think this type of shirt will be very versatile in other seasons as well. It can be dressed up and down, and I really like having pieces like this in my wardrobe.

And I also have two white shirts. One is another linen blend. The other one is a more fitted type that I had for over 10 years in my wardrobe.

Moving on to trousers, I have five pairs in my wardrobe at the moment:

• one pair of jeans from Mango
• one pair of black leggings (though I have more for workouts, but don’t use them in the summer, I prefer shorts)
• three pairs of trousers, which are the same H&M viscose trousers, just in different colours: black, cream, and leopard print; they’re lightweight and perfect for summer

I also have four pairs of shorts:

• a floral pair, which is H&M, found on Vinted
• a pair in gingham print, which is a Uniqlo purchase that’s been on my wish list for a very long time, and I added it to my wardrobe this summer
• a pair of denim shorts
• a pair of blue shorts, also bought on Vinted

When it comes to dresses and skirts, I have three pieces in total: two dresses in shades of pink and one pink skirt. And this is what I meant earlier, that I realised I really like wearing pink and blue. When I look in my wardrobe, those are the main colours I see, aside from the neutrals.

I also have three pieces of outerwear in my summer wardrobe. I don’t need a lot, just a few here and there because it can be a bit chilly in the mornings or evenings. And it can also be rainy sometimes.

One is a cream blazer by H&M that I had for a long time. I also have a blue denim jacket by Levi’s, purchased on Vinted. And the third one is a trusty and very lightweight raincoat from Mountain Warehouse. It’s a perfect piece for the spring and summer showers. 

And that’s it, these are my 30 pieces that I’m keeping in my summer wardrobe. 

Along with them, I have six pieces of accessories and shoes:

• two bags, though in the summer I tend to wear my tote bag more, if I need to carry a bit more for the kids
• two sandals, one is Birkenstocks and one from Accessorize that I had for years
• a pair of white trainers by Marks and Spencer
• a pair of New Balance trainers

7. Try styling

My next step is to have a look through my digital wardrobe and see, for each piece that I have, if it goes well with others in my wardrobe. Do I have trousers to wear with a specific shirt? Do I have a top that goes well with the skirt? Just to make sure that I have quite a versatile mix. If things go well with each other, putting together outfits in the morning becomes so much easier.

By the way, if you want to check out my digital wardrobe and have a look through my outfits, you can access it here. You can see all the pieces currently in my wardrobe. And I think you can also style some outfits for me, if you feel like having some fun. I would love to see what you create.

8. Fill gaps with intention

As I was decluttering my wardrobe, I got rid of some old shorts, a dress, and some items that I had realised I wasn’t wearing that much. So the next step was to fill the gaps I felt were in my summer wardrobe, but fill them with intention.

This meant purchasing some of the lighter pieces, keeping in mind all of the fabrics that I like to wear. Also, whenever I decide to add a piece to my wardrobe, the first thing I do is go on Vinted and try to find it pre-loved. It’s much better not just for our budget, but also for the environment.

9. Review at the end of season

Once the summer is over and I’m going to transition to the autumn wardrobe, I can really keep track of what I have or haven’t worn over the summer, or what items I put on but felt unsure and maybe took off. I can probably let go of those items.

I hope this article has been helpful, and I’d love to hear what pieces you’ve been loving wearing this summer.