Clearing out your wardrobe can be a grueling task but you know it's long overdue and no one else is going to volunteer for the role. It's one of those items on the 'to do' list that never actually gets done until you lose a favourite item of clothing amongst the clutter.

So, here are some stress free tips on organising your wardrobe. Professional wardrobe consultants exist, what an awful job, but with these tips you shouldn't need one.

Objectivity goes out the window and irrational behaviour takes over when it comes to sorting out clothes. We know we will never wear some of the garments we keep hold off but we just can't seem to part with them. I suggest roping a friend, the one who tells it like it is, to help you discard the clothes that are simply wrong.

The best method is to separate the clothes into 3 piles. These consist of the keep pile - clothes that fit well, are not worn out and are worn frequently. The maybe pile includes clothes that you don't wear very often or clothes that never seem to go out of style.

The last pile is the goodbye pile. As you are probably aware, this consists of clothes that are ill fitting, old or those that make your friend say 'what possessed you to buy that'? After you have your 3 mountains of clothes, you should return to the maybe pile and consider the items on that pile again.

Sort by season

Some people are lucky enough to have extra space, if that is you I suggest storing your out-of-season clothing in another area away from your current wardrobe until that season returns. This makes it much easier to find what you are looking for and your wardrobe is dedicated to each season.

Sort by colour

The main advantage of sorting your wardrobe is not just space saving reasons but also time saving reasons. Organising by clothing type and colour is a fantastic method. Think on the frustration prevented when your running late you can easily see all shirts,tops,trousers etc.

Obviously having everything hanging up is preferred but some people invest in shelving and storage bins if they don't have enough space. These can be as cheap or as expensive as you choose.

As you're probably aware, shoes take up a large space especially if you like your shoes! I recommend a shoe rack to increase space. Racks can stack together vertically and horizontally and some can hang in your wardrobe along with your clothes. I also suggest placing rolled-up paper in the boots you don't wear frequently and tissue paper in your handbags to help maintain their shape.

An important tip is to take clothes out of dry-cleaning plastic. Clothes can turn yellow from the chemicals if they are kept in the plastic for a long period of time. Use a fabric garment bag instead, if you want to protect your clothes.

If a few of your friends have recently organised their wardrobes then you might find some treasures in each others goodbye piles. The left overs can be donated to a charity.