Upcycle Cardboard Clothing Divider Tutorial

I have been decluttering and home organising since the pandemic lockdown. I use to think "who has time to label????", that's for rich folks with butlers, how now brown cow? People who hire cleaning crews on the regular, or people who have the luxury of dilly dallying over their things. 

I'm too busy for it! I snorted. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed, even a little obsessed with it, the photos are stunning, the concept is attractive, I even watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and The Home Edit on Netflix. I'm already a huge fan of DIY home decoration shows, my face was stuck to property flipping reality TV for years. 

The rainbow organising method in The Home Edit and Marie's greeting of the house, they both appealed to me. I love colour, I want to be organised as well. 

The problem is my lack of time. I also didn't want to sacrifice my outdoor time to stay indoors, I might be an introvert, I still need to forage, hike and commune with nature and God. 

After organising a bereavement box, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. Then I tested labelled some kitchen condiments for my mom and I'm hooked.

I do it once and I do it well, it cuts down 10 mins here, 5 mins there, 15 mins everywhere, I have more time now, if you can believe it. I picked up so many tips and tricks that I invented, that I want to share with everyone. 

A shoebox

Contact Cement Glue (it needs to bond plastic to cardboard)

Painter's tape 

Clear packing tape 

Scissors 

Marker

A hanger

Glue stick (optional)

Figure out how many categories you need, I did 6.

Tops, Pants, Dress, Romp (for Rompers), Jacket, Skirt

Collect ____ hangers in the same colour if possible, look for the ones with flat tops, the glue will adhere better. 

Trace the top on back of cardboard, with open side facing left. This is for right handers, for left handers, do the opposite. Think about how you browse your closet, we all have our own habits, follow that. The final divider hanger should form a circle with the first garment. 

Cut it out and use as template, painter tape it to the hanger and try it inside your closet, size the top larger if you want to, I'm thinking of putting a hanging shelf on top so I made it smaller.

 

Depending on the thickness of the cardboard, you can double up like I did.

So I did 12 total. 

You don't have to be super neat this time around, since you will trim after doubling it anyway. 

Glue them together using the glue stick or contact cement. 

Cut painter's tape, leaving a frame all around. Label it. I wanted it to be wonky on purpose, it's more fun I think. Put clear tape to "laminate" the front and back. 

Glue to hanger, make sure it's the correct side. 

Leave dry and use. 

Here's what's left of the shoebox. 

I got deliriously excited organising my closet, so much so I forgot to eat, had to drag myself away to do it. Put divider inside garment to form a full circle, it's space saving. Some commercial dividers are bulky, flimsy or childish looking, I didn't like them. I didn't want it to be too busy so I chose a black and white shoe box design. 

I'm one of the founders of Abracadabra Home Organising, as a child of a shopaholic hoarder parent, I know full well the psychological toll clutter takes on a person, how possessions can possess us. We live in a tempting world of overconsumption, people are in debt to impress people who don't even like them or they mindlessly buy and trash just as quick, it's a mental health crisis, an environmental crisis and also a crisis of spirit. 

People feel insecure, anxious and overwhelmed.

Not everyone has access to mental healthcare, those with universal healthcare squander it, people without it like me need to plan our lives more carefully.

Hand to mouth means can't afford the time, juggling two jobs plus elder caregiving is already exhausting. I didn't want to add another to-do task on my already full plate. 

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