As we head towards summer here in Australia, it’s a great time to clean out your closet but also think about how our wardrobes are best organised to suit your COVID clothing needs.

Those of us who are primarily working from home these days are more likely to be wearing more casual and relaxed clothing, meaning those blazers and high heels no longer need to be front and centre in your wardrobe. However, your dress sense doesn’t have to fly completely out the window.

COVID-19 has even affected the way we wear our clothes. Picture: Getty

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Here are some things to consider when organising your wardrobe to best suit your COVID lifestyle.

1. Casual doesn’t mean productive

Even though you’re working from home, there have been a number of recent studies that suggest people are more productive at home when they wear work-like clothes.

Also, as we are all in the age of video conferencing, you want your colleagues, managers and clients to have the impression that you’re taking your job seriously and your attire is their first clue to that. So, make sure – at the very least – you are wearing an appropriate shirt or top.

Assess your new work style and consider how professional you’re coming across. Picture: Getty

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Keeping these items grouped together in an easy-to-reach place in your wardrobe will help you remember how to dress for productivity.

2. Use the extra time to declutter

Let’s face the fact that we are all eating a little bit more during lockdown – and perhaps some of us have added a bit of weight.

Those elasticised waistbands may have become our new best friends, and I’m not going to beat anyone up for adding a kilo or two during these intensely stressful times.

I am, however, going to invite you to use this time to do yourself a much-needed favour and get to decluttering your wardrobe.

You may keep your stretchy pants.

Take this time to purge anything that no longer fits, that is no longer in style and that you frankly just aren’t wearing or are unlikely to wear in the future.

This is the time to ask yourself how many neckties you really need (are we still wearing neckties on video conference calls?) or how many pairs of work shoes need to be in our closets.

While working from home may not last forever, there is definitely a new mood around work dress sense. Go through your wardrobe and let go of items that no longer work for you.

Let go of the items that you don’t think you’ll wear again. Picture: Getty

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4. Keep your favourites at hand

Make sure your closet is organised in a way so the clothes you are wearing most often are at eye level.

In the past, I’ve advocated that you organise your wardrobe based on season, putting the clothes you wear the least, up high.

With many of you working from home now, an alternative strategy of keeping items that are most regularly part of what you wear daily in an easily accessible spot may work better.

Accessibility is key to making your wardrobe work for you.

Finally, recent data suggests that we are buying far more groceries and eating at home more often than we used to. However, the one category that has gone down in terms of purchasing is laundry detergent.

Take a look at the clothes you’re wearing the most right now and assess how professional you’re looking. Picture: Getty

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Perhaps we just don’t need to do as much laundry since we are at home much more. That might be the case, but whether it’s tracksuit pants, activewear or your favourite video-conferencing shirt, I’m hoping your laundry is done regularly and your clothes are fresh and clean, even if no one can smell you. You deserve to have clean clothes.