Always a nightmare, never fun, but completely essential. We’re fairly sure completing a uniform inventory is one of the more tedious tasks but without it, you’ll be left with gaping holes of sizes and scrambling to purchase outside of budget and lead times.

Yes, organisation is key (que eye roll) but how does a stew effectively inventory and keep a running record of what you have and what you will need to purchase.

So gather round the crew, pump some music and let the counting begin!

START FRESH

Your best way to kick start the process is to pull everything out and start from fresh. Hot tip: clean all shelving before placing everything back on. Nothing worse than pulling out a dust bunny with your polo top.

Ensure you have included any items that are being laundered or anything that has been purchased and is being delivered.

PLAN YOUR PROCESS

Look at your space and have a think about your layout. Will you organise according to size or style, outfits or service type? Depending on how much space you have (probably not a lot), consider how often things get pulled out or how frequently outfits are rotated.

FORM A PRODUCTION LINE

Round up available crew to assist and organise your team into counters, recorders and folders – dedicated crew members to counts the items, record the count (on computer or paper) and folds all the items back into neat piles.

More realistically, if you’re the “chosen one” the Chief Stew relegates inventory to; set yourself up into a production line.

Organise items into tops, bottoms, dresses, accessories type of categories.

Use a spreadsheet or take notes of the items you have and the sizes to input the count.

Use coloured sticker dots to signify items that have been counted so you don’t get confused and count items twice.

Once you’ve got your space layout sorted, using wardrobe labels or dividers like these can help keep the organisation intact. We know it’s a tall order at times.

Place a diagram plan of the layout on the door or the front of the wardrobe. That way you don’t need to remember where it’s located, and it makes it more accessible for everyone else.

Have you got an organisation system worthy of wardrobe porn? Share it with us on Instagram.