Organizing for Winter – Get Ready Now

Oh, how I dislike winter. I am not one of those Canadians that enjoy the cold. I do not skate, ski, snowboard or toboggan. I look awful in winter hats. My feet are always freezing.

So, I hibernate on my couch under a cozy blanket and stay warm. The only thing good about winter in my mind is that it’s followed by Spring.

With winter and the onset of cold weather it seems to me that things are more cluttered and dirty everywhere.

The colder weather has already settled in here in Stouffville so I hope you have started to get ready for the next 5 months of boots, mitts, scarves and heavy coats.

Get your winter gear ready

If you don`t have the closet space to keep all your seasonal wear in one front hall closet (most people don`t), or you haven’t already rotated the summer and fall coats and footwear and have the winter goods into the closet by the door, now is definitely the time to do so.

The front hall closet, which is where most of us keep our seasonal outerwear, is not normally the largest of spaces and keeping 4 seasons of coats and footwear in there will typically lead to a lot of overcrowding and frustration.

Winter coats especially take up a lot of room due to their bulk.

Help always needed

Despite small front hall closets, many of my clients try to keep all seasonal clothing in the front closet and wonder why it is such a chore to find the coat they need, why it took so long to get the kids ready to go outside and why the closet and front entry way is always such a cluttered disaster area. In fact, this is the one area in the home that almost every one of our client`s asks us for help with. We are the closet masters!

Switch it up

If space is an issue I recommend switching it up twice a year – once in the spring to put spring and summer items in the closet and again in the fall to switch it to fall and winter items. Keep everyone’s coats together so they know to go to the same spot in the closet and not have to search through many other coats to find theirs.

Keep it separated

Wicker baskets are ideal to keep everyone’s hats, scarves and mitts separated and prevent them from falling on to the floor. Another option is a hanging shoe bag. One for each child can hold their own gloves, hats and scarves and also make it super easy for them to access and put away as well.

Mom and dad can each have their own bin or basket to contain their items separately.

Don`t forget a bin for your pets as well.

Pare down properly

And while we are making the switch this is an excellent time to take stock of the items that don’t fit any longer or are out of style or you just don`t seem to wear and know will not get any more use.

At this time of year there are many charities looking for warm clothing for the less fortunate and rest assured they will go to good use. So stay warm and stay organized!

If you find you just don’t have the time or skill to handle this project on your own, just contact us here for a free telephone consultation. We can achieve order with any organizational challenge!