It’s super cold here in Portland, Oregon, which means we have been whipping out the mittens, gloves, hats and scarves. The microscopic bits of snow we have had means we must bundle up completely lest we succumb to hypothermia while walking to the coffee stand down the block. So how to organize all of this newly unpacked winter wear? Here’s the scoop:
1. Round up all of those scarves, gloves, hats and mittens and dump them in a pile on the floor.
2. Sort them out into separate piles according to what they are. Match up all gloves and mittens.
3. How much should you keep? I suppose that depends on where you live and how much snow you get each winter. Here in Portland, I would say nobody needs to own more than 3 sets of everything (eg. 3 hats, 3 pairs of gloves, 3 scarves).
3. Get an empty bag, label it “DONATE” and toss in all of the winter wear you and your kids have outgrown or don’t want. After all of this is done, take that bag to a local homeless shelter. They really need that kind of stuff this time of year.
4. Figure out a good place to store what you are keeping. If you are lucky enough to have a hall closet, store that winter wear there. You can get a hanging shoe organizer for the door and designate each row of the organizer for a different member of the family. In each member’s row, store his or her mittens, gloves, scarf and hats. Keep the lowest rows for the youngest kids so they can retrieve and put away their own things!
Don’t have room on a door? You could try putting stackable baskets side-by-side on the closet floor and designating one basket per family member to store all of their winter things.
5. What if you have no hall closet? Ugh, so sorry to hear it! Hall closets are so essential! But if you don’t have one, you could try putting a long bench along the wall. Put attractive baskets with or without lids on the bench, designating one basket per person for their winter accessories. Boots and shoes can live underneath the bench on metal trays to catch the drips.
Got it? Good. Now go back out and play in your quarter-inch of snow, Portland.
Images courtesy of Pinterest. Hanging shoe organizer from Target. Stackable basket from Ikea.
Like this post? Get daily organizing tips and keep up with my crazy life as an organizer at Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
