Organizing & Storing your Winter Clothes

Since summer is officially well on it’s way, it’s time to put away all those sweaters, scarves, jackets, and winter clothing. This can be a daunting task. For sure. I mean, I know that I have so many clothes that it’s hard to even know where to start. There are moments during this process that I simply want to throw everything into a bin and put it in the basement. But, I’ve definitely learned that ends up being more of a hassle in the long-run.

Organizing your winter clothing nicely, neatly, and precisely at the end of the season makes things much easier next winter. All in all, it just makes your entire life (and wardrobe!) more organized. Here is how to do it in a cinch:

1. Utilize labels and a key – label every bin or container you use to store these clothes. It will make things 100% easier. Label things such as “accessories”, “bottoms”, “sweaters”, and “jackets” in order to find things easily the next winter. You can write these things on labels, use a color coding system (with a key in Excel), or make big, cardstock sheets that you put inside the bins but are visible from the outside, see here.

2. Separate – Like I said, everything should be in it’s own spot, separated by category. It just makes sense to put the pants with the pants, the sweaters with the sweaters, and so on. This way, you don’t have a random mod podge of clothing and you know where each item is.

3. Fold and colorize – don’t just throw things in a bin like I know we’re all tempted to do (at times). Instead, fold everything nicely, and colorize items within clothing sub-categories. This way, if you randomly have to look for that gray cableknit sweater, you’ll know exactly where to find it and be able to locate it without rifling through every other sweater and ruining your system.

4. Sort out old stuff – if you didn’t wear something all winter, don’t pack it away! Get rid of it! Donate it to Goodwill or a clothing bin because if you haven’t worn it all season, odds are it’s just taking up space. Why hoard it for another year if it’s not a piece you’ll even wear?

5. Keep your stuff separate – make sure to return anything borrowed that you may have at this point to its rightful owner rather than packing it away with your stuff. Additionally, don’t mix your items with anyone else’s in your family. It just makes finding things much easier in the long run, trust me!

Organizing can definitely be an annnoying task that seems totally annoying. But following these tips makes it an easier process that you’ll be glad you did next winter when you switch over your wardrobe!