If you’re like me, bulkier winter items eat up a lot of closet space. The colder weather makes now a perfect time to organize your living space, and what better place to start than with clothing?
- Start with the hangers.
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The hangers of your closet show a lot about the clothing you actually wear. If you flip the hangers around in your closet and check back in a few months, you’ll see the items you haven’t touched. You can then either store or give away the items that are taking up valuable closet space. While you swear that you’ll wear that one item eventually, there’s usually a reason why you aren’t reaching for it in the first place. If you feel weird wearing it or you don’t feel your best walking around campus in it, pass it along to someone else!
- Slim down the bulky items.
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Let’s be honest: it’s okay to only use a couple of jackets throughout the winter. While it’s tempting to have one for each day of the week, it can be a struggle to find the space for multiple coats in a small closet. Sticking to between one and three coats for the winter is an easy and cost-effective switch!
- Implement no-purchase periods.
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With the holiday season fast approaching, purchasing and receiving gifts can be inevitable, depending on if you celebrate a winter holiday. Implementing periods where you abstain from purchasing items for yourself saves space, the environment and your bank account. It also prevents the dreaded buyer’s remorse when you realize there’s no space for the item you just bought!
- Donate unneeded warm items.
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The colder seasons mean gloves, hats and socks are in high demand for many people who may not have the resources to buy these items themselves. If unneeded, dropping them off anywhere that accepts lightly used clothing brings joy and security to others during the chilly months.
- Repurpose sentimental items.
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Do you have some old high school T-shirts laying around? Elementary school sweatshirts that don’t fit? It might be time to let go of them, but it’s hard to remove sentimental items from your wardrobe. If the item is a T-shirt, T-shirt blanket templates can be found across the web, and some of them don’t even involve sewing!
After setting aside items you no longer need, finding new homes and spaces for these items is best! Lightly used items can be donated or consigned, while items that have seen more love can be repurposed (like into dishcloths). Happy organizing!