Home Maintenance Monday 2/3/25: Winter Gear Organization!

This illustration shows off an imagined entryway that is utilizing storage furniture and hooks to help store winter gear functionally. Is it time to address your winter gear storage system?

Mid-winter is a GREAT time to look around and think about editing down and organizing all that winter gear! Your winter gear has probably made it out of storage for the most part by this time of year and whether your issue is a great big pile of "on-top-itis" items collecting somewhere or a series of coat hooks that are piling up thick on a wall, NOW is a good time to assess the situation.

Tackling this storage situation myself this week! I think the issue with winter gear comes down to two things: inflated inventory and lack of dedicated storage. In my case, I think the inflated inventory comes from the fact that people here in the northern hemisphere tend to gift-give winter clothing items during the holidays. (Gloves/Hats & Ear warmers are just TOO ideal as stocking stuffers and wind up making good all-around gifts for acquaintances.) And then, where do you store all of this stuff? Summer wardrobes don't tend to pile up on chairs, couches or hang thickly across the hallway but as we switch seasons and the winter things come out of storage and into the home, we suddenly need space for things that we did NOT need space for in summer! I think the BEST way to address this two-fold problem is in two easy steps!

1: Reduce Your Winter Gear Inventory

Drag it all out and assess it Marie Kondo style! Figure out the items that you use and love and ditch the things that are just contributing to the clutter. If you have excess items that you are not using, which are not GOING to be used, they could be put to far better use in the donation pile. Go join some local free groups and offer that stuff up to get it out of your space.

Donation box in the making! What do you have that you could let go of this winter?

2: Organize!

Once you have edited down your winter gear inventory, it's time to take a look at your space and figure out the best storage options for your home! I have an awkward entryway in my home, where the front door opens up into the kitchen and there's no coat closet or space for winter shenanigans. Things tend to pile up when they don't have any other place to go so I'm going to be looking for storage solutions that fit my needs!

My family has coats for three people so we've installed some stylish coat hooks in the garage hallway that will still be cute in the summertime. I have seen a lot of DIY organizational hacks using over-the-door shoe storage to store gloves/mittens, hats & scarves and getting a hold of one of these is definitely next on my list of storage items to acquire!

Here’s a peak at my personal winter gear organization project!

If your entryway has space to add in storage furniture, cubbies are a nice choice for versatile storage options, as you can tuck things away in cubby drawers or display them on open shelves or on top! These shelving units tend to come in a lot of different options and I've seen them available at multiple different stores! I also really like storage benches that have the dual purpose of being able to be used for putting on shoes and potentially storing shoes or extra clothing layers as well. If your entryway has a coat closet, there are all kinds of opportunities for organization within a space like that! You have my full permission to check out Pinterest for further organizational inspiration!

Whether this turns out to be a small chore or a big one, I hope you have fun with this organizational task this week! It's always great when you find your favorite old pieces of clothing from seasons past or reach into a pocket and recover some forgotten treasure!

Here’s a little entryway inspiration for you! …. Okay, maybe this isn’t the home’s entry but it has ALL the right furniture!

Resources:

"Quick Storage Ideas to Keep Your Winter Gear in Check!" web article found at: https://efficientlyneat.com/quick-storage-ideas-to-keep-your-winter-gear-in-check/

"How to Store Winter Clothing" web article found at:

https://konmari.com/storing-winter-clothes/?srsltid=AfmBOorRtV3C0t3seTZDtCcHPbPqQgv7fVv1c_uWdKWQhRGmY9d-INCd