Organizing
Tips For
Changing Seasons
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When cold
weather is right around the corner, the last thing you want to do
is sift through tank tops, shorts, and summer sandals to find
the items you need to stay warm. Here's what I do to prepare for
the change in season as I tuck warm weather items out of the way
and fall into winter. |
1. Rearrange Clothes
In our
previous home, the closets were only big enough to hold one
season of clothes. If this is your situation as well, consider
moving off-season items to a guest room closet or purchase
wardrobe boxes to store them in
your basement, garage or another part of the house.
If you
have a closet that holds all of your
clothes, rearrange how they are placed so off-season items are
stored in the least accessible spaces and clothes for the
current season are within easy reach.
In the
closet on the right, winter shirts and jackets are stored on the
top rod while pants and workout clothes hang from the bottom
one. Capris and summer shirts (not pictured in the photograph)
hang to the far right and left of in-season items.
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2. Put Off-Season
Shoes Away
To keep
my daughters from trying to wear their flip-flops in late
October, I packed them away in clear storage totes like this
18.5 Quart IRIS Modular Box from Office Max (see photo on right).
With
the boxes stacked out of sight in a corner of our hall closet, I
know that when the snow flies, no sandals will
be in the way or on my daughters'
feet.
After
organizing your children's shoes, it's time to find the best
place for yours. If your coat closet is small, like ours is,
store only the shoes that are used on a regular basis in this
space.
Keep
shoes that are used only on occasion in an upstairs closet, in
totes, or on shoe racks hung on a wall in your basement or
garage.
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3. Organize Your
Outerwear
One of
the first things I did to keep
outwear under control was to purchase three clear storage boxes
for:
- summer ball caps and visors
(right tote on top shelf
in photo).
- winter gloves,
hats and scarves (tote that appears directly above the shoes
in photo).
- bulky snow pants that are
necessary but not needed unless it snows (left tote on top shelf
in photo).
The
second thing I did was to install hooks so my daughters could
hang their own coats up.
With
this storage system in place, getting ready
for the next season is as simple as swapping boxes. To change from winter to
spring, for example, I simply move the winter accessories tote to
a high shelf and bring the one
with summer hats within easy reach.
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As with
anything you decide to keep in your home, use equals storage.
Frequently used coats, shoes, and winter accessories should be
within easy reach while items not used so much can be farther out of
touch. Remember: everyday, arms length away; not so much, out of touch.
I hope
these organizing tips will help take the chill off of getting ready
for the winter months. Remember,
organizing is a process, not a destination. Don't worry if you are never quite there.
Instead, enjoy the journey as you
celebrate each success along the way.
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