Winter Organizing: Gloves, Hats, and Boots - Oh My!
It’s the time of year when everyone’s entry way starts looking like a boot shop, only the boots are wet and muddy and making a mess all over your floor. Our winter organizing tips will help you get control over the mess winter brings inside. From the entry way to the garage, use these tips to beat the winter organizing blues.
Garages Are for Cars
One of the easiest ways to keep winter from tracking into your home is to make sure you have room for your car in your garage. While you might want to do a full garage organizing project in better weather, it’s not a bad idea to at least move things to the shelf space you have, put summer toy and yard tools in the shed, and embrace the idea of vertical organizing to make sure you can bring the car in from the cold. The benefits of being able to pull right in include not traipsing through the wet snow on the way in the front door, being able to store winter boots away from your entry way, and minimizing the muck that makes its way inside.
Entry Way Solutions for Winter Organizing
We’ve all experienced it – in our own homes or ones we visit – not being able to even open the front door all the way because it’s blocked by a pile of winter boots, hats, and scarves. It’s so easy for it to all get out of control, especially over the break when the kids and all of their friends are in and out. But there are so many ways to get that winter gear under control so that you can open your front door again!
Coat Hooks
Coat hooks at the entry way can be such an easy way to keep winter gear from being underfoot. It’s such a simple way to reduce clutter. If you have younger kids, consider installing two sets of coat hooks – ones high enough for you and other adults, and another one midway down the wall where kids can reach to hang their own coats (and retrieve them).
Boot Rack or Shoe Shelf
Start by establishing a place to store boots. While a shoe shelf can be handy, it won’t be a very easy place to store wet or muddy boots, so we recommend a boot rack like graphite book rack from The Container Store or something similar.
Add a Shoe Mat
Underneath your boot rack, add a shoe mat to catch all the wet drips that might accompany your boots into the house, like this Baggmuck shoe mat from IKEA. If you can’t find or afford a shoe mat, a section of thick cardboard or an old cookie sheet may work. A towel or floor mat can also can help protect your floors.
Over-the-Door Hanging Organizers
Over-the-Door hanging organizers like this one available at Amazon can make winter organizing so much easier. Add one to your coat or hall closet and use it to store gloves and mittens, spare wool socks, wool hats, and earmuffs. You can use pockets to store ski goggles and even ChapStick and lotion. Using a hanging organizer can really help reduce winter clutter.
Other Winter Organizing Solutions for Your Home
There’s nothing wrong with making your home feel cozy in the winter, so go ahead and throw one of your favorite blankets on the couch. If you want to keep clutter to a minimum throughout your home, we love storage solutions like ottomans with storage space inside them them for extra blankets, or blanket ladders if you have gorgeous afghans you want to keep on display. Baskets and bins can also be perfect for storing hats and scarves, mittens, and more.
The Key to Winter Organizing
The key to winter organizing is to adapt ideas to how they will best work with your home and lifestyle. Some people have a mud room where they can just kick everything off and not worry about it; some people have a tiny entry way that is expected to pull double-duty as a place to welcome guests and store all the winter accessories. Winter organizing is all about reducing stress and overwhelm, eliminating clutter where you can, and counting down the days to spring!
If you’re struggling to see ways to make your home organization work better for you, give us a call. Our certified professional organizers are always excited to help you get more organized so that you can enjoy your home better.