Wardrobes - When It Comes to the Change of Seasons; Keep It Simple.

Winter is just around the corner; autumn’s colors are popping up everywhere, and it’s nearly time to dig the hats and mittens out of the basement.  When it comes to storing out of season items, it makes sense to put all of your winter gear such as boots, gloves, hats, scarves, heavy coats etc. into long term storage during the summer season.  They do not need to take up space in your mud room or garage during the summer months.   On the other hand, the clothes living in your bedroom closet and dresser drawers are a different story, I do not recommend storing off- season clothing in any location other than your bedroom.
For busy families, seasons roll around rapidly and it is a waste of time to have to play the game of bringing totes up from the basement, rifling through them and washing and folding or hanging each article of clothing.  Then you still have summer clothing to store away.  This process tires me out just thinking about it, especially since it seems like it was just yesterday that I was putting our winter boots away.   This system takes a lot of time and effort to maintain and if you have children and do the same with their clothing, the job gets even more exhausting.   The other negative result of this system is that we are more likely to forget what we have in storage, and risk making unnecessary purchases only to find out later that we already had the same item hiding in a tote somewhere.   I have even had clients who have purchased new clothing, knowing they already have one at home just like it, but they find it easier to shop than to tackle their totes.   This is an expensive alternative. 
I know what you are thinking, “I don’t have any choice because I do not have enough room in my bedroom.”  But, the truth is, most of us have adequate storage space, we simply have too many clothes.  Studies have shown that the average person wears 20% of their clothing 80% of the time.  My husband and I share a small walk-in closet, everything fits and there is plenty of room to spare.  We also feel that we have all of the clothing we need.   The thing is that clothing tends to have seasonal expiration dates.  Chances are, if you take a look at your closet and analyze its contents, most likely, you will find clothing that you are wearing now, and clothing you were wearing a few years ago but aren’t wearing anymore.  We get tired of what we wear after a few years and the blouse or sweater we used to love begins to gather dust.  There are exceptions to this rule of course, holiday and formal wear, the favorite sweater that you love year after year, but much of our clothing loses its shine after awhile.  To simplify your seasonal routine and your life, take the following steps:

1. Take the time to go through your clothing piece by piece and be realistic about what you are really wearing regularly or plan to wear again soon. 
2. Don’t hold on to clothing that doesn’t fit you, if you lose weight, would you really want to wear those old clothes?  Or will you want to celebrate by going out and buying fresh stylish new ones?
3. Be willing to let go of what no longer shines and donate it to your charity of choice.
4. Instead of storing off-season clothing, simply rotate them to the back of your closet or move them to less convenient dresser drawers. 
5. If you have to store, store as little as possible and try to find storage space in your bedroom such as under the bed in a plastic bin or up on the high shelves in your closet.  That way, they are easier to retrieve, and less likely to be forgotten about. 

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