How To Organize Cold Weather Accessories for a Better Winter

A 5 Step, 15 minute fuss free approach to a calmer winter.

I had a rare Friday night alone last week and took it as an opportunity to address my winter accessory situation. This was important for me to do because winter is coming and my winter stuff was floating around in several different places. Once I had everything gathered in one spot it took me about 15 minutes to parse through my husband’s and my winter accessories and I am feeling better about the daily snowfalls we have been getting since Halloween. People love to complain about winter and I get it-it’s cold, dark, and can be absolutely miserable. Taking stock of your winter gear and getting it organized is one small thing that will make winter more bearable. Doing it now allows you time to thoughtfully consider what you might need to make winter more enjoyable and you can spend some time researching before impulse buying something new!

Here is what you have to do:

1. Gather all of your Winter Gear

Depending on the way your household is run you might want to do this for just yourself or for your whole family. In my case, it was easy enough for me to do this for my husband and I both. If you have school-age children this is a good opportunity to include them in the process and prepare for the cold days ahead. Children (and people in general) tend to be less attached to seasonal items, thus making it a good point of entry to a decluttering and organizing process.

Spread everything out so you have it in one spot.

Make it so you can see everything you have to work with. At this point, notice the size of the pile. Do you have a lot of winter gear? Let’s get to the bottom of this.

2. Sort and Categorize

I can tell you what I did, but I can’t do it for you. I made three categories, but depending on where you live and who you live with, you might do something different. As always, my categories were very honest:

1. My stuff that I don’t like for my husband to use
2. My husband’s stuff that I absolutely don’t want to use, and
3. Stuff that we are happy to share with each other.

I talked to my parents about this and they mentioned that they like having stuff on hand for their many (often forgetful) guests. In this example they might have four categories to start: Mom’s, Dad’s, Henry’s (my little brother who lives at home right now), and extras for guests. From there, the guest pile might be segmented even more into head and neck gear, and hand gear.

Sorting by specific people in the household, by item type, by activity type or temperature range are all great approaches here.

3. Evaluate and Purge.

Similar to keeping underwear around that doesn’t serve us- get rid of the winter gear that isn’t working for you anymore. Since you have sorted your pile so nicely already, you have an idea of how many of each item you have. It would be easy to stop there and call this project done, but then you would miss the lasting dopamine hit of always knowing exactly where your winter stuff is and not having to cull through your least favorites to find the best of the bunch.

The criteria I used are comfort, application, and quantity:

1. Comfort: Try the item on and jog your memory from past winters. Does this hat fit your head or does it not quite cover your ears? Does this headband slip down and cover your eyes? Do those gloves somehow seem to always make your hands feel colder? Set the ones you don’t like aside for now.
2. Quantity: Less is more does not always apply, especially when talking about winter gear. However, excessive is annoying. Determine a quantity of hats, mittens, headbands, neck gaiters, etc that make sense for you and your family.
3. Application: While you consider quantity, also consider application. Do you live in Florida? Good for you. This should be easy: you probably only need 1 set of a lightweight hat, mitten, and scarf. If you live in Florida but visit your silly cold climate relatives you will probably need a heavier set of winter gear, also. Don’t overcomplicate it. I live in a cold climate and enjoy outdoor recreation in the winter. If you are struggling to determine the right amount for you, here is what I have going on:
   1. 2 hats. Lucky for me I have a strange affinity for the hats I get for free for competing in the Birkibiner ski races. I realized when doing this activity that I only wear a hat when it is either SUPER cold or if my hair is wet. My main criteria for a hat is the way it fits my head when my hair is either in a ponytail or when it is down.
   2. 1 scarf. I have had this scarf for 10 years. It looks good with all of my winter jackets and has worn beautifully. It looks brand new and I wish Gap X Pendelton was doing a collaboration again so I could direct you to the perfect scarf. Alas, you will have to find one on your own. I recommend tightly woven brushed wool.
   3. 3 pairs of mittens. I have a pair of thick “work” type mittens and a pair of my favorite cross-country ski mittens. I can wear both of them for both purposes but I have my preferences. I have a pair of “townie” mittens that I wear after cross-country ski races and-you guessed it-around town.
   4. 1-2 buffs, and
   5. 3 headbands. Not that it is super important, but my headbands all match my scarf. I prefer headbands- specifically THIS headband- whatever winter activity I am doing if my hair is up.
   6. Note: I used to believe I needed a “cute” set for wearing out. My reality is that when it is super cold out I am going to wear whatever is warmest and if it isn’t “super” cold, I might not wear anything at all. Regardless, I take off my outdoor gear as soon as I get inside to a formal event and I simply don’t care anymore. Feels good!

4. Set up a system.

If you take a couple of minutes to think about this now, you will be able to maintain a system throughout the entire winter. Sounds like a worthwhile investment to me!

Start by finding a container, basket, or box that works for what you have left after your purge. If you don’t have anything at the ready right now, use a paper bag or cardboard box. Starting with something you have before investing in something new is ALWAYS a good idea.

I had these bins that weren’t being used for anything else and I was able to easily label them.

Find a home for your stuff that makes sense. I labeled my bins and put them in our entryway. Our entryway works extremely hard and holds 90% of my clothes on the hanging rod and in the dresser (not pictured). The only real spot that makes sense for winter accessory storage is on a high shelf in the entryway. These bins work well for that because the low part lets me store them high and grab what I need without pulling the whole bin down. I also like that they have a spot built-in for a label. That made labeling it “Elaina’s winter stuff” and “Zach’s winter stuff” super easy and super obvious. I just used a piece of notebook paper and a Sharpie marker. It’s fuss-free, and it’s a system!

Now, my husband and I can easily grab and return all of our winter accessories and have a good sense of what we have. I was also able to do this with plenty of time before Christmas and add a pair of mittens to my list that will fill a gap I noticed last winter.

If you know yourself well enough to know that your winter garments will inevitably end up on the ground or all jumbled regardless of how hard you try, that is okay! Lean into that instead of fighting it! Having your whole family’s winter stuff in one big basket near wherever is natural for your family is better than running around the house not knowing where stuff is. Be flexible and roll with it! Aren’t you glad you didn’t invest in bins before considering how it would actually work for your household?

5. Responsibly discard the rest.

If you have stuff that is so worn out that nobody would want it: try recycling it. Please note that recycling garments IS possible, but it is far more difficult than donating or tossing them. While I appreciate your sentiment of wanting to dispose of something perfectly, I caution you in this thinking. If disposing of things properly is a roadblock to achieving a less chaotic winter gear situation, I encourage you to just throw it away. Before you shun me for my poor ecological standards, hear me out: Take your guilt, feel it, and be considerate about what you are bringing into your life. Use this feeling to change your shopping and consumption habits. Don’t allow items that don’t serve you to enter into your life. In this case, good work though, because you have worn out your gear to a point of no return. Bravo! You deserve to have a hat that fits and mittens without breezy patches.

If you decide that you have some stuff that can be donated, you are in luck! This is going to be fun!

• When I lived in larger cities I used to have stuff like this in my car in the event I saw an unhoused person who was lacking winter gear. Sometimes I would even run with an extra pair of mittens and cast them off to people who didn’t have a pair.
• Make a plan to donate these to a local school district for kids who forget gear for recess. I promise you, they will be welcomed.
• Research hats and mittens drives in your area and donate to one of those. They are especially common at churches around this time of year. Don’t be shy though, even if you aren’t a member or don’t attend the church, they will accept your donation!
• Donate to a women’s solution center or to unhoused folks in your area.

Remember your why

Throughout this process, remember why you are doing it. Less stress, more control, less chaos, more warmth. It is not about getting rid of stuff just for the sake of getting rid of stuff nor is it about setting up a beautiful “station” or “zone” in your home. For me, it is about spending a little bit of time now to dial in what exactly I need and understand how it makes my life easier. Packing for ski weekends and quickly leaving the house to play in the snow will be a lot less stressful for me when I know I have everything together- and only the stuff I really like! I’m not going to be tempted to buy a new hat or pair of mittens this year because I know I have everything I need and I know my preferences. I shouldn’t have to deviate from this plan for many years, especially when I reflect on the fact that a lot of my gear is already 10 years old.

It’s all-around good, and you deserve that, too! Revel in your dopamine hit and please send me pictures of your decluttering progress so I can cheer you on. Ask me questions, too. I love answering them 🙂