Summer has been winding down and Autumn is here. With Winter just around the corner, August is the perfect month to really look at your winter coats. Here we have a quick and easy approach to assessing what stays and what goes:
First, you will need to Review your coat situation. This means that for each member of your household, you want to pull out all the cold-weather coats and lay them out on a bed. We would suggest grouping them according to weight and use. In other words, put all your lightweight coats and jackets at one end of the bed, with all your heavy weight items at the other. In the middle, place your more “special” or formal coats.
Now it’s time to Reorganize your outerwear wardrobe, by creating new piles as you assess each piece: keep, donate, repair. First, you will want to address whether you have duplication or redundancy in your collection and make the decision to remove what’s not needed. Next you will want to look at each piece individually. Here are some questions to ask:
If you answered “yes” to all four questions, the item can easily move to the keep pile (if it’s not redundant). If you answered yes to only 2 of the questions, it’s probably time to let it go, unless it’s in need of repair (question 4). If it needs repair, and all the other answers are yes, then it moves to the repair pile before returning to the keep pile.
Once you have the coats sorted, it’s time to actually look more closely at each item in the keep pile to double-check it for needed repairs.
Repairing (instead of replacing) a winter coat is the most efficient option. Since you will probably be sending your outerwear to be cleaned at the end of the season, your cleaners can often recommend a tailor if they don’t have one on-site. Repairs includes tears, button replacement, and fixing hems, etc.
With your piles sorted and ready to go, make an appointment with yourself to take the final steps necessary to finish the project. This means scheduling your trip(s) to the cleaners, as well as your trips to the donation drop-off site.
For Donations, there are some agencies that will pick up at your door if you leave a bag outside. There are also numerous drop-off sites, such as Goodwill and Salvation Army, all over the country. Additionally, many local agencies conduct coat drives in early Autumn. If you have the storage space, why not put your donation bag aside until the you can participate in your local coat drive? Also, be sure to write down the items you will be donating to save it for your taxes next year.
All my best,
Claudia