When working with my clients, I often find that since we live in Arizona, they don’t really switch out their clothing for the winter season. I get it: While our neighbors up north are battling the snow, ice, and frigid temperatures, most Arizona residents enjoy a much milder winter. Still, it would improve your custom closet system to take the season into consideration when organizing the space.
Here are some of my top tips for organizing your custom closet system this winter:
- Rotate what you can
- Declutter for better efficiency
- Protect delicate fabrics
- Add lights to your closet
If you’re ready to whip your closet into shape this winter, keep reading.
Rotate What You Can
While you won’t be putting away all of your short sleeves, capris, or even your shorts for the winter, chances are good you’ll be bringing out the sweaters, scarves, and jackets needed in the chilly winter evenings. At the same time, you might consider packing away your clothing for the hottest days of the year: You probably won’t be wearing sundresses or sleeveless tops for a few months.
Plan on enjoying the snuggly, cozy items you only get to wear a few times each year. Take a good look at your sweaters and stack them in order from lightest to heaviest, so you can grab the one you need depending on the weather. You might also want to hang your jackets separately to ensure you can easily find the one you want.
Of course, you’ll also have plenty of clothes you wear all year long, such as t-shirts, jeans, and lightweight jackets that you use on summer evenings or when the air conditioning in a restaurant is too cold. Continue to keep these front and center in your winter wardrobe, since they’ll still get a lot of use.
Declutter for Better Efficiency
Since we don’t have a precise time of year to rotate clothing, it’s common for my clients to have a lot of clothing in their closets that they haven’t moved or decluttered in a while. Winter is the perfect time to take care of this issue.
Whether you want to tie it to the holidays when you might get new clothing or for the first of the year, when organization is often included in a list of resolutions, set aside some time to tackle your closet chaos. Pull out items you haven’t worn in a while and that you no longer need or want. Be More With Less offers a list of 10 types of items you’ll want to pull out of your closet to donate or otherwise dispose of, and it’s a great place to start.
Protect Delicate Fabrics
You might think of your sweaters and other winter wear as sturdier than the light, gauzy fabrics of summer, but they are actually more fragile than you might realize. Knits should be folded rather than hung, as this preserves their shape and can prevent snagging on hangers and ending up with wear marks or holes.
Now is a great time to upgrade your hangers, too. If you have anything on wire hangers, please consider ditching those in favor of padded or velvet-covered hangers. Even tubular plastic hangers are better than wire and are less likely to damage your clothing. Put the best hangers you can afford on your holiday shopping list, and make them a gift to yourself.
Add Lights to Your Closet
While Arizonians are exempt from many of the discomfort of winter, we do still have to put up with shorter days and longer nights. You may have enjoyed getting dressed in the natural light all summer long, but now the mornings are darker and drearier. Of course, the nights start earlier, and you may be changing out of your work clothes in the dark now.
Adding some good lighting to your closet is a great way to keep it functioning well in the winter. Having enough visibility in this area can help prevent you from simply tossing an item on a shelf or in a drawer to deal with “later” when the sun shines. Add touch-lights, LED lights, a warm lamp, or even an overhead spotlight to help you see everything you need to even in the darkest days of winter.
Conclusion
Since we live in a warm climate, many of my clients don’t reap the benefits of preparing their closets for the winter. The good news is that it’s an easy way to update your wardrobe, improve your organization, and keep your morning and evening routines running smoothly. Address the items listed above, and you’ll see how much more enjoyable it is to get dressed during our mild winters.