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With summer in full swing and fall coming up, it’s time to start thinking about seasonal storage ideas. Do you have seasonal storage solutions set up? If not, this is the perfect time to start working on it. There are a lot of items you can rotate seasonally between storage closets, the attic or basement, and your bedroom closets and mudroom. When you put away items you do not need during the hot or cold months and get them out of your way, you can free up a lot of space.

What are some of the items you can seasonally store?

During the summer, put away winter items such as:

• Cold weather clothes like sweaters and heavy sweatshirts that you are not going to use during the summer.
• Winter sleepwear (flannel nightgowns or pajamas that are uncomfortable in the summer).
• Coats, mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, hats, and so on.
• Winter boots and snow gear.
• Heavy winter blankets, afghans, flannel sheets, etc.
• Equipment for winter activities, like sleds or ski equipment.
• Holiday décor.

During the winter, put away summer items such as:

• Clothing for hot weather such as shorts and short skirts which you are unlikely to wear during the colder months.
• Lighter blankets which will be replaced by heavier ones.
• Rain boots, if you are switching to snow boots, and rain coats, if you will be wearing a heavy winter coat instead.
• Summer sleepwear.
• Equipment for summer activities that will not be used during the winter (for example, pool toys or beach toys).

Ideally, you should have an area in your house (or maybe two) where you can put seasonal items that are not in use. This area should be out of the way, like a hall closet that nobody uses for anything else, or an attic or basement where your seasonal items will be out of the way. When your seasonal items are in storage, you will usually forget about them until it is time to take them out again.

To keep your seasonal items neatly stored, invest in a set of large plastic storage containers. Since you are putting away these items for months and will not likely be accessing them, you do not need to get terribly meticulous about how you store them, but the bins will keep them from getting messy. You may want to label the bins according to their contents (i.e. “Clothes,” “Blankets,” “Beach Stuff,”), or you may want to label bins by family member.

This is one of the easiest ways to stay organized year-round, and it is often overlooked. All it really takes to get set up (once you purchase your plastic storage bins) is one day at the end of the summer or early in the autumn, and then another day in late spring. All you have to do is switch everything out twice a year, and you are good to go. You will be amazed how much room this frees in your bedroom closet, and also in your entry closet or mudroom.