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I definitely got through the boots just in time! We’ve gotten a dusting a snow almost every day since last week. I’ve still yet to wear mine and I even ran through the snow in my bare feet yesterday. Sometimes when you need to sneak a broken toy out to the trash can you need to do it using whatever means necessary! 

If you are just joining us, here’s the deal: 

I still had this mindset of decluttering being a big ol’ chore up until a few months ago when I read this fantastic post from Nony at A Slob Comes Clean. It was like a huge light went off in my brain! Decluttering is simply the act of getting rid of what doesn’t belong, isn’t needed, or belongs in the trash. It doesn’t mean buying a whole slew of new bins for your things to go in or coming up with some type of system that you hope will change your life – that’s organizing. It’s a whole different ball game. Right now, I’m in the game of decluttering. I just want things GONE.

When there’s less stuff, especially less of what has no purpose in your home anymore, organizing can often happen naturally. You won’t be cramming thirty towels into the closet because you only need ten and they fit nicely. You don’t need to dig through a tub of medicines to find what you need only to keep coming across bottles that are long since expired.

Here’s my challenge: Each week, take on ONE area of your home. I’ve already made the list for you so that part is done. Go to the area, throw away trash, put items that you no longer need but are still in good condition into a donation box, and put other items where they belong. Simple!

You can read more about the challenge on the week one post.

Week 45: Coats & Jackets

Again, this project was so timely. The boys have been taking their coats to school everyday for a week or two and now it’s cold enough that the littler three need their ponchos when we go pick up the boys from school and go shopping on the weekends. 

This week’s before and after look a little different. The before is less cluttered than the after! That’s what happens during the change of seasons, I guess. But I did manage to get rid of a few items so it is less cluttered than it would have been if I hadn’t sorted through the items before hanging them up. 

I pulled out the tote of coats and snow pants and sorted by size to figure out what we had and still needed. Turns out Mercedes will need some snow pants this year but everyone else is covered. For whatever reason we don’t have a size 5 snow pant left from the boys. Either they got destroyed in kindergarten (totally plausible) or they skipped into 6s. We will see what the thrift stores have for her or I’ve heard great things about Costco’s snow pants. 

I found a 24 month snow suit, a rain jacket, and Mercedes’ old snow pants to pass on to a friend and I’ve already heard her daughter loves her new heart pants. Lots of *swish swish swish* noises happening at her house 😉 

The boys wanted to try on their snow suits so they got all decked out. Hard to believe Anders can fit into this snow suit since it’s also 24 month and I bought it nearly two years ago on clearance at Kohls! I think Cade only wore it once or twice last year so it’s still in amazing condition. 

I cleared out a few spare sweatshirts from the coat closet. I moved them to our bedroom closet because we won’t be reaching for them as often now that it’s significantly colder outside. We will actually need real coats when we go outside! 

Everything fits! I’m not sure where guest coats will go though 😉 I might move the little boys snow suits up to their closet since they will only get used occasionally. They will be using their ponchos much more frequently. 

Have you switched over to winter gear yet? How do you keep your space from feeling clutter with the extra items? Did you find anything to donate, sell, or toss?

Share a picture on social media with the hashtag #clutterbusterchallenge of what you found to declutter.

Come back next week for week 46 to go through all the other seasonal gear. I’m talking hats, mittens, scarves and all those other accessories for keeping warm in the cold. So many singles! It’s like socks – where do they all go? 

If you are looking for a better way of keeping on top of your homemaking tasks now that you are steamrolling through all this decluttering you might be interested in a new course from Humorous Homemaking. Home Management How To: A Guide to Daily Success is open now! I’ve got a post about my experience with this course here but this is a great course for you to take control of all the household tasks in a way that is tailored specifically to your family and life.