Winter is finally coming to a close (sayonara!) and as we get closer to spring, it’s the best time to prepare our wardrobes for the warmer weather ahead.
Heavy coats, jackets, jumpers and knits can take up a ton of space, and it’s important they are stored away correctly to ensure they maintain shape and are ready to wear again next winter.
This is also a great time to take inventory of your wardrobe and remove the items you didn’t wear this season and don’t plan on wearing again.
Australian waste management service, SCRgroup, share their best tips for planning against unnecessary purchases of brand-new winter gear this time next year:
Start with swapping your unwanted items with friends and family, selling them online, or donating them to your local op shop, or via clothing collection bins.
SCRgroup collection hubs prevent 100 per cent of collections from going to landfill by rehoming items to communities in need. Where clothes are unfit for wear, they are turned into rags and biofuel.
For the winter clothes you know you’re keeping, make sure they are clean and dry before storing them. Woollens should be washed in cold water on a delicate cycle or by hand and then laid flat to dry so they retain their shape.
Next time you’re in need of your cold weather gear, it is likely you won’t be in the mood to mend or restore them, which can encourage unnecessary buying.
De-pill your woollens so that they look and feel their best next time you reach for them, dry-clean your coats, and polish your boots. This is also the ideal time to make any minor repairs, like replacing a missing button.
Ensure you are storing your winter clothes in a cool, dry, and dark place, such as a top shelf or suitcase. Pest-proof your storage space with lavender sachets or charcoal bags. This will keep both moths and gross odours away.
When packing away winter clothes, use the same logic as bagging groceries, with bulky and heavy items such as sweaters at the bottom of the pile, and delicates like woollen scarves at the top.
Never fold your winter coats, as creases in heavy coats can become permanent over the months they’re in storage. Instead, hang them with a sturdy hanger so you don’t find them collecting dust at the bottom of the closet next winter.
With every season that you can make your winter coat last, you are minimising the 23kg of clothes the average Aussie sends to landfill each year. For reference, a fully dressed person is wearing about a kilo of clothing, minus their shoes.
So, rather than sending over 20 outfits to landfill, where they can take hundreds of years to break down, let’s prep now to reuse our cold weather wardrobe next winter!
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