10 Simple Dollar Tree Solutions For Keeping Winter Gear Neat And Organized

Winter can bring a welcome relief from the heat of summer and the holidays to look forward to. However, it also brings clutter in the form of winter gear. No matter how well organized your home is, winter gear can quickly spread out and take over a room, particularly if your kids need multiple sets after getting wet playing in the snow. While there are a lot of organizing aids on the market, many are expensive, and investing a lot of money in an organizing system with the holiday giving season right around the corner isn't always possible. The good news is that Dollar Tree is a gold mine for organizational supplies. 

Hooks, bins, and baskets are just a few of the solutions that will corral the gloves, coats, and snow toys that seem to multiply when your back is turned. A quick trip to Dollar Tree will set you up with the tools you need to keep winter essentials organized and at the ready. 

When you're dealing with dripping and snow-crusted gear, hanging it up can contain the mess and allow it to dry out. Hooks are your first line of defense for keeping winter gear tidy and accessible. Dollar Tree has a range of hooks, from removable Velcro ones to sturdy, over-the-door options. Give each member of your family more hooks than you think they'll need. If floor space is tight, you can hang items you wouldn't normally think of as hangable, such as boots, by attaching loops to them.

If you're looking for creative organization tips for winter scarves and hats, these shoe pouch organizers are ideal. Folding these items and placing them in an organizer makes it easy for everyone to see what's clean and grab what they need. You can also put skin care products such as ChapStick, sunscreen, Vaseline, and lotion in these pouches to help protect skin from winter chapping. If you have a big family or need a lot of winter gear, the low price point of these items will allow you to hang up several of them. 

Dollar Tree woven baskets give you a method for organizing your winter gear that adds to the cozy, homey look. You may want to have a basket or two for each person, or you may want to separate baskets by type of gear. For instance, scarves in one, gloves in another, and so forth. This works best if the gear is extremely distinct, such as different colors, or if it's shared, such as scarves. 

Carabiners are perfect for attaching things together. You can use them to connect mittens to each other or hang them from hooks. Put a carabiner on your kids' bookbags so they won't lose their winter gear at school. You'll be in for a lot fewer visits to the lost and found. You can also use carabiners to keep a set of gear together. Use a large one and put a coat, hat, and gloves on it, then hang it from a hook. When it's time to leave the house, you won't have to waste time searching for that orphan glove. 

Keep a few of these out specifically for dirty, bulky items such as coats and snow pants that need to be washed, since you likely aren't washing your winter gear as often as you should be. However, don't limit these plastic baskets to just holding clothes. You can put them in the garage to hold wet outdoor snow toys. They'll be contained but still have enough air circulation to dry out. Leave another one in the garage to hold wet and dirty boots so people aren't tracking mud and snow into your house. 

If you typically have short or mild winters, you may not need to keep all of your winter gear easily accessible all season. Lidded bins from Dollar Tree can store items out of sight. You can put your thermal underwear, ski goggles, and gloves in bins and keep them in the back of your closet until you need them. Although this type of two- or more-step storage is more of a hassle than keeping items out, it can be the best option when you don't need your gear very often.

Drawer organizers will help keep winter gear such as thick socks visible, sorted, and easy to access. They'll prevent drawers from becoming a tangled mess and encourage your family to put away their belongings neatly. If you make it simple to keep things organized, you'll have better participation from everyone. That translates into less work for you. 

Winter gear isn't limited to warm clothes and outer wear. Snow days bring winter play equipment such as skis, snow boards, and skates. Keep larger, unweildy items, such as ski poles organized by hanging them on mop and broom hangers. These are typically sold in the cleaning section and intended for hanging brooms and mops. However, you can repurpose them for hanging any long, cylindrical items. 

Lazy Susans aren't just for condiments. You can put one in a cabinet for easy access to winter products such as cough and cold medicines, s'mores supplies, or seasonal goodies. This helps you make the most of precious cabinet space. If you're having a cookie-decorating holiday party or building gingerbread houses, you can put the supplies on a lazy Susan in the middle of the table so everyone can reach what they need to build their masterpieces.

Pegboards and hooks are perfect for hanging up small, miscellaneous items. You can put it in your landing zone and hang baby and toddler gloves and hats on it. Or you can put it in the garage and use it to organize smaller winter tools, such as your windshield scrapers and small snow toys. These are small pegboards, so you'll probably need to hang several in an array, but the low cost makes this feasible. You can use tape or a permanent marker to draw an outline of whatever you hang on the pegboard, so you'll know exactly where to return them.