Around the House: Re-organize Your Front Hall Closet for Spring

By Yehudit Garmaise

Closets in New York City can be neat, clean, and organized, even though they are small.

Warmer days mean that we can start to think about happily storing our coats, boots, and mittens until October or November.

As we don't even want to think about freezing weather for another seven months or so, let's get our winter gear both out of sight and out of mind.

Here’s how:

1. Clean your boots: After the rainy weather clears this week, clean your boots before storing them in a plastic box on a high, out-of-the-way shelf. 

To get the winter dirt, salt, and germs off your boots, grab a rag and add a little splash of plain, white vinegar to a bowl of water to get your boots sparkling clean.

Go outside to shake any dirt that might have made its way to the inside of your boots. 

If you want to slip your feet into good-smelling boots in the late autumn, you can buy a 12-Pack of natural, non-toxic shoe deodorizers and odor eliminators to put inside your boots before you put them away for the summer and spring.

2. Clear off your higher shelves, and wipe them down, so you have space in which to store your boots, winter coats, and other winter gear for the next three months.

3. Empty all coat pockets of food, paper, and other garbage before throwing coats in the wash and letting them air dry.  If coats are wool, they should be dry cleaned before going into storage. 

Once all coats are dry, fold them up carefully, and store them in as many lidded plastic or fabric storage bins as you need. Wash and dry everyone's coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens as well before folding them neatly and storing them in on lidded bin. 

4. Time to toss? As you put things away, consider whether anything needs to be fixed or tossed. No need to store anything with holes or stains.

5. Make space in your closet magically by: throwing away any boxes or garbage that's in your front hall closet, making a pile of sheimos and then asking your husband to bring it to a shul that buries it. Also: return any unwanted items that need to be returned. Give away any old clothing that you might've stored there. You can get this picked up by several organizations, drop it off somewhere, or give it to a friend, a family member, or your cleaning lady, who might need or want it.

6. Make a clean sweep, now that your closet is cleared out of your family’s winter gear. April 1 is a perfect time to get this Pesach cleaning job done.

Use a vacuum cleaner or broom to sweep dirt out of all the nooks and crannies of your closet. Then use non-toxic detergent like Pine-Sol or Method and a sponge or sponge mop to get your closet’s floor and inside walls looking and smelling fresh and clean.

7. Scrub the inside and outside of closet door, which gets very scuffed and dirty, by using a sponge, water, and cleaning fluid.

8. Neatly hang your spring jackets. Once your winter gear is neatly stacked somewhere out of your way and up high, bring out your spring jackets.

9. Gather your collection of umbrellas and keep them handy for April showers. Stash your umbrellas in an umbrella stand or a container so family members know where to look when heading out in the rain.

10. Enjoy your neat, clean, and organized space, and get ready for a great start to a new season!