How many coats do you need?
I could make an argument for about 100 different coats. Long, short, fluffy, waterproof, blue, red…. the list could be endless. In reality I wear about 3. A long warm one, a waterproof one and a throw it over anything one. I keep an extra nice one for going out but that doesn’t get worn so often.
This leaves me with spares that I probably will never wear.
Leave it on a lamp post?
Some cities have a tradition of leaving warm clothing tied around lamp posts for people who need it. Check first that it won’t just be collected by the bin men and thrown away though!
Wrap up London organise distribution of warm clothing to the homeless and people who need it. They have inspired branches to open in Central Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newport, Lancashire, Bath, Brighton & Hove, Cardiff, Cumbria, Essex, Greater Manchester, Leicester, Wellingborough and Uxbridge but there may be a similar scheme near you if your home town is not on that list.
You can usually donate directly to local shelters and churches but call first to check what they need.
If you need it keep it
If the weather is likely to change or you are not sure if you will wear something then keep it. If you are totally sure you no longer want it then someone else can make very good use of it. This blog post will help you work out if you are likely to wear it.
For more ideas
The Winning at Winter Workbook has a whole section called ‘Throw it Thursday’. This workbook is designed so that you can choose activities for each day of the week and each day has a topic. ‘Throw it Thursday’ gives you some really good advice for gently decluttering things you no longer need.
You can find Winning at Winter on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback format or from less-stuff as a printable PDF.
Journal it
The free decluttering calendar you get for being on the less-stuff mailing list has a big sister! This journal has a prompt a day and loads of space for doodles, lists and writing.
Join in with the conversation in the less-stuff Facebook group to share your ideas. I’d love to hear how this works for you.
Countdown to Cosy is a collaboration with The Frugal Family – check out what they are up to on their website www.thefrugalfamily.co.uk