Winter Clothing

A question for the reader: When you buy new winter clothing, what do you do with your old items? Do you donate them? Put them in a box and forget about them? Throw them away?

Here's a suggestion: When you replace winter clothing items, store your old items. Make whatever repairs need to be made to them- patching or sewing holes, replace zippers, etc., and then store them with mothballs in boxes labelled "Extra Winter Clothing". They don't need to be pretty to serve a function- namely, ensuring you have backup supplies of warm clothing in the event of a sustained emergency during winter conditions.

For winter footwear, make sure they are thoroughly cleaned before storing. Store them with dryer sheets inside to absorb moisture and odors. Even if the soles are worn down, they can still provide warmth, and are better than relying on sneakers if your primary winter boots are damaged or lost during an emergency.

This also includes winter gloves, hats, and socks. If you find good buys on these items (off-season clearance sales, for example, or excess items sold cheaply at thrift stores), stock up and store them. Again, they need not be "pretty"- they need to be warm. These items get wet fastest, and wear out most frequently, so store as many as you can.