Permission: 5 Things You Can Let Go Of, Coat Closet

Have you ever thought, "I just need someone to give me permission to get rid of this"? That's what this Permission series is all about. We'll walk through room by room, list 5 items per room you can part with right away, and why the items can be easy to get out of your house.

I ran the first part of this series back in 2019. You can see those post by going to the Permission Intro here.

As always, it's your house and your stuff. You may actually need and use the things I suggest you part with. But if you don't, give yourself a little more freedom to find a little more peace in your house by letting go of things that you don't need.

Today we'll be in the coat closet. This mostly small space in the entrance of your home takes many forms. For that reason, you may not have any of these things in your coat closet. Actually, I'd encourage you to only keep coats in your coat closet. Or rename it to your cleaning closet or a storage closet or the like. For the rest of you, let's see what things you can easily let go of today.

1. Hangers
   It seems everyone has a preferred style of hanger. There are tubular, velvet, wire, clear plastic, wooden, cushioned, and more. In my opinion, by far the easiest to keep untangled and to put clothes on and off of are the tubular hangers. But you have your own preference.
   ACTION - choose the kind of hangers you like to use and keep those, let go of the ones you don't like; if you need a little extra permission - toss all the wire hangers and clear plastic hangers
   
2. Coats
   This is an excellent time of year to evaluate your coat situation if you haven't already. Be honest, how many coats do you need? Do you have 5 dress coats? The majority of the people reading this can probably do with 1 dress coat. What fits? What do you enjoy?
   ACTION - pull your unneeded, gently used coats and find your local coat drive to donate them to others who will not be warm this season.
   
3. Gloves, scarves, hats
   Similar to your coat situation, get into your other warm weather gear. These items tend to get worn out more quickly. And those little gloves and hats are quickly outgrown by your growing children.
   ACTION - pull your unneeded gently used warm weather gear and find your local coat drive to donate them to others who will not be warm this season.
   
4. Umbrellas
   A good rule of thumb on umbrellas is to have one inside for each person who would need to use an umbrella and one to two umbrellas in your vehicle depending on how many people might get caught in the rain while out. Umbrellas do break so you can toss those hazards right away.
   ACTION - let go of the over abundance of umbrellas and any that are broken and dangerous.
   
5. Swiffers
   I'm not one to single out a brand but when you are so popular that your product overruns coat closets, cleaning closets, and storage rooms, you get singled out. I'm not really singling out the Swiffer brand because there are numerous of brands that do the same thing. They offer all-but-disposable products that you just don't let go of. Let's take a little mental trip to your coat closet (or broom closet or wherever you store your Swiffer). How many do you have? A lot, right? I get it. They sell the refill pack right next to the kit that has the handles in it and sometimes you pick up the wrong one. Here's some good news. You can let go of the extra handles. And if you don't use it at all, you can let go of them altogether.
   ACTION - round up all those Swifferesq sweepers, mops, dusters, and the like; keep the ones you use that aren't extras and donate or toss the rest.