Get Your Winter Gear Ready Before You Need It

The first truly cold morning has a way of sneaking up on us. Suddenly everyone is searching for jackets, hats, mittens, and scarves that may have been sitting in a closet or storage bin since last winter. Before you actually need them, now is a great time to pull everything out, make sure it still fits, find the missing mittens—and give washable winter gear a good cleaning.

Winter clothing can collect more than visible dirt. Coat collars and cuffs pick up skin oils, mittens get sweaty inside, scarves spend months against our faces, and kids’ jackets somehow attract everything from hot chocolate to playground grime. Even if something looked clean when it was put away, months in storage can leave it smelling a little stale. An enzyme cleaner like Kleen Green can help break down organic residues that ordinary washing may leave behind.

Always check the care label first, especially with down, waterproof, or technical outerwear. For washable hats, mittens, scarves, fleece, and everyday jackets, try pretreating particularly dirty areas with Kleen Green before washing. Cuffs, collars, pockets, and the inside of mittens deserve special attention. For heavily used washable items, giving the enzymes some time to work before washing can help loosen the grime rather than simply trying to scrub it away.

Be gentle with the drying, too. High heat can be hard on elastic, synthetic fabrics, waterproof coatings, and some insulated clothing. Follow the garment's drying instructions and make sure everything is completely dry before it goes back into the closet or storage bin. A little extra care now can help winter gear stay fresh and last for more seasons.

Best of all, doing this early turns the first cold morning into a much easier one. Instead of discovering an outgrown coat, a mysterious smell, or two mittens that don't match while everyone is trying to get out the door, you'll have clean, fresh winter gear ready to go. Cold weather is coming eventually—so get ahead of it and enjoy that satisfying feeling of being ready.