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How many coats to keep?

738 views 16 replies 15 participants last post by  langyork 
#1 ·
I need help determining how many coats to keep. It is me, dh and dd who is almost 2. My dh probably has 6 coats - a raincoat, summer lightweight coat, snowboarding coat, work heavy duty coat, snowcoat, and numerous hoodies. I have several and dd has one heavy coat and 10-15 lightweight coats. Help me purge, please.........
 
#2 ·
Hmm... I only have one coat, but I may be cheating by living in CA.


I can't get dh to let go of any of his coats. Even one that he has never worn once in the whole 10 years I have known him. Sigh.

Maybe cut down dd's light coats? 10-15 sounds like a lot!
 
#3 ·
double post
 
#4 ·
I have a nice wool pea coat and a more sporty one. both are machine washable. otherwise I just throw on a sweater or sweatshirt on cool but not cold days. Both the girls and I have a ton of sweatshirts, hoodies and sweaters but we wear them 24/7 in the winter so they are just part of our winter clothes.

the girls have 3 in 1 coats. the shell is water and wind proof and makes for a nice mid-weight jacket. the fleece is a nice light weight layer and then they zip together to make for an awesome coat. they are stain resistant, have a life time no questions asked warranty, fit for 2-4 years, nice enough to wear to church but tough enough for sledding. we don't get a lot of rain and when we do it is usually to hot and humid (welcome to the midwest. extreme temps in summer and winter . . . ) to wear any kind of jacket. but i would think a nice raincoat would be useful if you lived in a rainy climate. and of course they have lots of sweatshirts/hoodies/sweaters but like i said . . . thats more clothes than coats. they wear them 24/7 in the winter and almost always have one handy throughout the year. and they have sweaters for hanging around the campfire and sweaters for hanging out in church. unlike coats since they kep them on they actually need to coordinate with their outfits.

however when they were preschoolers/toddlers we did keep an extra winter coat for emergencies. they had to be laundered often and hung to dry so it was good to have a spare. now that they are older we don't usually have that problem (having the three in one coats also means faster drying times)
 
#5 ·
I'd say a lot of that will depend on where you live and how many/what kind of outdoor activities you participate in! I'm guessing someone in GA or Alabama might need fewer varieties than someone in, say, New England. Likewise, if you and your family enjoy a lot of outdoor activities in various weathers, then it would be important to have appropriate outerwear for said activities.

For us, it doesn't get *that* cold in winter and we only go outside for minimal snow playing once or twice per winter, so we don't have a lot of need for a wide variety of outerwear. One jacket per child and one heavy coat per child and that's pretty much about it. DH, OTOH, will not part with his stash regardless of the fact that he hasn't used most of it since we moved here from Chicago, so he has about 8 coats. Of course, he is also the type whose coat has to match his outfit... He keeps his in his own closet and if that's how he chooses to utilize his closet space, that is okay with me.
 
#8 ·
For DD: I have probably 5-6 sweaters, one snow coat (we were suppose to be visiting New York in December and I got it for like 5.00- I could probably get rid of it now since we aren't), and one actual jacket.
For DH: He has one or two sweaters and two jean jackets
For me: I have 5-6 hoodies and one jacket..

We, however, live on an island that doesn't get below 40 degrees. It doesn't really get cold so we don't need heavy duty stuff.
 
#9 ·
I don't count sweaters or hoodies - those are more clothes for our lifestyle.

Right now all we need is rain coats but when we're back home we need:
-raincoat
-winter parka
-fleece jacket
-down vest (these last 2 are mainly for layering for active but cold day activities)
-snow pants
-rain pants

We also like to have:
-dressy winter coat
-dressy lightweight jacket
 
#11 ·
My DH and I go round and round about this. We live in MO and get a full assortment of seasons. He has many many coats and because the coat closet is so stuffed they end up on chairs. It seems for each season there's a nice one and a messy "work in the yard" type one plus a couple things he's just sentimental about like a denim jacket from high school.
Sorry. I'm no help either.
 
#12 ·
We live in PA and the # of coats is something we struggle with. Both DH and I have quite a few that we actually wear.

Pre-child, we both spent more money (compared to now) on clothes. I also worked professionally in a job that took me on the streets to customer calls, etc. so I needed appropriate coats to wear to work.

We have at least 6 each (leather jacket, rain coat, short wool coat, long wool dress coat, spring jackets, winter sport coat, etc.)

Our coat closet overflows. I would love to purge but I can't. I simply don't want to give them up.

My goal is as they wear out, I won't replace some of them. I have a suede jacket that I love but can only wear in spring and fall when there is no threat of rain.

I will not replace that once it is gone but it may last a few more years.

DS has one lightweight and one heavy weight coat. I have resisted to urge to buy him and us any more.
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Caneel View Post
Our coat closet overflows. I would love to purge but I can't. I simply don't want to give them up.

My goal is as they wear out, I won't replace some of them. I have a suede jacket that I love but can only wear in spring and fall when there is no threat of rain.

I will not replace that once it is gone but it may last a few more years.

.
As long as I wear them, I feel no need to purge. If I don't wear them within a year, it goes since I probably won't miss it anyway.

I DO have a cashmere coat that I brought 12 years ago that I haven't worn in about two years since I'm smaller now than I was when I got it. I wore it almost daily (as long as it wasn't hot) the entire time it fit me and it looks almost as good as new. Since I paid almost $500 I have a hard time giving it up even though it doesn't fit. (I wouldn't spend that kind of money again
)
 
#14 ·
I actually don't even really have any coats myself... Just a few cozy pullover and zip-up sweaters. I'm in LA and even though I sometimes get cold easily, I don't spend a lot of time outside in the winter so a sweater is plenty for me. For DS, I have one heavy fleece hooded coat, one jacket (kinda looks like a knitted sweater but zip-up and lined), one pea coat, and one light pull-over. I bought the first two towards the end of last winter on clearance in the size he's in now and the last two are a size bigger so we'll see what fits when (he grows super slow).
 
#15 ·
That is a lot. It was expensive, but my coat is one that has the heavy interior that unzips out so you can just wear the outter part. So I just have one coat. I don't see the need for a raincoat.

DH has one winter coat, one that his job issued to him as part of his uniforms and a trench coat that I don't even know where is right now.
 
#16 ·
As has been stated by a pp, it depends on where you live. Having moved from CA to Boston 11 yrs ago I was SO not prepared for the varied temperature changes. I lived quite fine with one coat & several cardigans when I lived in the South Bay. Once I experienced NE weather I needed to add more coats/jackets to my wardrobe.

I have 5-6 coats/jackets as does DH. Each of my children has 4 coats/jackets.
 
#17 ·
I would say about 13 for each person in Michigan. Being comfortable is very important when you have no shelter outside.

BTW, I never, never, never ever buy a coat without a hood, because, you will always need one, when you grab the coat that doesn't have one.

I have a huge double closet just for coats!

And my son always needs like 2 of the same thing, because he gets one muddy and then I have to wash it, and he needs a back up.
 
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