Spring your home back to life with these decluttering and organizing tips
Who else is feeling inspired to prep for spring cleaning and giving our homes much-needed decluttering and TLC? Read on for tips to freshen up your home just in time for warmer weather.
Let there be light (and let that light guide your way)
Wash the insides AND outsides of your windows. Sit in your room when the shine shines brightest. Take advantage of the light to notice how your space looks in broad daylight. What do you love about this space? What is a pain point here? What doesn’t look good in the spotlight?
Evaluate everything. The art that’s been hanging on the wall for 10 years. The piece of furniture that was gifted to you from an old relative that’s not quite your style but you didn’t have money for one you wanted. Your decor. Your books on display. The area rugs. You can change these spaces; you can tweak your style. Removing a piece of furniture eliminates a clutter buildup spot and may allow you flexibility to move your room around, freshening up the space.
You have control over your space; what’s on display ideally makes you feel calm, happy, proud, and content, not overwhelmed.
Let go of what you don’t really love or use, and sit in the blank space without rushing to fill it.
Declutter your reusable bags and not-being-used-functionally/meaningfully-plastic containers
One of the most common things I find in homes I organize are reusable bags that have miscellaneous clutter jampacked in (and usually tucked in the back of a closet). Reusable bags are not true storage. This is a short-cut and a workaround that in reality we mean to come back to but don’t. The items get lost and forgotten.
Save your favorite reusable bags and keep them together by the entryway or in your car, so they’re ready to be used for their intended purpose…groceries. Is it just you and your partner? Maybe aim for 3-4 bags. If it’s a family of 5, maybe a few more than that.
Empty the bags entirely; likely much of it could go straight into the trash (or recycling!) since it’s been buried so long. Relocate items to their designate homes, donate what you can, let go of the rest.
Refresh your entryway(s) to simplify your everyday routines
Makes sense for spring to add in a sweater or sweatshirt for those in-between days or cooler mornings/nights, and a favorite pair of sandals or flip flops. Can you put away your snow boots and winter hat/gloves/scarves etc in safe storage for next season—and as you do, remove any that have obvious wear and tear, holes, no longer fit, etc.
Have a trash/recycling bin near the entrance to do a quick sort of mail/school papers.
Add functional and family-friendly drop spots; easy and low-placed hooks for kids to hang their backpack or coat. Group like things together; attach an umbrella to the raincoat’s hanger, with rain boots nearby. Make sure there’s a designated space for keys/wallet etc.
Take note of what clutter is accumulating here as the season changes and make adjustments as needed.
Allow zones to flourish in your garage and prep for fun in the sun
Common categories for garage storage: tools, gardening, outdoor maintenance, sports/outdoor play for kids, patio/deck furniture or extra seating, camping items, backstock of household items
Break down all the cardboard boxes that accumulate (or pay your kids a quarter per box!), remove the trash, donate what isn’t being used (consider Habitat for Humanity ReStore) or schedule a pickup from your charity of choice. (Don’t skip this step!)
Divide your garage into zones to maximize functionality. Remember to go vertical, be mindful of your placement of things so that the most frequently used items are within easy reach (and quick to put away), label everything, and get the family on board.
Get butterflies…when you walk into your closet or open your dresser
Here are my 3 favorite tips:
Remove any clothes you don’t wear, love, or need. Recycle overly loved textiles, donate sizes you no longer wear (so when you choose your outfit in the morning, you will feel confident knowing that you can comfortably dress TODAY’S body).
Store nothing on the floor; use pretty or decorate containers with labels and get them up (ideas: shelving, over-the-door, small racks inside the closet, etc).
Use matching hangers and space your clothes evenly and generously to avoid a jampacked, tough to select/return look.
Renew your pantry/fridge for in-season and no-fuss meal prep
It’s time to toss the candy corn, the expired hot chocolate, the healthy snacks you stocked up on way back at the beginning of the year when you were committed to better eating. It’s OK to let these go—if they’re expired, trash; if they are NOT but you just have a ton of duplicates or your family realistically won’t consume, consider donation to the little free pantry or a nearby food bank, church, or food drive (I shared recently that my M&T Bank collects food year round for people in need).
Empty the fridge and freezer and do a wipe down of all the surfaces, ensuring that the food that goes back in will be eaten. It’s good to take inventory as the season changes. Soon we will be grilling and wanting fresh salads and less oven-baked items. Let your kitchen reflect back to you the foods you want to, and will, eat.
Flourish with a personalized approach to paper clutter
Keep all of your papers in one central location—and be thoughtful to consider what you’ll need to access and when/how often in order to determine the ideal place.
Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, accountant, or financial adviser, so I did some research. According to Consumer Reports, here’s how long you should hold onto documents:
<1 year. store your ATM, bank-deposit, and credit card receipts until you reconcile them with your monthly statements. Then, shred or securely delete e-files. Hold insurance policies and investment statements until their newer versions arrive
>1 year. Save loan documents until the loan is paid off. Save your car title until you sell it. Keep purchase confirmations of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds until you sell so that you can establish your cost basis and holding period.
7 years. Keep all tax records for at least seven years.
Keep forever. Birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, Social Security cards, and military discharge papers, any defined-benefit plan documents, estate planning documents, life insurance policies, and an inventory list of the contents of your bank safe deposit box.
Remember to recycle what you can, shred anything with confidential information (see the DSWA for paper shredding events), and consider opting out services or switching to paperless bill pay.
Let go—without guilt—of what no longer serves you, your home, your kids
This is the time to make space. Can you cut your utensils drawer in half? Can you unload some of the products in your bathroom? Can you reduce your kids’ toys and pare down your shoes, and just invite SPACE into all areas of your home?
Don’t judge yourself for those items taking up space that you had purchased with intention to use. It’s OK that you’re not that person. Move on, make room for the next chapter, for possibility.
Model for your kids what it looks like to not only be a conscious consumer, but what it looks like to take care of your belongings and respect them by giving them homes and returning them to their homes after use. No one is perfect, but know that your littles are watching your behavior around tidying and that means more than what you say.
So, there you have it. I hope some of these resonated with you and you’re motivated to get to work. Who wants to spend summer months buried in clutter and frantic cleaning when guests want to come, in that heat and humidity? Easy-breezy spring decluttering steps make room for summer fun.
Pro Tip: when you’re finished decluttering, hire a local cleaning company to do a deep clean for a full home reset. Then open the windows and let in that warm breeze and bask in the joy that is your revitalized space. Let me know if you need a referral!
No shame if you need help tackling the clutter. I’m here and a free discovery call away to see how I can partner with you to bring hands-on, personalized professional organizing into your home: