Spring Clean Up - Kill the Clutter

Yup, it’s spring - that time of year when many of us feel compelled to throw open the windows, let in some extra light and a large dose of fresh air to clean the cobwebs from our heads as well as our houses.

Does anyone actually like spring cleaning? It certainly seems to be one of those deeply ingrained, yearly rituals that we automatically perform whether we like it or not. No matter how we feel about doing house cleaning, there really is no better time than spring to clean out the clutter, introduce some new tactics for home organization and implement new storage solutions.

You can’t effectively spring clean if there’s too much clutter in the way, so this post is geared towards helping you sort through the clutter before the cleaning can begin.

Kill the Clutter - Rules of Engagement

1. If you don’t use it - lose it!

Before putting your winter items away until next year, get a grip on clutter control by going through them first.

Clothes - If you didn’t wear it this year, the chances of you wearing it next year are even more slim. Lose it before it becomes another year out of date.

Winter Outdoor Toys & Sports Equipment - Get rid of anything that is too small or no longer played with. Don’t take up valuable space by storing items that can no longer be used.

2. Out with the old - in with the new.

Drag all your spring and summer items out of their winter hiding places. Go through everything - clothing, outdoor patio furniture and accessories, gardening tools, outdoor toys. Make room for new acquisitions by clearing out all of your old, broken, or too small items.

3. The Unused & The Unloved

Remaining Household Items - You know where it is, lying on the table in the dining room and the counter in the kitchen, strewn across the floor in the basement and the garage, cluttering the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom, blocking your access to closets. That’s right, the jumbled collection of unused and unloved ’stuff’ that accumulates as if by magic. One day floors, counters, drawers and cabinets are clean, the next they are a complete mess. Gather it up and sort it out. Do the initial sort yourself, organizing items into piles for each member of the family, then assign responsibility for each pile to the person it belongs to. Help your kids curb any pack rat tendencies they may have already inadvertently developed. Each person can then work through the next steps.

4. Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Re-gift.

Reduce the clutter by recycling that stack of magazines that has been growing steadily over the winter. If you have time to go through and tear out articles of interest, go for it - otherwise, take the ‘what you don’t know won’t hurt you’ approach and dump them in the blue box. If you don’t have the time or don’t take the time to actually read and make use of all those magazines, cancel your subscriptions. You’ll be greatly reducing the amount of unnecessary paper and clutter that comes into your home.

Did you receive any lovely Christmas presents this year that you have absolutely no use for? Don’t waste space by storing them, consider re-gifting to someone else.

After sifting through all the items that will be going into storage, those that have just come out of storage, and those you’ve found cluttering up other areas of your home, organize everything into five categories: Re-gift, Donate, Recycle, Trash and Keep. Make it easier on yourself by addressing one category each day for the next five days.

Day One - Re-gift any new, unused items.

Day Two - Donate clothing and any usable household items to Goodwill. Encourage your kids to donate as well. Let them know that there kids who don’t have as much as they do - kids who would be very grateful to receive the toys and books that your kids are too big or too old for. If you can’t think of someone who would like any of your gift items, donate those as well.

Day Three - Recycle as much as you can.

Day Four - Put out the trash. (hopefully the trash pile is considerably smaller than any of the others)

Day Five - Address your keep pile.

5. Sort It & Store It

Aaah, day five has finally arrived. Time to deal with your keep pile. Before you run out and purchase a bunch of bins and storage containers it’s important to look at what you need storage for and where you plan to store things. Do you need clothing storage, toy storage, tool storage? Where do you typically store out of season items - the attic, a closet, the garage? What about all those things you plan to use this spring and summer? Is your attic, closet or garage organization up to par?

This opens up a whole new can of worms! Watch for the next installment of Spring Clean Up to find home organization ideas and storage solutions.

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In the meantime, if you want more information on killing the clutter, check out some of the books that are available for helping to fight the clutter curse:

From Clutter to Clarity
Home Organizing Workbook: Clearing Your Clutter, Step-by-Step
Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home
Clean Sweep Conquer the Clutter
Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff