If you’re looking for uncluttered tips to help you tackle the job before summer rolls around, it might be worth coming to the areas that will be more of a focus during the warmer months. For example, it’s time to tackle areas of your home that may have bug infestations during the summer, or areas full of summer items you haven’t looked at in months. Likewise, it can also be a great time to tackle items you won’t be using between June and September to be prepared when the cold weather returns.
So if you’re feeling inspired to start decluttering, and need some handy home organization ideas, Clean, Clean, and Organize, experts advise there are a few areas that are more important to de-cluttering before summer begins.
7 things to get rid of before summer
Switch these 7 things up before summer starts. And when it’s done – well, you can simply sit back and enjoy your sunny summer garden while your home runs like a well-oiled machine.
1. Unpack your winter clothes
(Image credit: Mendelson Group/Tim Lenz)
Although it may feel like you’ve only put away your sweaters, scarves, and coats, the days before the summer heat sets in are the best time to organize the clothes you only wear in winter, to make sure your favorite items are only ready to go in September. In fact, for Nancy Zafarani, general manager at Oz Moving and Storage, there’s no better time to get rid of your winter stuff than when they’re fresh in your memory.
Anything you didn’t use this winter, you probably won’t use next winter. Go through hats, gloves, scarves, coats, shoes, and jackets; Donate now anything you haven’t worn this year, or no longer love. By fall they will be forgotten, and it’s a lot harder to part with things when you’ve convinced yourself you’ll be wearing them sometime soon.
Nancy also advises addressing any issues with your remaining winter clothes as soon as possible, so you don’t even need to think about it when the weather gets colder. “Send things that need dry-cleaning or repair now, when you don’t need them, so they’re ready for winter,” she said.
2. Organize your pantry
(Image credit: Emma Peter for Stephanie Brown)
Whether you have a built-in pantry, a stand-alone pantry, or you keep canned goods and the like in your kitchen cabinets, inspired by your favorite pantry ideas — pre-summer is the perfect time to de-clutter this area to keep it as sanitary as possible.
“Summer is bug season, and you want to keep ants and fruit flies where they are – outside!” said Nancy. “Keep your pantry well-ventilated and tidy so you can see what you have, and therefore use, before anything spoils and attracts pests.”
To de-clutter the space, take everything out of the pantry and put each item into a category — whether it’s sweets, baking supplies, or canned goods. Once you do, get rid of all expired or stale products.
Review the remaining items and consider if you’ll ever use them — odds are, if you haven’t used that bag of whole wheat flour in the past year, you never will.
3. Deal with your children’s school supplies
(Image credit: Kate Guinness)
Take advantage of the break at the start of your children’s school holidays, and tackle school items before class returns in September.
If your kids bring home a mountain of letters and schoolwork throughout the year, you probably haven’t had time to sort it all out. As such, set aside an hour or so to go through the letters and jot down any important dates or school information. Mary Jo also suggested stashing away items you won’t need for the next few months, saying, “Put your backpacks and lunch sets away for summer.” And of course, keep any of their precious artwork that you really love!
Should you, suggests professional organizer Emily Spade, and owner of The Organized Home Mindset; “Look at the clothes your kids have outgrown before summer camp (and before all the back-to-school chaos in the fall), in order to brighten up their closet space.”
4. Clean out the garage
(Image credit: Antoine Putz)
The pre-summer period is a great time to organize and tidy up your storage space — whether that’s a garage, summer house, or other types of backyard storage space — especially if that’s where you store your seasonal items.
Shannon Krause, certified professional organizer and owner of Tidy Nest, said, “A garage or shed would benefit from a complete makeover before summer rolls around.” Remove any items you no longer use, and make sure winterized items don’t take up prime real estate.
Organizing these areas, Emily urged, means making room for summertime items. “The garage is where most outdoor equipment is stored, and you want easy access to those items. For example, if you have a pool, or you spend a lot of time in the pool, you should evaluate your pool floats and give away items that need To replace, she explained.
Likewise, Shannon suggests getting rid of any gardening items in time for the weather to improve. “Pull out all of your outdoor gardening supplies, clear everything out, and take stock of what you have and don’t have, so you don’t overbuy on that first trip to the nursery!”
5. Prioritize summer clothes
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but before the warm weather really settles in, you’ll probably want to take some time to adjust your summer outfits, so that getting through your wardrobe on a nice day requires as little time and thought as possible.
Coordinator and organizing expert Amy Bloomer, founder of Let Your Space Bloom, explains, “Summer clothing and accessories, such as sundresses, swimwear, head coverings, sandals, sunglasses, etc. should be removed before summer begins.
“Edit, donate, or sell anything you don’t need, and neatly organize the items you want to keep by category.”
6. Sort the cosmetics
Summer tends to be the time when we reach for more products in our bathroom cabinets, whether it’s sunscreen, insect repellent, hair care products, or self-tanning items.
As such, the ideal time to declutter this part of your home is before summer. Shannon advised, “Find sunscreen and bug spray from last summer and check the expiration date.” If it expires, remove it and replenish stock.
In fact, it’s worth noting that as soon as you open a product, the clock counts down on its expiration date. If your toiletries are unopened, they are probably fine to use this summer.
7. Consider your car
It may not have occurred to you, but getting rid of your car before the hot months can lead to a more relaxed and organized summer, especially if you love to get out and about.
“When I think of summer, I think of going out to parks, parties, beaches, and traveling,” says Amy. “As such, now is the time to put your car in order.”
Shannon advised removing any old winter items to make room for summer essentials. Replace the snow mats for your picnic blanket, get rid of all those old receipts and food wrappers, and remove all contents from your car’s console. Keep a bag of summer essentials in your car, too, to avoid packing every time you leave the house.
You might even want to get a storage box for your car, to prevent clutter from reigning again. Amy suggested, “Stick to putting anything that enters your car (other than a human or animal!) into the trunk organizer. This helps create an “inbox” for your car, and keeps too much spam from entering the space.”
Taking the time to declutter before summer rolls around will allow you to enjoy those idyllic hot months without delving into the items you don’t need or want anymore—so even though it may seem like a job early in the year, we’d suggest that you’re missing a trick. In not organizing your space before summer!
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