How To Organize For Spring---4 Fresh Tips

The calendar says it is spring so it seems like a good time to do some spring organizing. However the weather outside is not typical spring weather. Instead of beautiful flowers and green leaves on the trees as I look out my window I see it has snowed 5 inches overnight and it is still snowing. Never-the-less this is the time of year our minds turn to spring organizing.

1. Closet Turnaround:
My friend was switching out the clothes from her closet in the master bedroom to another closet in another room. As her husband watched her go back and forth with arm full’s of her clothes he noticed she only went back and forth a couple of times with his clothes. And that is how it is, men’s clothes are so much simpler than women’s and don’t change very much in style from year to year.

Now is the time to take the winter clothes out of the closet and put them in another closet if you have the closet space to do this. If not put the off season clothes towards the back of the closet. Another option is to fold or roll pants and shirts, scarves and gloves and place in a plastic container and store on a closet shelf. Be sure to label the container to help you remember it is seasonal clothes.

Donate items you didn’t use this season, if you didn’t use them this year what makes you think you will use them next year? As you get out your warmer clothes if there are items that have been packed away that you no longer like or you didn’t wear last season now is the perfect time to donate them.

2. This is a great time to declutter you home and life. Do you and your home have spring fever? Move those unwanted gifts you have been given and haven’t known what to do with to the gift closet to be re-gifted or donate them to charity.  Get rid of clutter by rotating decorations, figurines or other items that are out all the time and you don’t really see anymore because you have gotten used to them.

3. How many cookbooks do you own and how many do you actually use? It is probably a safe bet you have cookbooks you haven’t looked at in years, much less made a recipe from. These are ones you can donate. Cookbooks that have been passed down from your mom or grandma that you keep for sentimental reasons consider moving to a different place to lighten your kitchen.

Do you chronically cut out recipes from magazines or print them off from the internet? Organize them by gluing them on a piece of 8 X 10 paper and slip them in plastic sleeves. Organize by type in a 3 ring binder. When you are ready to try them you will be able to find them. Make a goal to cook one new recipe a week and if no one likes it get rid of it. With recipes galore on the Internet take another look at your cookbooks and see what ones you can actually part with.

4. Spring is a great time to shop the white sales for new towels. Are your towels both in the kitchen and in the bathrooms thin and stained? Are you tired of the colors? If they don’t light you up replace them. Donate your old ones to a local animal shelter or if they aren’t too worn to women shelters. The amount of towels you need depends on the size of your family. Two to three sets of towels per family member should be sufficient. Towels for guests place in a container and slide under the guest room bed then you will always have fresh towels ready for them.

Now is the time to do spring organizing, get rid of clutter by starting in one room and lighten it up by donating or choosing items to be sold at a yard sale.