How To Clean And Organize Your Home This Spring

With circumstance as they are, many people are spending a lot more time at home than expected. One upside of that is that we can start our spring cleaning! When your home is closed up for several months, the dust and dirt tend to settle on surfaces like lamps, windows, baseboards and furniture. As a result, the quality of air in a home decreases. Meanwhile, newly purchased items just get added to existing stuff already in place. There is where clutter begins to form and disorganization tends to begin.

Here are some home organization tips to help clean and organize the various rooms in your home this spring.

Minimize The Mudroom Clutter

The mudroom or entryway is often the first place people see when entering a home and, as a result, the first place everyone drops things when walking in the door. So you need a place with the proper storage and organization for coats, jackets, hats, gloves, shoes, backpacks, umbrellas, etc. Giving each family member a dedicated storage space with hooks, cubbies, shoe shelves and bins will keep the clutter off the floor when walking into your home. In addition, a bench is a place to comfortably put on and remove shoes which keeps dirt from being tracked throughout the house.

Keep Your Kitchen Pantry Fresh

A functional and organized kitchen pantry is essential and should be decluttered often. Utilizing special storage options like a Lazy Susan help ensure that you can see all of the items in your pantry and monitor expiration dates. For example, kitchen spices are best used within one year. Most canned goods have a shelf life of 1-4 years. If stored in a cool dark place and in good shape, the range increases to 3-6 years. For canned goods that have passed their expiration, you can recycle, possibly donate (depending on how far past he expiration) or compost certain items. Wire baskets are great for fresh fruits and vegetables and you simply use your senses (look, feel and smell) to determine the freshness. Throughout your pantry, it’s helpful to keep the items that are utilized most often at a convenient height and accessible. If you can’t reach it or see it, you won’t know it’s there or be able to put it back in its proper place.

Optimize Your Laundry Room Space

Laundry rooms need space for folding, ironing, drying and storing cleaning supplies. Make sure dustpans and brooms have a place to be housed along with an ironing board and iron to give you a clear workspace. Fold-down or slide-out ironing boards save space and the convenience saves time. Pull-out drying racks are perfect for air drying delicate clothing so they do not have to be hung over chairs or other pieces of furniture. Make sure you are setup to sort the laundry correctly. First, sort clothing based on color, then by weight. Combine loads if necessary and wash the most needed items initially. If you finish with undergarments and socks, you can disinfect with your last load as well.

Freshen Up Your Linen Closet

There are several ways you can win the organization battle with your linen closet. First, inspect each linen item and make sure none or ripped, worn or damaged. Discard those in poor condition and wash what remains. Sheet sets can also be folded and stored in pillow cases.  And just in case, here is how you fold a fitted sheet. Utilize bins for smaller toiletry items that can create clutter and get left out. Just be sure that the bins are the right size for the space and what you are planning to store. You want to optimize the space, not add a bulky bin to store more clutter. Now your linen closet will even impress your guests who come to visit.

Customize Your Bedroom Closets

Keeping your bedroom closet organized is a whole article by itself! It is all about the inventory and finding solutions that work for what you are planning to store. Customized closet designs are a great solution for making sure you find the best possible place to store your items in the best possible manner to be most efficient for you. Be sure you aren’t skipping a crucial beginning step, which is evaluating the items in your wardrobe and purging clothing so you don’t hang onto things you no longer wear or feel good about. Those items will only take up space and create additional clutter. It’s  often easier said than done, we get it. Here are some tips on how to get rid of those sentimental items guilt-free.

Digitize Your Home Office

Having a pile of papers on your desk that is enough to wallpaper your entire home office is not productive and can be stressful by giving you the feeling that tasks are piling up. You need a clear mind and space. Set a time period (for instance the last year or two years) and file those papers. Anything older, other than those you need to keep original copies of, can be scanned and digitized. Either dispose of or recycle any old or outdated technology you are no longer using like printers, monitors or desktop computer towers. Organize desk drawers whether it be by category or use frequency. Drawer inserts will keep smaller items from getting misplaced and mixed together. Make the space your own and set everything up in a arrangement that makes you most productive.

Keep Your Garage Safe

The garage is often the place where clutter can linger the most. Larger gear including sports equipment, tools and outdoor furniture can take up a significant amount of space. Taking advantage of the wall space with a slat wall system by storeWall to keep your belongings safely stored and avoid tripping hazards. Cabinets can be customized and designed with deep dimensions for the larger, oddly shape items like furniture cushions. Consider adding locking cabinetry or drawers to keep chemicals away from children and pets. Be sure to check the expiration of the chemicals and properly dispose of them at the beginning of each season.

Keeping your home clean and properly organized can often seem overwhelming. Start with one room at a time or even one section and keep chipping away. You will be surprised how things begin to look and come together after a short period of time. Should you feel overwhelmed or need some guidance, give us a call for your free design consultation.