Home Organization as the Seasons Change

Say bye-bye to winter baggage and hello to home organization this Spring. From winter snow storms to flood watch alerts, we understand that in many parts of the country winters can be long and brutal. Oftentimes, rain showers dominate Springtime. As winter transitions into spring, transform your home to simplify your life and boost productivity.

With a little inspiration from Netflix’s Marie Kondo, we’ll show you how to make home organization as winter comes to an end and we welcome spring!

Tidy by Category, not by room

We always recommend great storage organization tips to our customers, so why not approach your house in the same way? When it’s time to get ready for spring cleaning – think about your items as belonging to categories. For example, if you are ready to go through your clothing, tackle all clothing in the house, not just in the bedroom.

You likely have things in a front closet, the garage, or another family member’s room which is important to include in the cleanout. Tidying by category will allow you to think of your home in a more holistic manner, rather than focusing room by room. Follow the below approaches to clear out seasonal or expired food, miscellaneous clutter, winter bedding, and large coats.

Empty out the Food

Does your fridge still have eggnog in the back? The best day to organize the refrigerator is the night before trash day – the items you are discarding can go from the fridge, freezer, or pantry, straight to the recycling or garbage truck as fast as possible without hanging around and smelling up your garage or side yard. 

Spring weather tends to bring out a different style of eating. Your local health food stores and restaurants may be offering a Spring Cleanse. A popular way of eating that is gaining traction across the country is Whole30.

Whether you’re an omnivore or vegetarian having an organized refrigerator will make meal prep easier and more enjoyable.

Declutter the clutter

The smallest way to make the biggest difference in your home is to eliminate the clutter. It’s everywhere–sitting out on the counter, inside a junk drawer, in the pockets of your coats, or lingering in unexpected places. In addition to regular clutter, you might find receipts for gifts from the holidays or maybe even some holiday decorations and other festive trinkets are still lingering about that you can put away as winter comes to an end.

An organized and minimalistic home is proven to enrich productivity. Don’t forget to go through any place you might store medications and get rid of anything old or expiring. You’ve been stuck inside in the cold, with all the germs, but now that you can open your windows and get fresh air and look for soon to be outdated cold and flu medicines. Clutter can creep up on even the most organized among us—how many junk drawers do you have? Can you get down to just one?

The care and keeping of linens

When the weather starts to turn towards Spring, if your bedroom gets warmer,  it’s a hint that it’s time to put away flannel sheets and other seasonal bedding. An important step before you store your sheets and linens is to wash them in hot water with two rinse cycles before putting them away. Even comforters and blankets doesn’t appear dirty, washing will get rid of residue oils that can discolor fabric.

And even more importantly, any dead skin cells or food particles that could attract bugs! If you are putting away multiple sheet sets, use a pillowcase to store an entire sheet set. That way the right colors and patterns all stay organized throughout the summer when your winter bedding is away. To make the most of your storage unit space vacuum seal everything before putting it in storage, and enjoy the space you’ve freed up for summer linens.

Organize winter coats by putting them in storage

Another category that takes up space is winter coats. Similar to the bedding, store the coats clean and dry. If you don’t have hanging storage – use a plastic box. It will be easier to identify the items when it’s time to pull them out again and avoid using cardboard which can wear down and potentially damage your winter furs.

You’ll be amazed at how much extra room you have in your closet without large winter coats. If you’re transitioning from a harsh winter, make sure you still have your raincoat handy for April showers.

Hopefully, you can put away snow boots, ice trekkers, hand warmers, and other snow gear. As your closet clears out, your stress will melt away with the snow.

These items are ideal for seasonal storage at your local self storage provider.

Before you store the items, make sure you really want to wear them next winter season. After you decide what no longer sparks joy, donate items to your favorite local charity.

Home organization is essential in every aspect of your home. Your organizing will allow clean energy to flow from your fridge to your window sills, to under the bathroom sink. Challenge yourself – what would Marie Kondo do? Does every belonging spark joy? Organizing and decluttering your living spaces will elevate your transition into spring.