Is anyone else excited about the arrival of spring? More fresh air, outdoor time, daylight hours, warmer temperatures, open windows…there is something very motivating about this seasonal change!

It’s also great when you can harness this energy to organize, de-clutter and get your home spring–ready.

Before starting, follow this 3-step preparation process to help you manage what is coming up ahead!
Step 1: Organize and de-clutter, deciding what to keep and what is no longer needed or used.
Step 2: Set aside categorized bins and boxes to ease the “letting go” part – recycling, garbage, donation, electronic waste, toxic chemicals, and action (i.e.: return to Mom, fix zipper, find charger, etc.).
Step 3: Just do it! Go to the donation or e-waste centre, take out recycling, return items, etc.

Now you’re ready to tackle the 5 key areas below, and feel the benefits of a spring organizing effort.

1. Closet Clear out

The Front hallway/closet changeover is often the busiest place in the house. Before storing your winter gear (in labeled, clear plastic bins OR at the far end of the closet), go through ALL items and decide what to keep, let go of, or donate, and then place into designated areas/bins. Out with the bulky winter coats, boots and gear and in with the lighter jackets, raingear and boots! Doing this usually means more space in the closet – and less stuff you are not going to wear next year, or any year after that!

2. Clothing De-clutter

Clothes take up a lot of space, time and effort so make sure you, and your family members, keep only what fits and what they will wear, now. Go through your clothing and ask, “Will I wear it? “Do I like it?” “Does it make me feel good?” and determine what to keep, let go of, or donate. Once you know what you actually need, pack all your winter clothes into a labeled clear bin and store. Repeat this process for family members who don’t do this on their own! Unwanted items? Take them to your local donation centre/consignment shop and feel more organized AND less cluttered.

3. Kitchen Flow

What makes us happiest in the kitchen, besides good food? Easy to get & use kitchen items to make the good food! The most functional kitchens are the ones where the appliances, utensils & accessories are close at hand, accessible and easy to use. Make sure everything in your kitchen has a designated home – and put things back where they belong! Group all “like” items together – all mugs together by your coffee maker, all breakfast items within easy morning reach, etc. Donate any duplicate items (can openers anyone?) and keep only what you really need and use. For spring, put your outdoor items (pitchers, bbq gear, etc.) nearby so they are easy to reach and enjoy!

4. Garage Control

Get in there and determine what you need for spring, and let go of any holdovers from who knows when. Put away the winter shovels, de-icers, winter mats, skis, toboggans, etc. to make room for your spring sports equipment, camping gear, gardening & lawn care supplies, outdoor furniture. Use hooks and peg boards on the wall for as many items as you can. Let go of anything that’s broken, or no longer useful in your life now. Curbside recycling is fast an easy! For more expensive items you no longer need, consider selling online or taking them to a local church, school or parent group spring sale.

5. Containing Kids Stuff

Kids clothing, books, sports gear and toys have a unique way of expanding…rapidly! To calm the chaos of too much kids stuff, think about what they actually need and use now, and let go of the rest. Donating unwanted items to a school, daycare, church, or community centre, selling items online, or taking items to a consignment store are all ways to feel more organized. Making a seasonal list of what your child needs, going through their items to see what’s missing, and then buying only what’s needed, is a great (and cost effective!) way to stay organized. Another tip is to create a “kids donation” bin, fill it as things are no longer needed, and donate items appropriately. Kids need less than we think to be happy.

Harnessing the energy of spring to organize, de-clutter, minimize and downsize is a great way to create more calm and order in your life. Best is to simply start and see how good you feel as you let go of things and create systems that work – for you and your family. Enjoy prepping your outdoor items for their spring awakening!

One last bonus tip: buy some fresh flowers to add freshness and colour to spring’s arrival – enjoy!

Do you ever feel like your kids stuff is taking over your house? Whether your children are living with you now, or have moved on, their belongings have a way of growing exponentially and taking over households, no matter how hard you try to manage it.

Below are 6 tips to help manage your kid’s stuff:

If your kids are living with you now and their stuff feels like another child:

1. Create systems and routines and that work for you and your kid/s! Define certain space for their activities and place storage options in that space. Do your kids like making crafts in the kitchen while you prep meals? Designate table space (or an actual table) for this and have enough bins (clear bins are your best bet for everything!) very close by to store all necessary items. Colour-coding works great – orange bin for colouring items, yellow for paper, blue for glue and tape, etc. Is your kid’s school stuff all over the place? Create a “school area” with a hook for their backpack, tray or folder for papers, bin for items to return” and a school checklist. Clothes all over the floor in your kid’s rom? Try hooks instead of hangers, shelves instead of drawers – make it easy for them to succeed!
2. Make good choices about storage containers. As mentioned, clear bins are best – easy to open, close and see into! Resist the urge to fill them so kids can easily sort through them, and let them make fun labels for each. There are so many options to store kids belongings – pick what you, and your child, will respond to best! Use what you already have as well – baskets, boxes, and bins likely exist in your house already.
3. Make organizing a game, a challenge, and an adventure you and your kids can “conquer” together. If your kids are anything like my son, they love a good challenge. “I bet you can’t put all those cars in that bin AND close the lid – no way. Really?” Or, “All that LEGO will fit in the blue LEGO drawer? No way, show me!” Endless possibilities to make it a game – use your creativity to make organizing fun!

If your kids have moved away but their stuff hasn’t!

1. Before they leave home, go through your kid’s belongings together and discuss what it means to live more simply and with less stuff. Ultimately, you may be the one to pack and store SOME items, but they should to be part of the decision-making process. Organizing and living more simply are life skills we ought to teach our children, and their migration away from the family home is an amazing opportunity to do just that.
2. Decide how much you are willing to store and make that clear to your children. “I am willing to store 4 bins of your belongings (have the bins with lids and labels ready to go!) in the basement until we move. When we move, I will ask you to take them so please decide and pack away these 4 bins by xxx.” A bit of tough love in this area means fewer stresses down the road. This is about you setting limits so you can live more simply, with less stress.
3. If you are keeping many items from their baby/child-hood, choose what is most meaningful and fill ONE clear bin with their memorabilia (ask your kids to do the same). Although everything seems precious, choose only the things that bring back fond memories (and fit into the bin!) and let go of the rest. Chances are your kids won’t want what their baby teeth, first tuft of hair and onesie and someone else can benefit from their LEGO and Pokémon cards.

Kids are amazing. Equally amazing is the amount of stuff they generate! To manage the stress of “too much stuff” while your kids live with you and when they move out, try these tips and see how you can live life more simply!

This is going to be your year to be more organized right? With the holidays officially a month behind us, now is the perfect time to seriously think about making this year your most organized and sane – whether you are downsizing, organizing, de-cluttering, or a combination of all of these. It’s time to regroup, refresh, renew, reinvent, rejig, re it all, and reach your 2018 organizational goals.

Here are 5 ways to strengthen and tone your organizing muscles this year:

1. Downsize & Minimize
Les stuff equals less stress right? We all agree that this can be the case, but actually moving from idea to implementation takes some effort. Now is the time to create your own system for managing your stuff – going through items in your closets, drawers, plastic bins will help get you there. How a few “rules” – for every new item that comes in, three go out and for every weekend in the month you’ll donate one full bag of items to charity. Having a clear number to work toward helps to keep us motivated. Be ruthless, be clear, and keep your goals in mind.

2. Sort & Label
Once you have less to work with, you can now group in according to function and then store it. No more searching and searching because you “know you have one somewhere”! All kitchen items should be in the kitchen, batteries all in one bag/box, all holiday ornaments in a bin (or 2!) in an accessible place, all bathroom items, you guessed it, in the bathroom. Spreading out = stressing out! If you like to look at pretty things, get yourself a label-maker too!

3.  Systematize & Store
Having easy access to the things you need in the places you use them most is a game changer. Thinking about how you use items, and where, should inform where you store them. Paying bills? Have your in try, envelopes and stamps al in one place (unless you do this online!). Baking a cake? Have all your bowls, mixers and dry god in one bin to make it easier. Keep things close by – saves time and stress! Making a map of where some of “used only sometimes” things are stored help too – every bit helps!

4. Clean & Clear
Now that you’ve begun to get organized and downsize, keeping things clean and neat should be easier. When we have too much clutter, cleaning is so much harder, so often we just don’t bother. When we are disorganized, we spend so much time picking things up, and not enough time enjoying them. Having a schedule of what gets cleaned when helps – laundry on night A, kitchen on B, bathrooms on C, etc. This way we can focus on doing the job well, as opposed to little bits here and there, which doesn’t always lead to a satisfactory result.

5.  Simplify & Savour
If your space is organized and clean, you feel better right? What about our physical bodies and mind If they feel “organized and clean” we would be less stressed right? It’s funny how we often talk about managing our stress, because isn’t it really about managing our calm? My guess is we’d all like to feel calmer, so let’s focus on that! And then enjoy it, taking time to slow den and savour your space, your sanity, and your time.
All of the above tips are intended to make organizing easier, which ultimately helps you feel calmer and less stressed. This process is ongoing, and one that will pay off for you, and those around you, this year.