Shed Winter Clutter to Lighten Up Your Home for Warmer Days
Take a fresh approach to spring cleaning with these 6 ways to declutter cold-weather items
Right now, with so much in the world that we can’t control, it’s helpful to focus on what we can control, and to appreciate what we have. Where I live in Northern California, spring has arrived, and I’m glad for the sunshine and warmer temperatures. If you reside in a colder climate, you might appreciate having longer days and more sunlight.
While many of us are staying safe at home, it could be a good time to rid our houses of winter cobwebs and, if weather permits, open the windows and let in some light and fresh air. Here are a few ideas for freshening up your home for spring.
While many of us are staying safe at home, it could be a good time to rid our houses of winter cobwebs and, if weather permits, open the windows and let in some light and fresh air. Here are a few ideas for freshening up your home for spring.
Once warmer weather arrives, you may want to lighten up your space for spring. Consider putting away down or wool throw blankets and excess pillows. If your budget allows, you could do a little online shopping and refresh your couch with new decorative pillows in lighter fabrics and colors. Put candles away until next year and consider moving your twinkling lights onto the patio. These steps can make your home feel fresher and lighter — changes that may be quite welcome if you, like much of the nation, are spending a lot of time at home.
Work with a professional organizer near you
Work with a professional organizer near you
2. Pare Down Unused Winter Coats, Scarves and Gloves
In my job as a professional organizer, I notice that many of my clients own more outerwear than they can use. Winter coats and jackets are bulky and take up a lot of space in a closet. Now, while you’re home more, could be a good time to pare down your supply.
I recommend you start by removing all outerwear from your closets. Consider donating any jackets that you recently replaced — in other words, if you bought a new rain jacket this year, donate the old one. Of course, you might not physically be able to donate your item yet, as many donation centers may be closed. Call your local donation center to find out its status. If you can’t donate an item, I recommend you tuck it in a box or bin in an out-of-the-way place in your garage or home, where it won’t create clutter.
Continuing on with your decluttering of winter gear, I recommend that you also donate jackets you haven’t used in the past year, especially if they’re worn or out of style. For jackets that your children have outgrown, you might consider passing them along to a friend or relative with smaller children. If you plan to save them for your child’s younger sibling, place these jackets in a storage box under a bed or on a closet shelf so they don’t take up prime storage space.
Like outerwear, winter gloves, mittens, hats and scarves have a way of accumulating. I recommend that you discard any mateless gloves or mittens and donate scarves and hats you don’t use. Store remaining winter accessories in labeled storage boxes.
In my job as a professional organizer, I notice that many of my clients own more outerwear than they can use. Winter coats and jackets are bulky and take up a lot of space in a closet. Now, while you’re home more, could be a good time to pare down your supply.
I recommend you start by removing all outerwear from your closets. Consider donating any jackets that you recently replaced — in other words, if you bought a new rain jacket this year, donate the old one. Of course, you might not physically be able to donate your item yet, as many donation centers may be closed. Call your local donation center to find out its status. If you can’t donate an item, I recommend you tuck it in a box or bin in an out-of-the-way place in your garage or home, where it won’t create clutter.
Continuing on with your decluttering of winter gear, I recommend that you also donate jackets you haven’t used in the past year, especially if they’re worn or out of style. For jackets that your children have outgrown, you might consider passing them along to a friend or relative with smaller children. If you plan to save them for your child’s younger sibling, place these jackets in a storage box under a bed or on a closet shelf so they don’t take up prime storage space.
Like outerwear, winter gloves, mittens, hats and scarves have a way of accumulating. I recommend that you discard any mateless gloves or mittens and donate scarves and hats you don’t use. Store remaining winter accessories in labeled storage boxes.
3. Donate Lingering Holiday Foods You’ll Never Eat
I realize that it’s well into April, but many of my clients find that they have leftover holiday-related foods going into spring, summer and beyond. These items can crowd and clutter a pantry. I recommend setting them aside to give to a friend or donate to a local food bank once shelter-in-place restrictions lift — as long as their best-by dates are such that they can still be used.
Here are a few categories I recommend purging from your pantry:
1. Specialty foods that don’t appeal to you. Perhaps for the holidays you received gourmet food gifts — things like truffle-flavored olive oil, lavender hot chocolate or bourbon barbecue sauce — that really aren’t to your taste. You may feel guilty getting rid of a gift, but the truth is that if you never eat them, these foods will eventually be tossed anyway. Perhaps a friend or relative would appreciate the unique flavor more than you do.
2. Extra ingredients you just won’t use. Sometimes people have the best intentions of making homemade jam, cookies or candy as holiday gifts. But then they run out of time, and bags of flour, sugar and other ingredients eat up valuable pantry real estate. If you rarely bake — and you find that even sheltering in place isn’t changing that — it may be time to consider donating those 5-pound bags of sugar to a local food bank once restrictions lift.
3. Unique spices you dislike. Sometimes my clients purchase an uncommon spice for a recipe, then realize they don’t want to make that recipe again — or even taste the flavor of that particular spice. If you dislike a spice, I recommend giving it to a friend or tossing it.
A Professional Organizer Shares Her Top 6 Storage Products
I realize that it’s well into April, but many of my clients find that they have leftover holiday-related foods going into spring, summer and beyond. These items can crowd and clutter a pantry. I recommend setting them aside to give to a friend or donate to a local food bank once shelter-in-place restrictions lift — as long as their best-by dates are such that they can still be used.
Here are a few categories I recommend purging from your pantry:
1. Specialty foods that don’t appeal to you. Perhaps for the holidays you received gourmet food gifts — things like truffle-flavored olive oil, lavender hot chocolate or bourbon barbecue sauce — that really aren’t to your taste. You may feel guilty getting rid of a gift, but the truth is that if you never eat them, these foods will eventually be tossed anyway. Perhaps a friend or relative would appreciate the unique flavor more than you do.
2. Extra ingredients you just won’t use. Sometimes people have the best intentions of making homemade jam, cookies or candy as holiday gifts. But then they run out of time, and bags of flour, sugar and other ingredients eat up valuable pantry real estate. If you rarely bake — and you find that even sheltering in place isn’t changing that — it may be time to consider donating those 5-pound bags of sugar to a local food bank once restrictions lift.
3. Unique spices you dislike. Sometimes my clients purchase an uncommon spice for a recipe, then realize they don’t want to make that recipe again — or even taste the flavor of that particular spice. If you dislike a spice, I recommend giving it to a friend or tossing it.
A Professional Organizer Shares Her Top 6 Storage Products
4. Let Go of Holiday Gifts That Don’t Bring Joy
From time to time we all receive gifts we don’t love: a perfumed hand lotion that’s too fragrant for our senses, glass candle holders that clash with our decor, a scratchy woolen scarf that irritates our skin. Many of my clients feel guilty parting with such gifts, so the items stay stashed and unused on closet shelves or in dresser drawers. Over time, they take up valuable storage space and cause clutter.
Marie Kondo has practical advice when it come to gifts in her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. “The true purpose of a present is to be received,” Kondo writes. “Presents are not ‘things’ but a means for conveying someone’s feelings. When viewed from this perspective, you don’t need to feel guilty for parting with a gift. Just thank it for the joy it gave you when you first received it. Of course, it would be ideal if you could use it with joy. But surely the person who gave it to you doesn’t want you to use it out of a sense of obligation, or to put it away without using it, only to feel guilty every time you see it.”
I recommend taking Kondo’s advice and letting these appreciated but ill-fitting gifts go.
From time to time we all receive gifts we don’t love: a perfumed hand lotion that’s too fragrant for our senses, glass candle holders that clash with our decor, a scratchy woolen scarf that irritates our skin. Many of my clients feel guilty parting with such gifts, so the items stay stashed and unused on closet shelves or in dresser drawers. Over time, they take up valuable storage space and cause clutter.
Marie Kondo has practical advice when it come to gifts in her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. “The true purpose of a present is to be received,” Kondo writes. “Presents are not ‘things’ but a means for conveying someone’s feelings. When viewed from this perspective, you don’t need to feel guilty for parting with a gift. Just thank it for the joy it gave you when you first received it. Of course, it would be ideal if you could use it with joy. But surely the person who gave it to you doesn’t want you to use it out of a sense of obligation, or to put it away without using it, only to feel guilty every time you see it.”
I recommend taking Kondo’s advice and letting these appreciated but ill-fitting gifts go.
5. Sort Through Holiday Cards
Many of us receive dozens of holiday cards each year with beautiful photos of family and friends. Once the holiday decor has been packed away, what do we do with all of these gorgeous cards?
Many of us feel guilty tossing beautiful photos, but the truth is you may accumulate quite a stash if you never throw them away. I recommend saving only photos from close family members and friends. You could collect them in a photo box for a few years and then decide which ones you really want to keep. When you’re ready to do so, either add these cards to an old-fashioned photo album or have them scanned and saved on your computer, an external device or a cloud storage system. Or, the digital photos can be turned into a photo book, which takes up less room than a traditional photo album.
Don’t like to scan photos? There are several companies that provide high-quality scanning services. The point is that you don’t want these items to pile up indefinitely and take up valuable storage space, especially if you don’t tend to revisit them after the year they’re sent.
6 Tips for Organizing Your Shoeboxes of Photos
Many of us receive dozens of holiday cards each year with beautiful photos of family and friends. Once the holiday decor has been packed away, what do we do with all of these gorgeous cards?
Many of us feel guilty tossing beautiful photos, but the truth is you may accumulate quite a stash if you never throw them away. I recommend saving only photos from close family members and friends. You could collect them in a photo box for a few years and then decide which ones you really want to keep. When you’re ready to do so, either add these cards to an old-fashioned photo album or have them scanned and saved on your computer, an external device or a cloud storage system. Or, the digital photos can be turned into a photo book, which takes up less room than a traditional photo album.
Don’t like to scan photos? There are several companies that provide high-quality scanning services. The point is that you don’t want these items to pile up indefinitely and take up valuable storage space, especially if you don’t tend to revisit them after the year they’re sent.
6 Tips for Organizing Your Shoeboxes of Photos
6. Get Rid of Hand-Me-Down Furnishings and Household Goods
Finally, I recommend taking the opportunity while sheltering in place to review the things you brought into your home as hand-me-downs from family or friends last year. Just because something is free doesn’t mean you need it. Try to resist the urge to save items that you might need later.
As one example, I have clients who collect free furniture and household items hoping their kids will use them in their first apartments. These items clutter garages and basements, and often the adult children don’t even want them when the time comes. The style might be outdated, or the children may simply want to make their own selections. If you won’t be needing something in the next year, consider moving it out of your home once donation centers are open again.
More on Houzz
Read more stories on decluttering
Hire a local design pro
Shop for organizing products for your home
Finally, I recommend taking the opportunity while sheltering in place to review the things you brought into your home as hand-me-downs from family or friends last year. Just because something is free doesn’t mean you need it. Try to resist the urge to save items that you might need later.
As one example, I have clients who collect free furniture and household items hoping their kids will use them in their first apartments. These items clutter garages and basements, and often the adult children don’t even want them when the time comes. The style might be outdated, or the children may simply want to make their own selections. If you won’t be needing something in the next year, consider moving it out of your home once donation centers are open again.
More on Houzz
Read more stories on decluttering
Hire a local design pro
Shop for organizing products for your home
In Denmark where winters are chilly and long, hygge is a fundamental part of the culture and decor. Hygge can’t be translated into a single English word, but it roughly means a quality of coziness that makes a person feel content and comfortable. In recent years hygge has become a popular lifestyle and decorating trend outside of Scandinavia; the style is characterized by clutter-free spaces that promote calm and coziness.
Many of us may have adopted hygge design in our home without really thinking about it. Here are some telltale signs: a neutral color scheme with comfortable seating, soft pillows, warm blankets, candles and twinkling lights. It’s a lovely look — but also one that feels cozy for winter.