Spring Cleaning

For me, spring cleaning means coming out of a winter hibernation of sorts and a GIANT welcome to spring. It is time to put away the comfort items from winter and get ready for the adventures of summer and spring. There are a few areas where I see the change as being vital to really be ready for this transition.

In the bedroom (and living room), it is time to put away the blankets that we used to keep ourselves from the cold. Most of the winter, I spend my time covered in big, fluffy and soft blankets. When spring comes, I don’t need them, so I put them away. I donate the usable blankets I don’t need to families in need, and anything that is not usable goes to animal shelters.

In the mudroom or coatroom, I focus on rotating and minimizing three categories of items:

• Coats

• Boots

• Winter accessories

First thing I do is donate anything that doesn’t fit or work for me anymore. I put the coats and the boots to the back of the closet. I lay out all of my winter accessories. I match up all of the gloves. I donate any singles to animal shelters. Then, I put each member of the families winter accessories together in a bag or container. I store them all away together. I bring the summer bin down and put the winter bin in its place.

In my bedroom closet I put my winter clothes away or in the back of my closet and pull out my spring and summer items. I go through the winter stuff and donate the items didn’t wear. I look through the summer clothes and donate items that don’t fit, or that I just don’t remember loving.

I take out all my winter outdoor gear, first I minimize all of the items I don’t need or that I didn’t/won’t use next winter. Maybe we didn’t like it, maybe my son will have outgrown it by next winter, or maybe it is just plain broken. Then, I make sure that the winter gear that is left is ready to be taken out and used next winter.

Finally, to formally come out of hibernation, I like to take inventory of our spring/summer gear. If we aren’t going to use it or it is broken, I minimize it. If there is something we wanted last summer, but we didn’t have, I add it to my budget to buy in the next few weeks.

This last step of readying for the summer is actually the most important step to me. It sort of brings the whole process full circle. I say goodbye to the solace and holiday fun that I love about the fall and winter, and say hello to the adventures of spring and summer.

Join M.O.M. by clicking here to sign up for the 2021 Spring Cleaning Challenge.