by Claire Trost
It is easy to get a little lax in your home systems during the busy holiday season and bitter cold of January. But, as things warm up in the late days of winter, this is a great time to prepare for the transition to spring by getting ahead on some key household organization.
HERE ARE THREE PLACES IN YOUR HOME THAT ARE GREAT PLACES TO START.
GARAGE
On cold snowy days, boots are kicked off at the door, sleds dropped right on the ground, and shovels don’t always get back in their place. A warmer day is a great time to open up the doors and bring order back into the space.
- Start with getting things off the floor. Keep items easily accessible with heavy duty hooks for bikes and ladders and slat-wall or peg boards to add shelves and baskets.
- Meanwhile, do a quick spring inventory. You’ll want things like soccer balls, basketballs, and golf clubs to be ready to go on that first nice day. Add air to anything deflated, including bike tires. Little things like chalk and bubbles make for great Easter goodies if the current supply is low.
- Once the floor is clear, sweep out the winter dirt and salt.
GARDEN SHED
As the ground starts to defrost, check in on your outdoor structures and garden sheds.
✔️First, look for any winter damage like leaks or evidence of animals that may have taken refuge during the colder months.
✔️Take a little time to straighten things up. Like in the garage, a peg board and heavy duty hooks are great for hoses, extension cords, larger tools like rakes, and even your best sun protection hat.
✔️Prepare garden tools for spring with a thorough cleaning. Diseases, bacteria, and fungi like blight and mildew can live on trowels and tomato cages. Cleaning your tools also helps them last longer.
✔️Speaking of sharp, inspect your lawn mower and its blades. Many hardware stores offer blade sharpening for a small fee.
KID PAPER CLUTTER
The overwhelm of full weekdays and activity packed weekends in the months the sun goes down before dinner can lead to a pile up of papers on the counter. Take advantage of a little more daylight and energy in the evening by getting it under control.
✔️First things first: Anything with a date goes into your main calendar.
✔️Next, determine what is worth keeping and what is trash. Art, awards, writing, special projects, and assignments that share who your kid is in that particular moment in time get our vote for a “keep” pile. A run of the mill spelling test? Those get a “Great work!” and trashed.
✔️Here are a few of our favorite ideas for the “Keep” pile:
- Memory Boxes: Buy pre-made or easily make your own. Grab a plastic or cardboard storage container made to hold hanging folders. Get winged hanging folders and label them by year or age.
- Scrapbooks: A traditional scrapbook is a wonderful place to put these pieces of your child’s work and accomplishments. We love scanning your child’s artwork and creating a coffee table style book with an online program like Shutterfly, Mixbook, or Vistaprint.
- Frame: Your child’s art can make a special addition to a gallery wall. Not to mention the confidence your child will find seeing their art framed. Traditional frames work well, but we also love these frames that make changing out the art a cinch.
What do you do to shake off the slowness of winter and step into spring refreshed and ready to go?
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