Why wait until spring, when you can try winter organizing. By the time spring rolls around, I want to be free to enjoy the weather, the outdoors and my gardens. The last thing I feel like doing is staying inside and spring cleaning.
I love the dead of winter as a perfect time to dig in and get out all of my home clutter. Call it the Kondo effect, but now’s the time to purge! From towels to socks, pilled sweaters to the back of your freezer, here are my helpful tips to clean house!
Collect for charity
Just because the holidays are over, doesn’t mean the season of giving is done. It’s really cold outside, so why not donate your gently used coats, sweaters and other warm clothes you no longer wear to a charity of your choice? Remember, though, this isn’t a vessel for old, worn-out or ruined clothes you simply want to get out of your wardrobe. Only donate good, quality items.
Deep clean your freezer
Who likes to clean their freezer? No one. But I promise you, it will bring you a lot of joy to see it sparkly clean after some winter organizing. Throw out expired frozen goods, then let your freezer thaw before you go at it with a sponge and some cleaning supplies. An empty freezer is a great inspiration point for some new batches of pasta sauce, soups, stews and any dishes you like to make ahead of time!
Go through your closets and drawers
Go through all of your closets and drawers and divide everything into “keep” and “discard” piles. Be vigilant: If you haven’t worn or used anything in one or two years, you likely won’t try it on again anytime soon. So, get rid of it. Old socks, old workout clothes, old towels—all gone! Yet another reason to organize in winter.
Purge your pantry
We tend to hoard products in our pantry’s, so now’s a great time to go through your spices and throw away those that are expired or have just a little bit left in the jar. When you organize in winter, you can buy new spices and rack them in alphabetical order making retrieval that much easier! Pull out cans and boxes of food and reorganize them. If they’re still good, and you aren’t going to eat it. Give to a food bank.
Winter organizing those spring linens
Wash your pillowcases, blankets, sheets and linens you plan to use once the spring season comes, so they’re clean, pressed, and ready to go. You could also put a sachet in your linen closet filled with herbs or aromatics to give a fresh scent.
Clean your light fixtures
All it takes is a stepladder, all-purpose cleaner, a sponge and a polish cloth to give your lights new life. You would be amazed at how much brighter your space will feel once you do a quick clean.