Tips and tricks for getting organized at home

Home organizing solutions for Spring with professional organizer Sonya Labonté

By Sonya Labonté

It's now spring and the nice sunny weather is out. Let’s get ready and organized for the upcoming months of outdoor lounging and activities with friends and family. Why may you ask? Because you don't want to feel stressed out about the tiny little obnoxious details…

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Spring organization

The goal of organization is to alleviate stress and anxiety and make everyday tasks simpler, easier and quicker to accomplish. To accomplish this and be able to enjoy your Spring, I recommend focusing on three key aspects so that you can focus on what's actually important to you—spending time with your loved ones.

Let me ask you this. Where do you spend most of your time in the Spring? Outside, right? And, what are things you usually need?

Hats and sunglasses
Sunscreen and bug spray
Shoes and jackets

Let's go through all these things and make sure that they're properly contained and organized for Springtime, which is a pretty big change of season in whichever part of the world you're in.

Organizing tips and tricks for Spring

Hats and sunglasses

Usually around springtime, the change of weather means that we no longer need winter hats. It's now time for ball caps and lighter hats either for adults and kids. This is also the perfect time to go ahead and make the change and put away anything that is winter-related. Put those away and bring out anything that is spring and summer related.

My trick is to group spring and summer related items (by category) together because those two seasons tend to be very similar when it comes to accessories. This will also save you from having four categories of accessories for each season.

If you have kids, you always have the option of dividing these accessories into two main categories (kids and adult) which will encourage your kids to get what they need independently. You can even kick it up a notch and divide things up for each member of the family or by gender if you want to (ie: boys and girls, women and men, etc).

Make sure that you do you and that you do what works best for you and your family. Be mindful about this: the different categories will most likely be based on the space that you have available so work with what you have and not necessarily on what you want.

Sunscreen and bug spray

Create a designated area (a bin, basket, bag, caddy, etc.) for sunscreen and bug spray so that those products are handy, close to the door, and easy to grab on the way out. Keeping them together also makes it very practical to bring outside on the patio, close to the sandbox, or at the park if they are ever needed.

Going through them in the spring time will also give you the opportunity to go over the expiration dates and make sure that the products are all still good and ready to be used. Because these products can be dangerous for younger kids to get into, be sure to store them up high on a shelf or in a cupboard far away from little hands. Even though you have now contained them in a basket or caddy, you must still create a safe zone for these products to return to once you are done using them.

Shoes and jackets

It’s now time to get rid of those large bulky winter snow boots and coats. Woohoo! Let's make the switch and put the snow boots away and get out the lighter shoes for spring and summer. Once again, I recommend to do the same for the shoes as you did for the hats. Store your winter and fall shoes together and your spring and summer shoes together. This means you should only have two shoe categories (or large bins) and not four. This will depend on where you live and what the different seasons are like so you can be the judge of that for yourself.

The trick to keeping tidy between seasons is to only hang the jackets and have access to the shoes you will actually need and use during the current season. If for any reason you notice that there are some pieces that you no longer like or enjoy wearing, it’s time to pass them on. Also, while putting the past season away, get rid of what has not been used or what will not be used in the future. If it no longer fits, if it’s no longer loved, or it’s no longer in style, or hasn’t been worn be sure to sell or toss it while you are in the process. Don’t store away a piece of clothing or outerwear that you know for sure that you will not be wearing again “just because”. If you haven’t worn it or if you don’t love it, there is a reason why and you might want to explore that before storing that piece of clothing.

Set up for success to transition the seasons

Organizing your spring transition will set you up for success for the rest of your spring and summer season. For more tips and tricks, be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as on my website for blog posts, information on my organizational services, or to subscribe to my newsletter.

Sonya LaBonté is a professional organizer in Moncton, NB. Through her business, Simple Organization Solutions (SOS) she can help you create a personalized organizational system that will work for you and your home. Through both in-home and virtual sessions Sonya will show you how simple and beneficial organization can be.