Summer is in full swing, and depending on where you live, it might just be too hot to venture outside during the middle of the day.
We’ve had several hot, humid, summer days already and the weather forecast shows several more to come over the next few weeks. So I’m taking advantage of my time indoors {with the air conditioning on} to tackle a few organizing projects this summer.
Here are a few projects I’ve already finished or still plan to do:
1. Declutter the closets.
Eventually, I plan to tackle all our closets, but for now, I’m focusing on installing and organizing our master closet and our future nursery closet. The summer is a great time to purge any winter or fall items that you did not wear this past year. Plus, by donating them now, they will be for sale at the thrift stores when people are getting ready to go back-to-school shopping.
And ever since my mom found out we’re having a baby girl, she’s been shopping every garage sale she sees for adorable baby clothes — so one of my mini organizing projects will be to divide those up by size and get them situated in our nursery closet and dresser.
2. Take stock of the pantry and freezer.
I actually started this projects a few weeks ago and was able to go almost 2 full weeks without buying any groceries!! I got creative making meals that used primarily the ingredients we had in our freezer and pantry and made more room to stock up again this fall. It feels great to have a semi-empty freezer and pantry for a bit — and it’s a great time to defrost our freezer too.
3. Clean out the garage..
I know, this sounds like a HUGE task — and it’s not indoors! However, if you get started with 2 hours on a Saturday, you might be surprised at how much junk you can get rid of. We did this a couple weeks ago when it wasn’t quite as hot, and it was SOOO nice to have a clean and organized garage again!
4. Clean out and clean up the winter gear.
This might not apply to warmer climates, but whenever summer rolls around, I take an hour or so to go through all our winter gear. I get rid of anything we won’t need next year, wash everything I’m planning to keep, and then store it in our upstairs closet so it’s not cluttering up our entryways in the summer and fall months.
I’ve tried tackling this project in the spring, but I find that we still end up using some of our coats {and even gloves or hats} on cold spring mornings so it really doesn’t pay for me to do it until summer.
5. Weed out and donate extra toiletries.
I know this might sound absolutely ridiculous to some of you, but since I’m always shopping the sales and using coupons and rebates, I get nearly ALL our toiletries for free — and sometimes I even get paid to buy them!
Eventually, I end up with a bunch of extras that we probably don’t need — so twice a year I weed through them and donate a bunch of brand new toiletries to local food pantries. I’m planning to do this in the next week or so and will probably donate over $100 worth of products that I got for free!
6. Clean out our filing cabinet.
This is another project I usually tackle twice each year — just because paper clutter accumulates SOOOO quickly! It honestly only takes me 30 to 45 minutes to quickly flip through every file and purge any unneeded papers.
I make a “recycle” pile and a “shred” pile and am always amazed at how much paper I can get rid of! It’s so wonderful to know that we can start off the new school year with a freshly organized filing cabinet.
These are just a few of the projects I like to accomplish every summer when I’m cooped up inside during those hot, humid days. Of course, we’re still working like crazy to finish all our house projects… but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let our house become a disorganized mess just because it’s summer and we’re off our normal routine!
Lori says
Andrea, Thanks for the blog, love it, and congrats on your baby girl reveal! They are so precious, I have 2 daughters, and 3 granddaughters! You will have so much fun! My question…I am trying to purge greeting cards and having a hard time. I don’t keep ALL from everyone, but all from those closest to me. Husband, Daughters, Mom etc… Since you are on your way to becoming a Mommy, wondering how you would handle this situation. My Mom is sweet enough to remember ALL occasions with a mailed card, and she writes sweet sentiments, but I have kept all of them. Any thoughts/ideas? What about cards from the kids, just the homemade ones?
Thanks for your time!
Lori M.
The house is looking beautiful, BTW!!!!!!
Andrea says
Oh Lori — what a great question!
Cards and pictures are the two most difficult “paper clutters” to purge because they almost always hold sentimental value.
Fortunately, it will probably still be a while before our baby gives me any cards 🙂 However, even though I am VERY unemotional when it comes to pictures and cards, I still have one decorative shoe box that I keep some of my favorite cards in. But I do not keep even close to all my cards. I save out my favorites, put them in the box, and when the box gets full, I weed through them again.
Obviously, it’s fine if you want to keep more than one shoe box — but I do think you should be very selective in the cards you keep.
Also, another great idea would be to scan those cards into your computer and make a digital photo album of all your favorite cards. Or, if you just want the “notes” that they wrote, you could tear off that section and get rid of the rest of the card to save space.
Either way, this is a very personal issue so you have to do what you feel comfortable with.
Hope this helps a little!
Keri M. says
Summer means yardwork at our house. This year is was new grass in a previously unsightly area, and an additional raised bed for the veggie garden. The other big project I have on my list is ….. a children’s book! The text came to me quickly, but the illustrations (photos) are proving more challenging. Because July is filled with visiting, camps, and traveling, I hope to tackle this head-on in August 🙂
Heart and Haven says
I’ve tackled all the indoor closets, pantry, fridge, etc. during spring cleaning.
This summer is garage organization – huge project! (our garage is a mess starting from combining 2 households when we got married, ahem, 7 years ago….moving 6 times in 7 years, etc.) I’ve gotten a couple “zones” started, but there is still a lot more work to do!
Cindy says
Ah, baby clothes. Tags with sizes can sometimes be deceiving. I found that it is easier to lay them out on a table or bed and stack them in size categories before you fold or hang them. That way you don’t miss that really cute outfit that was mislabeled.