As we write this, it is March in Minnesota and Mother Nature has recently delivered another 5” or so of snow.  For those of you who don’t live in a winter climate and are blissfully unaware of the psyche required to ensure a long winter, let us enlighten you.  It doesn’t matter how much snow is on the ground, come March, Minnesotans are getting spring fever!   We possess an almost super-power like ability to move towards spring despite whatever is happening outside our windows. That is why, come March, you’ll see us Minnesotans blissfully walking around without jackets in 30 degree weather and gung-ho to organize and spring clean.  After all, we want everything in order so that come warmer temps, we are ready to get outdoors and enjoy!  So, for all you Minnesotans out there (and anyone else who just wants to get their house into shape), we’ve whipped up a Spring Organizing Checklist, designed to help you give your home a fresh start.

Garage Organization:

• Toss out worn gardening gloves, opened or expired seed packets and other gardening or lawn supplies you haven’t touched in the past year. Note – make sure you dispose of any lawn chemicals safely.
• Once the snow has melted, move seasonal items such as snow shovels, skis and snowboards into storage and bring out the garden shovels, rakes and other summer items. Lack storage for these items?  Consider installing an overhead storage rack, tall garage cabinets or other garage storage to keep these items tucked away when not in use.
• Put away any tools that may have been displaced over the long winter months. If you lack tool storage, consider adding a Gladiator GearTracks Garage Storage wall, which offers customized and flexible tool storage.

Closet Organization:

• Go through your closet and donate items you no longer wear. The end of a season is the perfect time to do this.  If you haven’t worn an item all winter, get rid of it.  Trust us when we say you won’t miss it next winter.  Is your closet still over-crowded? Consider a custom closet system to maximize the storage potential of your closet.
• Move items off your floor and give your closet a good vacuum. Too often, a closet floor becomes a collecting ground for items like shoes and boots which most of us usually opt to vacuum around.  Spring is a great time to move those items out and, while you are at it, assess whether or not you should keep them.
• Re-sort your items. We tend to keep the items we wear most often in one area of our closet which can lead to the other items getting forgotten in the back.  A great way to combat this is to mix up your wardrobe by sorting it a different way. Some ideas include sorting your clothing by color or by outfit or by type.

Kitchen Organization:

• Clean out your utensils. Move your most often used tools front and center and consider getting rid of those utensils you haven’t touched in over a year.
• Go through your spice rack and pantry. Wipe down shelves, get rid of any expired or old items and move often used items to the front.
• Get rid of excess cooking pans, bowls and plastic containers. When we get a new baking sheet, pan or bowl, too many of us simply add the new one to the mix without getting rid of the item it is replacing.  And don’t get us started on plastic containers! They seem to multiply like rabbits (although never the covers?).  Get rid of any stained plastic containers or the ones without tops.  Find it hard to reach the back of a cabinet?  Consider installing pull out shelves to existing cabinets.  They are a game-changer.

Mudroom or Front Entry Organization:

• Pull everything out and give your mudroom or front entry storage space a good cleaning. Before you put everything back in, look at each item to determine whether you’ve used it in the last 12 months and, if not, get rid of it.
• Re-assess your storage.  Not enough room for all your items?  Consider storing winter items in another location when not in use or consider adding baskets, hooks or custom mudroom or front entry closet storage to maximize the storage capacity of your space.
• Add a fresh coat of paint. The mudroom or front entry is the buffer between the outdoors and the rest of the home.  It’s a battle ground and it shows.  If a simple wipe-down of the walls won’t suffice, putting on a fresh coat of paint can help revitalize the space.

Home Office Organization:

• Go through your paperwork and mail. Collect all random sheets of paper and mail from around your home. File anything you need to keep and recycle or shred the rest.
• Speaking of your files, spring is a great time to go through your files. Too often, drawers of files become overfilled with items we once thought important to keep but no longer need.
• Multi-purpose your office space. For many, a home office is combined with another area of the home like a living area or guest room.  Consider how you can better integrate the two spaces. It might be as simple as adding some shelving and baskets to better hide away office items or adding a Wall Bed to free up space when the room is not being used as a guest room.
• Clean your computer or laptop. We love this tip we came across for cleaning your keyboard.  Take a Post-it and fold it in half with the sticky side out.  Run it between the keys of your keyboard to get rid of dust.

CUSTOM GARAGE, CLOSET AND HOME STORAGE IN MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL

Gone through the steps of spring organizing and still feel overwhelmed?  Consider adding custom organization to your home. Custom storage can triple the storage capacity of your space, increase your home’s value and provide support to help you stay organized.  Closets For Life, a custom organization company serving Minneapolis & St. Paul and the surrounding communities, specializes in organization solutions for all areas of the home including closets, garages, home offices, laundry rooms, kitchens, wine cellars and more.  We offer free in-home consultations and follow up the consultation with a 3D design.  What do you have to lose?  Contact us today!