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October 18, 2018 | by QualicoCommunities
The changing seasons seem to bring a universal sense of renewal - it’s a chance to start fresh. And fall is the perfect time of year to clear your space and organize your home. To get comfortable before winter comes, here are some tips on how to declutter your home.
Clear out your medicine cabinet
With summer vacations ending, kids are back in school and adults are back to work. This means that you’ll be in close contact with a lot more people, and therefore a lot more germs.
So what does this mean? Make some room for cold medication in your medicine cabinet! Throw out anything that has expired, including makeup and skincare products - these are prime breeding grounds for bacteria. When you put items back, make sure to organize it in a way that keeps everything within sight. That way, you’ll be a lot less likely to let anything expire in the future.
Tackle your closet
Feeling an extra bit of energy on a Sunday afternoon? Organize your closet!
Pack away your summer items. A great option for clothes you won’t be wearing for the next few months is to get a rolling drawer for storage under your bed.
This is also a great time to dig through your clothes and donate or consign anything that you no longer wear. A great rule of thumb is to donate clothes that you haven’t worn in a year. Anything that has stains, rips, or holes should be discarded. It can be a big job to clean out your closet, but it’s definitely worth it for the extra space.
About that catch-all drawer…
We all have one. The drawer that becomes the landing place for random things like rubber bands, batteries that may or may not work, and piles of matchbooks. Go through everything and make sure it’s still functional. If not, toss it. If it is, organize it. There are plenty of organizer options that can at least separate your odds and ends so you don’t have to rummage around for that one item you could’ve sworn was in there.
Wash EVERYTHING
Perhaps you’re great at washing your bed sheets at regular intervals, but when was the last time you washed your couch cushions, rugs, or bedskirt? And if you have kids, are their stuffed animals long overdue for a ‘vacation’ to the washing machine?
Fall is also a good time to steam clean your carpets and anything that can’t be thrown into a washing machine.
Organize your papers
It’s time to channel your inner clean freak and take a look at all those ‘important’ papers you saved.
Old receipts that are faded into oblivion, bills you paid long ago, and yet another letter offering you a credit card can all be thrown out. Receipts saved for tax purposes, insurance documents, paperwork for your car, and other important pieces of paper should be organized. You’ll thank yourself later for filing everything properly when one day you have to reference one of these documents.
Make space in the kitchen
With the temperatures dropping, it’s the perfect season for slow cooking! It’s easy to do, you have dinner when you get home, and bonus, you can also use up that meat that’s been hanging out in your freezer a little too long. Now is also a good time to organize your pantry. Make sure nothing is expired, and donate anything that isn’t expired but you don’t plan to use.
If the usability, or lack thereof, of something in your kitchen has annoyed you for a long time, you’ll feel better for tackling it this fall. Get rid of that George Foreman grill that you haven’t used in years. You know, the one that’s blocking the cooking utensils you actually use. Make sure the number of tupperware containers you have matches the number of lids. Organize your spice cabinet - nothing is more irritating than reaching for a spice and having another three come out and crash down on the counter.
Do you have any other declutter tips? Comment below!
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