For me, summer is a season of rest. I am at home with my family and we can do so many things together. We have two whole months to play, create and recharge. It is a season of leisure for us, and we thoroughly enjoy it as a family.
Summer is also the perfect time for me to really get to homemaking projects that I put off during the winter months when it’s cold, and I am busy with work and I am tired. And while not everyone has the summer months as leisure months in the way that I do, summer is also likely still a perfect time to get some specific decluttering done. Summer declutter projects are on my list of homemaking tasks and summer is the easiest season to dig into clearing out and tidying up.
Decluttering for Your Well Being
I think it’s likely understood by most that decluttering is good for our well being in a bunch of different ways. It is good for our mental health, and it is good for the environment and it’s good for our physical health as well. Decluttering removes visual mess which impacts your mind and emotional state as clutter is a visual distraction which can cause stress in the body. Organized spaces are more calming on the mind and body.
So this is why we declutter, and often feel far better after we have. The space is clear, organized and easier to manage. Decluttering projects should not just be about removing items from the home, but about intentionally removing what no longer serves and storing what will serve in a tidy way.
Closets
I don’t know about you, but closets are always spaces I never tend to get around to when it comes to a good declutter. I know that once I get to the closet, it’s more than just tidying and storing out of season clothes. I know that I will have to start making decisions about things that need to be tossed or donated. So I tend to avoid closets.
This summer I am going to tackle closets. My main two closest that I need to tackle are the front hall closet and my own closet. I think my closet will be easier to sort through than the front hall, but either way, now that I have more leisure time on my hands, this is an area I really need to declutter.
Strategy: Have a bin for items you will be donating, another for items you are keeping and potentially a third for items you are storing for the season.
Once items are sorted, packing them up to leave the home or returning them to their homes in the closet will become far easier. It’s likely best to bring the donation items immediately out to the car so they are at the very least, out of your home, and arrange to drop them off at the donation centre as soon as you can.
Junk Drawers, Desks
It always amazes me that desks can hold a lot of stuff, and a lot of that stuff is just junk. Summer might be the perfect time to go through and toss all the junk–school crafts your kids don’t want anymore, bits of crayons, old receipts and whatever else just get housed in your desk drawers or other junk drawers.
My own desk drawers hold a lot. My desk is a large antique desk with deep drawers and I’m always amazed at how much I can house in the desk. It’s a blessing and a curse, as the saying goes. Even if you don’t have drawers like mine that seem to hold a never ending amount of stuff, you’ll be surprised at how much is hiding away in drawers.
Strategy: Grab a trash bag and start tossing in all the stuff you absolutely do not want. Have a bin to temporarily hold the things you are keeping until you are ready to place them back into the drawers.
It’s likely that a lot of what you find in these drawers are simply going to end up in the trash. You might find somethings worth donating, and if you think that’s the case, grab a bin to sort those items into as well.
Crafting Supplies
Now, if you are crafter, or have any other kind of hobby, painting or journalling, it’s always a good idea to declutter your supplies for those hobbies. I have gone through my yarn stash and made decisions to donate yarn I’m not interested in working with (usually acrylic skeins, or partial skeins) and I have organized my notions and tools as well.
But it’s time to do another declutter. My notions definitely need to be re-organized, and I could likely get into stash and see if there is anything else I ought give away in my yarn stash.
Strategy: Have a bin for the items you will donate, another for those you will keep. Once you’ve sorted out the ones you are not hanging onto, try to dive into organizing what you are keeping. I keep notions in smaller pouches or rotating pencil caddies. I also keep larger items in larger boxes.
It can feel like decluttering is a waste of money–money I’ve spent on yarn and other things. But the money was spent long ago and thinking of the yarn in the same way as money is sort of silly–I can spend or save real money. The yarn represents money I’ve spent but I can’t spend it or save it, I can only make something out of it. And if that something isn’t something I want to keep or will use, then the money or value in the yarn, is still wasted.
So it’s time to declutter. And if you are in the same boat as me, then I encourage you to declutter your own hobby supplies too.
Dear Friends,
Don’t turn this season into one of work, by any means. Enjoy the sunshine, the days at the beach or by the pool, the summer picnics and BBQs. But on those rainy days, or quiet days, pick a corner of your home you knows needs attention and set about organizing your space a little more. It’ll brighten up your home and your head space.
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