Kick Off Spring-Cleaning by Organizing Your Closets

So the holidays are over, the New Year is dawning. You will need extra closet space for all the lovely items your dear friends and family have given you. Making extra closet space involves pulling everything out and evaluating what you have. Organizing your closets is also the best way to kick of your spring-cleaning, so you will have less clutter hanging around to clean.

Get Organized

Spring-cleaning involves some basic organization steps that will help you gain that valuable extra closet space. First, empty the closet and separate what you find into three categories: Keep, Give Away, and Discard. Pack up the items you will give away and put them into your car immediately, so they will not be in the way of your spring-cleaning.

Redistribute

You are likely to have many items you want to keep, that take up valuable closet space but could be stored in cabinets in other areas of the house. Keep a storage bin handy for these items and distribute them before you continue with the job.

Long-term Storage

Spring-cleaning starts in the bedroom and involves long-term storage of summer and fall items to free up even more closet space. You can store those beach towels, shorts and bikinis in another, less-accessible space. Most people put these items in the attic for the winter. Make sure you put them in watertight plastic storage bins, with cedar balls to prevent the bugs from snacking on your summer favorites.

Keep it Neat

When re-hanging the items you decide to keep, hang all the shorter items together and progress to longer items as you go. This will give you an idea of where your can find extra closet space below the clothing. Use this space for shoes. You can store more in that space by making some simple inexpensive shelves out of boards, with bricks between the shelves as spacers. You can make these look attractive with some creative painting as well.

Plastic bins are another great spring-cleaning tool that will help you keep organized and get extra closet space. You can usually buy these at the local dollar store, and they will pay for themselves in the time you would otherwise spend looking for things. If there is not already a shelf above your hanging clothes, make sure you install one and use it for bin storage.

Check the Bathroom Pantry

Once you finish in the bedroom, move on to the bathroom closet. Spring-cleaning is a great time to reevaluate the items taking up closet space in the bathroom. For example, did you know the bathroom is the worst place to store medications? The high humidity level can cause medications to go bad before the expiration date. Instead, store these items in that kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator. This will keep them at a normal room temperature, dry, and away from children's hands.

Letting Go

Another important point to remember during your spring-cleaning is that you do not have to hang on to disused items just because they were expensive. It is often difficult to let go of that gorgeous leather coat, even though you just got a new one as a gift and you do not have closet space for both. Try to think about the poor soul who will get the coat through goodwill. This may make letting go easier.

Once you have mastered letting go of the things you do not need and your closets are sparkling, you will feel good about finishing the job by cleaning underneath and behind the furniture. Plus you will have closet space for the unexpected finds behind the couch!