10 Super- Awesome Decluttering Hacks for Summer 2021(Part 1)

Summer is finally here! Normally during this season, we have family vacations, friends visiting, and a lot of other summer activities. With everyone at home a lot more this summer, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by clutter in our homes. 

Is your house filled to the brim with stuff? Do you have a few problem areas in your home, or are you in desperate need of a massive cleanup? Is all the clutter affecting your productivity and mood?

Don’t worry! Our guide has you covered. With these 10 hacks, you will have your home tidy and clutter-free long before summer is over.

Let’s get started

1. Make a plan but keep it simple and small.
2. Eat from the pantry and freezer challenge.
3. Organizing your closet, how to determine what stays or goes.
4. Try these awesome summertime storage ideas.
5. Donate and show love.
6. Part two of the blog post

1. Make a plan but keep it simple and small.

Having a plan before embarking on your summer decluttering project is very important. It not only saves you a lot of time and stress but also ensures you get things done. But sometimes creating plans can have the opposite of the desired effect. For example, instead of feeling motivated, you end up overwhelmed when you realize how much you need to get done. Try attacking the project in small sections. You don’t have to have a plan for everything from the onset. 

So instead of creating a decluttering plan for your entire home, maybe instead select one space, for example, your kid’s bedroom. When that’s complete, you will simply move on to the next part of your house. The success of this approach is pegged on ensuring you complete one “mini-project “before beginning another.

This way you don’t feel like there is too much to do. After seeing the results, you will be more motivated for the next goal. Remember a simple plan can have a great impact!

2. Eat from the pantry and freezer challenge. 

Summer is a great time to try out this challenge. The goal is to cut food waste and save money on groceries as you declutter your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.

• Go through the expiration date of all the food you have in your pantry. This is a great job for the kids. 
• Do you have any food close to the expiration date but not past it? Make it a contest for the kids to come up with meals or snacks that use the foods in your new “mystery basket” just like the TV show “Chopped.” Check out Allrecipes.com to get some recipe ideas.
• Let the kids know that the money you save on groceries can be spent on something needed or fun!

3. Organizing your closet, how to determine what stays or goes.

• Pull everything out of your closet and start with an empty space. This will help you quickly identify if you have repetitive outfits that you don’t need–like those 10 black shirts you didn’t know you had! 
• Determine what you need to get rid of, or as Marie Kondo says it doesn’t “spark joy.” This is a very important step! So how do you determine what to keep or get rid of? Start with the obvious items, anything worn out needs to go. Then try on different clothing. If it doesn’t immediately make you feel good, you haven’t worn it in ages and you feel like justifying why you should keep it, it’s time to get rid of it.
• You don’t have to throw everything away, you can give it to a friend, donate it to a charity or church.
• Swap out clothes and shoes for the season if you already haven’t. First, move your summer clothing and shoes to the most accessible shelves in your closet. Then put away any winter clothes in a storage bin or on the higher shelves. You can get storage bins at Target, Home Depot, or your preferred store.
• Try out the KonMari Method of folding. This means file folding as many clothes as possible instead of pile folding or hanging them. This will take up much less space and free up your closet space. 

4. Try these awesome summertime storage ideas.

Store things in a way that makes it easy to access the stuff you use most often during summer. You don’t want to have to dig through blankets in the linen closet to find your beach towels or climb over sleds and skis to get to the beach chairs in the basement. 

• Go through your closets and pack up the bulky winter gear from your winter coats to your boots. When putting away things in storage boxes, label the sides of boxes so you don’t forget what’s stored inside.
• Find your appliances to help make fun, summer treats, like ice cream makers and popsicle molds. Also, keep your most-used appliances in easy-to-reach cabinets and the others can be in less accessible storage.
• Use small baskets or plastic bins to organize items in your pantry and label them to ensure everything remains in its place
• Declutter your garage and/or storage shed. Swap out snow blowers and shovels for lawn mowers and organize your gardening tools. 

5. Donate and show love. 

The Coronavirus has brought with it challenges to the donation problem of physical products. Yet, a lot of families have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Find an organization in your area that is still accepting donations. Many of the charities will also pick up from your home. 

Head over to part 2 of the blog post