Three simple ways to get organised this spring

The faintest hint of spring is finally in the air and with the change in seasons and lengthening days it’s a great time to freshen things up and get organised. Here are three simple ways to achieve some organisation this coming March and get spring off to a flying start.

Treat your car to a Spring Declutter

With commutes and busy lives and schedules, we can spend a lot of time in our cars, but the insides often become neglected and full of items that aren’t wanted or needed.  Why not pick a clear day, set aside some time and give your car a Spring declutter?

The first step is to remove everything from the inside, even the items that you know you want to keep. This gives you a completely clear area for your next step, a good in depth clean and vacuum of the inside.

Once you have the cleaning sorted, it’s time to sort through the things that you’ve removed.

To start the process, remove and dispose of any rubbish or recycling. If there are any items that belong to anyone else, set them aside to return them. Then on to the remaining items. Do they need to be in the car? If they do, place them in the ‘keep’ box. If they’re not needed in the car, do they have a home somewhere else in your house? If the item doesn’t have a home in the house, do you actually need it? If you do, make a home for it. If you don’t, gift it, donate it, dispose of it or recycle it as appropriate.

The final step is to return the contents of your ‘keep’ box to the car - only the items that you truly need and want around you. A freshly decluttered car for Spring.

Organise your outbound donations and home recycling

Having a dedicated area for donations and outbound items really helps to simplify the process for  removing the things you don’t need from your home.

In my own home, I use the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers for anything that we don’t need any more. This includes things like books, old clothes, games and small electrical items. I also keep a couple of oversized bags in the drawer.

I don’t sort anything as it goes into the drawer, just pop it in, but once the drawer  is nearly full I know it’s time to make a trip to the recycling centre and the charity shop and I have the bags I need handy to take the contents away. Everything comes out and it’s time to sort through for

Friends and family,

Charity or donations

Selling

Recycling

Waiting until the drawer is full means that everything is sorted only once. I can then easily decide where everything needs to go and plan a single journey. Because I clear out the drawer when it’s becoming full I have manageable amounts to deal with and it never feels overwhelming.

Having this dedicated area stops the items from getting in the way of everyday living and helps me to keep on top of things.

Have a digital declutter.

Set aside some quiet time to sort through your phone, apps and emails. There’s something very calming about an empty inbox. This doesn’t have to be done all at once, but done regularly it makes a real difference.

These are some of the categories I like to review every so often:

Marketing emails.

It’s no wonder our inboxes get cluttered with the rate that some marketing emails are fired off. Unless you’re planning to make a specific purchase, most of them are just encouraging you to part with your hard earned money for things that you didn’t know you needed or wanted until they arrived in your inbox. I regularly take a step back and spend a few minutes unsubscribing from those I don’t need. It allows me to give clear focus to the things I need to pay attention to in my inbox.

Subscriptions.

Are unused subscriptions costing you dearly? Once in a while I’ll check on my list of current subscriptions, review when they’re up for renewal and consider whether I’m actively using them and whether they’re representing good value for money. It only takes a few minutes and can save a significant amount of money.

Apps.

Its probably no surprise that I like an uncluttered phone and that extends to the apps I choose. Once every couple of months I’ll run through all of the apps and delete any that aren’t being used. Much like other areas of organisation, I group the remaining apps together by category and have those I really need on a day to day basis front and centre. Those which are more of a distraction get hidden away where they’re less easy to access and don’t disrupt my focus.

Photos.

I may have a spare five minutes if I’m early for consultations or sessions and this is a great time to run through recent photos and delete any that aren’t needed any more. Its surprising how many photos we end up with and regular short sessions of reviewing them keeps everything under control. I also make time to back up and file holiday photos soon after I get back to make sure the memories are easily accessible.

Happy organising!

Nikki

Dunmow Decluttering Essex Professional Organiser

Dunmow Decluttering Essex Professional organiser offers home organising services, home decluttering services & house move preparation & unpacking for the areas surrounding Great Dunmow - Saffron Walden - Stansted - Bishop's Stortford - Sawbridgeworth - Ongar - Chigwell - Colchester - Chelmsford - Brentwood - Braintree - Cogeshall - Tiptree - Witham - Maldon - Halstead - Sudbury - Haverhill