5 Spring Cleaning Ideas to Unclutter your Home
By Jennifer LaTouche Kitchen and Bath Designer Expert Design Solutions www.expertdesignsolution.com www.houzz.com/pro/david1/expert-design-solutions
Spring is right around the corner, and now is the time to organize your home with some innovative storage solutions before you open those windows to better weather and begin to spend more time outside. Nothing is more comforting than having a place for everything and everything in its place! Whether you are a neat freak or too busy to deal with the details, everyone’s life could be simpler if the things we needed were within our reach. Our lives are so busy and our time is so valuable- we’d all like to find more of it to spend on the things we really enjoy pursuing. Time to take those organizational nightmares from the mundane to the magnificent!
1. Create a Message Center
Families of all sizes struggle with the best way to hide the items they need every day- keys, purses, backpacks, mail, jackets, and shoes. A closet simply isn’t enough to organize the small stuff- where do you place all that paperwork your smart phone cannot eliminate from your life? The answer is a Message Center, or as I also like to call it, Command Central.
2. Create at folding space for Laundry
If you have a front load washer and dryer, a simple solution for folding is placing a countertop on the top of the units. This works in many spaces where there is no other spot for a folding area or a first or second floor laundry room. For basement laundry rooms, a countertop that folds up against a wall is a great solution for an unused guest room closet or other space that gets you out of the basement and keeps you from having to fold on a bed or a couch.
3. Create a chalkboard on the back of a Door
The back of a pantry door can be a great spot for the family to get involved in helping with meal planning. If they can’t find your grocery list; that leaves them the ability to complain that you didn’t consider them when creating it! This solution is tucked out of the way so visitors can’t see the list you’ve been keeping on your fridge, hidden in your purse, or on your smartphone.
4. Consider the corners
Does your fine china and special dinnerware have its’ own place or is it stuffed into a forgotten closet or basement? Most people have 2 feet to spare in the corner of their dining room to have a built-in unit created just for them. A small investment (say from a tax return perhaps?) can go a long way when it comes to making those holidays meals just a little less stressful.
5. When in Doubt Throw it Out!
If you’re considering something you haven’t used in years, why let it take up valuable space in your home? Make room for the hard-working items you need on a regular basis and feel the freedom that comes with letting go. If you don’t have the room for it and its’ something you need to keep, make room by re-evaluating what you have been saving and make sure it’s still necessary to hold onto.
