British writer Katherine Whitehorn said, “Spring makes everything look filthy.” This invigorating, sunny season inspires us to give everything a fresh scrubbing and get into our “Spring Cleaning.”

As a Professional Organizer, people often ask me to speak and write about Spring Cleaning. As much as I personally enjoy scrubbing down my patio furniture, I would like to clarify that organizers typically do not clean things as a part of our work, such as with a mop or a scrub brush. However, I can help you get your house in order to match the freshness and renewal that has inspired you.

Here are some timely spring tasks for various areas of your home:

Closets: Depending upon where you live, you may need to switch out your seasonal clothing. It’s an excellent opportunity to make some decisive choices about your wardrobe! We recommend our Simple Division® Garment Organizers to help you sort, put away, and find your clothing more easily.

Kids’ Clothing: It is time to take stock of your children’s clothing, switching out seasonal items and assessing whether things fit them anymore. Go through each child’s clothing and decide whether to donate, discard, or save outgrown items for another child in your family. You can sort items to keep into clear containers by size and gender, such as “Boys Sizes 6-8.”

Kitchen: Go through your pantry and throw out all of the uneaten gift basket remnants from the holidays, the old valentine chocolate, the stale croutons, and the mixes you’ll never bake. Organize your refrigerator to make more room for the wonderful fresh spring and summer produce. You can also use plastic bins to contain sets of condiments and make them easier to bring to the table.

Bathrooms: Nicer weather means being more active outdoors, so make sure you are prepared for scrapes, insects, and other mishaps. Stock up on bandages, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, allergy medication, and other first aid consumable items. You’ll definitely want to throw away anything that is expired, and make sure you purchase new sunscreen and insect repellant. You may have received gifts of lotions, bubble bath, shower gels, and shampoos over the winter—now is a good time to assess whether you need all of those items as well.

Home Office: The 3^rd full week in April is National Organize Your Files Week, and since you’re finishing up your income taxes in the US and Canada, it’s an excellent time to archive and purge old files. A rule of thumb we use is to keep things from the current year and previous year in your active filing cabinet and archive anything older to a different location, such as a file box stored in an unused area of the house or garage.

Getting organized for spring, as well as doing your cleaning and scrubbing, will give your home the same sense of renewal that nature’s beautiful blooming flowers and trees inspire.

Lorrie Marrero is the Chief Executive Organizer and founder of Living Order, a regional organizing service business, and the creator of ClutterDiet.com®, an innovative new membership program to help busy people get organized online.

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