A Simple 3-Step Plan to Declutter and Organize for Spring

Every two years in the springtime, I begin to feel closed in by clutter. I don’t have a lot of visual clutter, but I can feel the clutter surrounding me, hidden in drawers and behind doors. So, every two years, I use a simple 3-step plan to declutter and organize for spring.

This year, I feel especially bogged down by small drawers, under sinks, homeschool bookshelves, and long-forgotten bins at the top of the closet.

My plan is to declutter each area in just a few minutes each day. For larger projects, I’ll spend around an hour. The point is to not spend all of my time decluttering and organizing —I have plenty of other things to do!

In this post, you’ll learn my simple 3-step plan to declutter and organize for spring.

Step 01. Identify Target Areas

First, I decide which areas of my home need to be decluttered and organized. Then, I break them up into three categories:

01. Frequently used spaces

I declutter the playroom/homeschool room, my daughter’s bedroom, bathroom cupboards, and pantry more frequently than other areas. The kid areas are decluttered each season, while other areas are decluttered every few weeks since they’re used so frequently.

I include all these areas for spring decluttering, assessing each area for ways to make them more efficient and functional. 

02. Annual decluttering projects

Since daily decluttering is one of my daily rhythms, I don’t need to do many time-consuming decluttering projects. I choose one or two areas for each season.

In the spring, I declutter all my paper files. With tax season on its way in, spring is the best time to sort all my papers. Using the system detailed in this guidebook, I can declutter all my papers in about an hour. (Get a free paper organizing checklist here.)

Other annual decluttering projects include closets, but I usually declutter those in the fall.

03. Identify problem areas

If it’s difficult to find or get out regularly used items from its storage area, I identify it as a problem area.

Many times, these areas are small, such as a drawer, a shelf in a cupboard or closet, or a storage bin. 

Step 02. Make Time to Declutter

Decluttering in small doses is a good thing. For spring decluttering and organizing, I spend less than an hour each day working on my targeted areas. 

If I’m working on a kids’ area, I include my daughter in the process. But in most other areas, I spend a few minutes decluttering and move to the next during the time I have.

Here’s the step-by-step RNL framework for decluttering any space.

Step 03. Evaluate Area Efficiency

As I declutter each area, I determine how I can organize it efficiently using the following questions:

• Which items do we use most?
• Does this area require a container to keep items organized?
• Can I repurpose a container here for a different area?
• Does it make sense for this item to be stored here or somewhere else?

For example, our bathroom supply cabinet is a frequently used space that I regularly work on. Before, I’ve kept handsoap refills toward the back of the cabinet. Since our soap dispensers are smaller (and we’re refilling hand sanitizers more often), I moved the soap toward the front and repurposed a bin from another area. 

That’s just one example of making an area more efficient.

This 3-step plan to declutter and organize for spring can be completed in a short amount of time. By working at it a little bit each day, spring decluttering can take hardly any time at all.

Does coming up with a plan to declutter and organize feel overwhelming? You might be a fit for the DIY Virtual Organizing Plans, where I’ll create a personal organizing plan for you, help you get started, and work with you to make your target area efficient.

Check out the DIY Virtual Organizing Plans here to find out if you’re a good fit.