Spring Cleaning: Tips To Get Started

By Jillian frank

Crocuses are blooming, the days are getting longer and it’s time to freshen up the house. Purging clutter can be the first step in spring cleaning.

“Many homeowners have so much stuff they just get overwhelmed immediately,” said Jane Kronick, president of Your Professional Organizer, which services the Hamptons and Manhattan. “And they don’t even know where to start, so they just give up.”

Don’t!

Here are some tips from Ms. Kronick and others in the business of getting organized.

1. Gather containers and set up a staging area in each room you plan to clean. Use the containers to sort belongings.

2. Separate items, such as clothing and toys, into ”trash,” “give away or donate” and “keep.” Ms. Kronick also suggests a “sell” bin for unwanted items still of value. Use containers to sort papers and files, as well. “You will be amazed at the difference that just sorting will make,” she said.

3. Choose your battles room by room. Linda Rothschild, founder of Cross It Off Your List, which also serves the Hamptons and Manhattan, recommends specific targets for each area.

—In the mud room or foyer, instead of throwing coats over couches and leaving shoes on the floor, invest in wall hooks and shoe cubbies. Get rid of snow shovels and those salt-covered boots you no longer need to keep by the door.

—In the pantry or kitchen, go through cabinets and check food expiration dates. Is that a loaf of bread from two months ago? Toss it! Then, organize your cabinets so that like-foods go together. That way, you won’t miss things and leave them to expire.

—In the family room, clear away any winter clutter. Get rid of the pile of magazines that are three months old and put toys in containers so they are not lying about.

—In the bedrooms, get rid of the flannel sheets and heavy down blankets. It’s time to freshen up with bedding that is lighter both in color and weight.

—In closets, pack away winter clothes. Bring out the sandals and bathing suits, shorts and tank tops. Leave a few tops and bottoms for chilly nights, but most clothes in your closet now should be for warm weather.

4. Open windows, suggested Brenda Estes, head of property management for Sag Harbor-based A Votre Service. “Spring cleaning means freshening your home top to bottom,” she said. “That means not only dusting cobwebs, but also letting the sunlight in and getting some fresh air in your home.”

5. Revise your strategy. Jean Linder, a professional organizer working on the East End, said the final step is evaluating the system you used. “With a household of items to keep track of, your systems should be tweaked as needed,” Ms. Linder said. “If you try something and it doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean your organizing efforts were a failure.”

It may take several tries to figure out which organizing tactics work best. Ms. Linder said to think of them as a new lifestyle, and not a one-time event, to prevent the house from getting disorganized again.