Spring Decluttering for Moms

Because before we clean, we need to declutter. We'll thank ourselves later 😉

This post is all about my favorite hacks to get you spring decluttering

One of the biggest mom hacks in my back-pocket is decluttering.

I remember when I had one baby and felt like all I did was clean all day long. I so badly just wanted to spend less time on my house and more time with her. That's when I stumbled upon minimalism and decluttering methods.

Having a minimal-ish (because we are not full-blown minimalists!) home makes cleaning so much easier. Instead of constantly putting items away and thinking organizing better will help me, having less to put away means less to clean. Having less to put away also means more time to deep clean!

Below I you'll find some hacks I've put together to get you started on your spring declutter.

It's time to shake off the winter and give our homes a refresh!

Why we should declutter seasonally

Whether you are new to decluttering or have lived a minimalist (or ish) life for years, everyone needs to maintenance declutter. Maintenance decluttering is such a great rhythm to implement as the seasons change! Also, if you've never decluttered before, spring is a great time to begin.

Between all the new Christmas presents your kids got, to winter gear you won't need for a while, to the natural accumulation of things a family tends to bring into a home- spring is an essential time to declutter our homes.

When we have a clean and fresh space, we can think more clearly and live more comfortably. With less unnecessary inventory in our homes, we spend less time putting things away, and more time living in the present with our families.

I don't know about you, but when the sun starts to come out a bit more and when the days get brighter and longer, I'm so much more motivated to clean my home. Of course I stay on top of daily tasks in the winter, but I also use that time to rest and take a lot of breaks.

When spring rolls around, my motivation and productivity begins to rekindle and I'm ready to revitalize my family's space!

Getting Started

What's that age-old quote? "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time".

Decluttering your entire home can be a daunting task to look at. So let's start with bite-sized pieces.

First, getting started comes from getting motivated. What motivates me to work on large projects is to first get ready and feel fresh. I don't know why, but when my hair feels dirty and itchy I literally can't focus on anything other than how bad I want to wash my hair. I also feel so much more motivated when I've actually gotten ready than when I'm still in my pjs. So, first off I want you to get ready for this project. Take a shower, do your skincare and hair and makeup, and wear something comfortable enough to work in but elevated from pajamas. This will seriously make a difference in how motivated you feel, I promise!

Next, make sure you have eaten a nutritious and filling breakfast. Nothing will make you run out of steam faster than your blood sugar dropping. When you get started on this project, it's nice to have something yummy to sip on. Whether that's your morning coffee, a nice tea, a fresh juice, a matcha latte (my personal fav)- it will be so refreshing and nice to sip on something as you work.

And maybe most importantly, find something you will love listening to as you work. I absolutely love working on housework while listening to podcasts. For you, it might be an album or a playlist that pumps you up. Whatever gets you motivated and energized, get your speaker on or headphones popped in and set yourself up for success!

My favorite matcha powder:

Where to begin

In my opinion, the best place to start is going to be the easiest spaces that bring motivation.

You don't have to start in a specific place, but places like the bathrooms are great for sparking motivation. This is because, going through a bathroom isn't emotional in the sense that you don't have to decide to keep or not keep sentimental items. Going through bathroom products is so easy- it's either something you use or something you don't. Once you get started in one space, and you see all the progress you have made, you get on a roll!

Other places that can be easy to start with are your refrigerator, your pantry, and your junk drawers. places that might take a little more thoughtfulness would be places like closets, garages and toy rooms.

Once we get on a roll in a few spaces in our homes, it's easier to say "yes or no" to items in other spaces. You love the progress you have begun to see, and you just want to keep going! You also get a taste of what it's like to be rid of clutter and only have what you need, and you want to see that throughout your entire home.

Staying on task

Projects like this take focus, energy and motivation. Choose to declutter during the times of your day that you feel the most energized. For most people, that's in the morning. I feel so motivated after breakfast when it comes to cleaning, organizing and decluttering. I workout in the mornings, I get tasks done in the mornings, and if I'm going to start a project like this I will do it in the morning.

As for what day to start, maybe there's a day of the week where you have childcare or less on your plate than other days. When choosing to start your spring decluttering, pick a day like that!

Turn your phone on do not disturb. I absolutely love this feature on my phone and use it very often. When I get a text or notification come up on my phone, it's so easy to get distracted and go down a rabbits hole on my phone instead of staying focused. Having your calls and texts and notifications silenced while you're working on decluttering is key to staying on task!

Choose something motivating to listen to. Whether that is your favorite pump-up playlist, a podcast, an audio book- or even silence! Having something motivating on as your audio is so helpful when decluttering. You can even turn on a decluttering podcast episode to keep you motivated! Make sure whatever it is, the energy is high and not boring and slow. I find myself so energized by faster music or a faster-paced podcast than music or podcasts that are slower.

Take breaks. No one can stay motivated forever. When you feel like you need a break, take it! Start again an hour later, the next day, or even a few days later. Decluttering does not need to happen in one session. Many people take weeks to declutter their entire home. Taking breaks is key to continuing to do this project focused and motivated.

Kid Toys

Going through your kid's toys can be difficult. Start by making a pile of the items that are broken, ruined or that you really never see your children use. Once you have cleared out the obvious stuff, sift back through everything and see if there is more that you don't see them using.

After you have decluttered their toys, begin doing a toy rotation to keep things more minimal in your home. Doing a toy rotation not only helps minimize clutter in the playroom, but it also promotes longer lasting play in children. When kids don't have a ton of choices in front of them as to what to play with, they actually end up playing longer with fewer choices. Toy rotations can be done whenever you feel like it's time. It doesn't need to be weekly or even monthly. Once you feel it's time to rotate out the toys, do it! You'll see your kids gravitate so much more to toys they already owned that they hadn't seen in a while.

Be honest with yourself

The key to really getting rid of what you don't need or use, is being honest with yourself. Have you used this in the past 6 months? Have you used it in the past year? I know how it feels to keep things "just in case", but that is how we clutter up our homes. Most likely, you won't need or miss things you declutter that you haven't used in forever.

As you declutter, it's also important to let go of the guilt of spending money on something you are getting rid of. What you purchased that you didn't use, is in the past. All you can do now is move forward and make more minimal spending habits in the future. Decluttering is actually a great way to minimize our shopping habits, because we realize how many things we bought that we didn't need!

If you want to sell things you spent money on, I love selling on OfferUp. However, if it's taking forever to sell something and you really just need to get rid of it, it's okay! Again, let go of the guilt of over-spending, and move forward. Maybe that donation will be a blessing to someone who gets it for a lower price.

Conclusion

Spring decluttering is the key to freshening up your space and shaking off the winter. It might take a lot of days and a lot of work, but you will thank yourself later, I promise! Once your space is nice and decluttered, it will be so much easier to clean and freshen up for spring.

A new season, and a refreshed home is just what you need.

So open up the windows, diffuse something invigorating, put on your favorite podcast, and make yourself something yummy to sip on. Get started, and don't look back 🙂 I'm rooting for you!

From my home to yours,

Keri