Get Ready for Spring: A Room-by-Room Purge Guide

Get Ready for Spring: A Room-by-Room Purge Guide

Get Ready for Spring: A Room-by-Room Purge Guide

Spring is a time of rebirth! In preparation for your big spring cleaning ritual, now is the time to start sorting and discarding all the items that have collected in the last year. And there’s much more to it than just clothes closets and drawers. Here’s a handy room-by-room checklist of other things to focus on what to purge for spring:

Kitchen. From cabinets, pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, inspect and toss all foods that are past their sell- or use-by dates. If canned food is un-dated, decide based on: Is the packaging damaged or deteriorated in any way? Does the food appear discolored? Can you remember buying it? And, are you likely to ever consume it? For frozen foods, check this handy guide. When in doubt, throw it out!
Other things to purge in the kitchen include unmatched food storage containers and lids, chipped and cracked crockery, recipes and cookbooks you no longer use. Don’t forget to clean out the junk drawer too. Early spring is also a great time to replace water filters and to have cooking and carving knives professionally sharpened.

Bathroom. In addition to disposing (safely and securely) of expired over-the-counter and prescription medications, be sure to inspect and replace all aging cosmetics, toothbrushes, flossers, and so forth.

Family living areas. Look to purge broken toys and games and puzzles that are missing pieces. With spring-fair and yard-sale season coming, it’s also a great time to sort through and donate bulky media, such as books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and video games. If you didn’t already do so with the change to daylight saving time, be sure to test and replace batteries in all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Laundry. Say goodbye to all those perpetually unmatched socks and dingy whites. Discard or fix garments with holes, missing buttons, broken zippers. While you’re at it, clear out accumulated lint in the vent that extends from your dryer to the outside (which is a big fire hazard). Cash in the coin hoard, and buy yourself a well-deserved treat.

Family closets and storage areas. Especially if you’ve got kids, there’s a good chance you have lots of outgrown (or unmatched) shoes, jackets, mittens, gloves, and other gear you can move along to free up space. It’s also a great time to take stock of all the spring and summer stuff you saved from last year—such as sporting equipment, flip flops, sunscreens, bug sprays, and so forth—to see what might need replacing.

Office/homework area. Once your tax returns are filed, many of the paper records you’ve been hanging onto can be safely shredded and recycled. Pick a rainy spring day to focus on cleaning up electronic devices—purging old emails, archiving files, downloading and organizing photos, and deleting those never-used apps.

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