By Janice Simon, The Organized Auntie
March 22, 2018


It’s time for spring, Aunties, and the changing of the seasons is a great time to declutter your space and lend a helping hand to your nieces and nephews to do the same.

CLOSETS

Yours: As you rotate in clothes for warmer temps, take a look at your winter gear and your incoming spring items. Make a stack of items that need professional cleaning or repairs. Donate items you no longer love and toss any items that are not in good condition.

Dress for Success is a great place to donate business attire, shoes, handbags, and other accessories, given to women who need clothes for job interviews. Plus sizes are in great demand for the charity. Cocktail and formal dresses can also be donated to charities such as Project Fairy Godmother  for girls who can’t afford prom dresses. Check your area for similar local charities.

Theirs: Rotate out items that your nieces and nephews have outgrown or worn out. Clothes in good condition can be saved for a younger sibling, sent to a consignment store, or donated. Younger nieces and nephews may not have the patience to try on clothes to see what still fits for spring. Have a basket in their closet or laundry area for clothes that no longer fit them.

PAPERS

Yours: If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, gather up your forms and receipts and put them in one place. Set up a file for the current year’s taxes so you can capture those pesky receipts throughout the year. If you haven’t already, sign up for paperless statements and online bill payment and look into money management apps and tools. This will help you save time and money.

Clear out old catalogs, magazines, newspapers and other reading material you no longer want. If you need to shred a great deal of paper, check with your local bank, school or office supply store to see if they’re having any “shred days” – you can bring cardboard boxes of papers to be shredded for free. Some local shredding companies will let you bring a certain number of boxes to them free of charge or for a nominal fee.

Theirs: Go through their backpacks and drawings and help your nieces and nephews clean out the papers they no longer need. You can scan their favorite drawings so you can have a copy of them if you want.

Help your younger nieces and nephews decorate a large shoe box (the kind for boots works great!) or a plastic container to keep their favorite papers and items. Just a head’s up – projects made with dried pasta may attract pests. Taking a photo may the best option.

OTHER SPRING CLEANING AREAS

Auntie’s Car: Children like to lend a helping hand, and they can help you clean out your car and even help you wash it (or at least go with you to the car wash, which is always fun).

Personal Care Items: Check your cosmetics, shampoo, lotions, medications and other items. Throw away anything that is expired, smells off, or has changed in color or texture. Take a little dab of shampoo and wash those make-up brushes.

Refrigerator and Pantry: Check for expired items and toss them. Also toss anything you can’t recognize. Donate non-perishable items that are still good but you no longer want to eat. If you’re not sure if a food item is still good, check out Still Tasty.  Wipe down the refrigerator shelves while you’re at it.

The Bags: Wipe down your purses, clutches, tote bags and the kids’ backpacks. Lots of germs like to hang out there.

DONATIONS & SALES

As you declutter your own space and help your nieces and nephews with their spring cleaning, you may have items to donate. Make sure all donated items are gently used, in good condition, clean and stain-free. Charities spend millions of dollars each year throwing away unusable items – which doesn’t help the charity’s bottom line. If it’s not good enough to donate, toss it, depending on the item.

If you and the nieces and nephews want to make some extra cash for a special Auntventure together, hold a garage sale or sell items on Facebook Trade Groups or other sales apps, such as LetGo. Take a look at the items listed for sale to get an idea of what’s selling and what’s not. 

Now, go declutter!

Photo: Rawpixel.com