10 Things To Declutter After The Summer Holidays
We all love having an organised home, but for most parents the school holidays means six weeks straight of accumulating things to declutter. The craft supplies, unfinished projects, and endless loads of laundry (where did they get so many pairs of socks?!) tend to reach unmanageable levels by late August, and with the kids back in school now is the perfect time to clear the clutter… but where to start?
Read on for our room-by-room list of things to declutter in early September to reset your space and settle your mind for the new season.
Lunch Boxes
If you bought the kids new lunchboxes for the return to school, and there’s no point in having their old ones cluttering up your cupboard.
Gather them up along with any old tupperware containers and water bottles that are missing parts, and get rid of them all in one go.
Summer Supplies
Make room in your pantry for all your pots, pans, and trays by removing all the summer-specific items and putting them away until next summer.
We’re talking about ice lolly molds, picnic utensils, BBQ tongs, and anything else that won’t be used for the rest of the year.
Documents
If you’ve been as booked and busy as we have this summer, then your dining room table is most likely littered with old boarding passes, stray tickets, and torn receipts from family adventures.
Check your pile and get rid of anything that isn’t going in the scrapbook.
Toys and Books
Keeping the little ones entertained at home is no small feat, but now that they’re back at school, it’s time to tidy up their clutter.
Put their toys, gadgets and books back in their designated places and get rid of any half-used craft supplies or unfinished projects that are cluttering up the room.
Travel Toiletries
We all love those little complementary toiletries, but if your bathroom is filled with tiny bottles that you’ve picked up over a summer of travel then keep the ones that you will actually use and bin the rest.
Luxury soap from a boutique hotel? Keep.
A flimsy shower cap? Probably worth tossing!
Expired Cosmetics
Check the expiration dates on all the items that you didn’t use this summer to make sure that everything in your bathroom and on your bedside is still safe to use.
If anything has passed its shelf life, then get rid of it and only replace the products that you or your family are likely to use over the coming months.
Clothes
Are there any tops in your wardrobe that didn’t see the light of day this summer… or any of the 5 summers before?
If an item of clothing is worn out, frayed, or simply hasn’t been worn in years then it’s time for it to go, rather than languishing in your wardrobe until next summer.
Spare Room Setup
Once your final visitors have vacated the spare room, all those comforting little touches that helped them feel at home simply become things to declutter.
The toiletries, bedding, and flowers can all be removed, and why not take this opportunity to swap out the summer wall decorations for autumnal ones?
Camping Supplies
Did you arrive home from a last-minute camping trip just a few days before the new school term started?
Don’t let your tent and sleeping bags clutter up the hallway any longer. Get the whole family involved in putting them back into the attic or garage one evening this week.
Beach Items
Finally, if you haven’t yet found the time to put your beach belongings back into storage then take this as your sign to do so.
Give them a good shake first to get rid of any lingering sand trapped in the folds, and say goodbye to them until next summer.
Schedule House Cleaning Services This Autumn
Now that you’ve stored away summer and fully reset your home, it’s time to have it deep cleaned before autumn sets in.
Contact your local Domestique team today to have your entire home professionally cleaned from as little as £17.95 per hour.