Some people get spring fever, and some people get bitten by the spring cleaning bug. If you fall into the latter category, once April and May rolls around each year, you might find yourself looking for new organization ideas and ways to keep your home in Philadelphia tidy. The first step to getting organized is getting rid of items you don’t use or like as well as items that are past their useful life (you don’t need to keep that broken umbrella, for example). The next step is finding a way to store the things you want to keep so you can get to them with ease, and more importantly, put them away with ease.

The Front Entryway

If you live in a typical Philly home, you probably don’t have a separate mudroom. You might not even have an entryway closet. Without the right organization, the front entrance of your home can quickly become a mess of coats, unopened mail, and various outdoor accessories. That’s why it’s important to create what’s known as a landing strip next to the doorway to your house.

Your entrance’s landing strip can consist of a coat rack and a tray for placing wet boots or shoes, or it can be a bookcase where you stash your handbag, shoes, and any mail when you come into the house. It’s often helpful to have a small tray near the entrance where you can place your keys, wallet, and other small objects, so that they are ready to go the next time you leave your home. If your home is really small and you don’t have space for furniture by the doorway, your landing strip can be a few hooks placed on the wall, plus a small wall shelf. You just want to give yourself somewhere to store the things you bring in and out of the house.

Your Closet

Spring is a great time to clear out your closet and get it in order. The first step is to sort through what you’ve got and take out anything that doesn’t fit you or that you no longer like. Depending on the type of clothing it is, you might want to consign it or donate it. The Career Wardrobe takes donations of work appropriate clothing, as well as other garments that it can resell. Greene Street will consign relatively new, in-season clothing for you, and you’ll get a cut of the sales, if your items sell.

Once all the items you no longer want are out of your closet, it’s time to start organizing what you’ve still got. Sort items by type, such as blouses with blouses, jeans with jeans, and so on. You can also sort each item by color, so that all your blue blouses are together and all your black blouses are together. Get creative with your wardrobe organization ideas; you don’t need special shoe or purse holders to keep your closet tidy. A small bookcase placed beneath the hanging clothing in a closet is great for storing shoes, purses, and hats, so that you can clearly see where they are and what you have. If you have a dresser, an empty shoebox is an ideal container for storing your undies, bras, or socks, while a clean ice cube tray will keep your earrings and rings in one place.

The entrance and clothing closets tend to be the biggest problem areas when it comes to organizing. Once you’ve gotten those two under control, you can start to focus on organizing other parts of your home.

Image Source: Flickr/Emily May

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