All animals in nature do it; they prepare for the long winter by getting their home or den ready and then settle in until spring comes. We typically talk about spring cleaning- the time to cleanup our lives after the long winter. But, what if we were to prepare a little bit before the change of season? Maybe spring cleaning wouldn’t be such a chore, and winter would be a little nicer. Winter is often when we spend the most time at home and I find that getting organized beforehand often makes winter more enjoyable. Here are some things that I do to get myself ready.

• Take time to Give. This doesn’t just help create space and organization, but it helps other’s too. This is the time of year that I go through the closets and find everything that I know I’m either not going to wear this winter, or won’t want to keep around for next summer. I go through my closet, and then I go through all the kids clothes too, since they’re always outgrowing things. I also look for toys and gadgets and anything that I haven’t used in a while. Another great place to look for things is in your storage areas (i.e. your basement or storage shed). My general rule of thumb is if I haven’t taken the box out in the last year, I don’t need it. Once everything is piled up in boxes I load up my car and take them to my nearest charity. Did I mention that the timing of this gives you an added bonus? I collect receipts for the things I give and then deduct it from my taxes.
• File Away! This is a good time to get your bills and filing in order. I am what’s known as a stacker. I have stacks everywhere. I generally stack all summer, and while I know where everything is, the stacks will get out of control if I don’t do something with them. Every fall (ans spring), I sit down with my files and bill stubs and I put them all away. I get rid of the older stuff (say, more than a year or two old) and put all the new stuff in it’s place. Suddenly, my desk is clear, the bill box is empty (a particularly good feeling, even if it’s only psychological!), and I’ve got my finances nice and organized.
• Dump Your Pack Rat Tendency. When it comes to animals in nature, it makes sense to stash food everywhere so that they can make it through the winter. It doesn’t make much sense for us, though. Take a look in your cabinets. I bet there are a bunch of food items that have been in there so long there’s dust on them. Now’s the time to find the old, smooshed bags of Ramen noodles, the 2-year old pasta boxes, and rock-hard raisins and get rid of them! Canned veggies and soups are always good to keep, but even they have a “best by” date. Check and make sure they aren’t from 2003.
• Somebody’s Gotta Do It. The refrigerator is my least favorite thing to clean. I have kids, so they spill juice from time to time, or leave a yogurt half eaten in the way back of the fridge, and so I must admit, my fridge is probably grosser than most. I take everything out, throw away the obvious (i.e. long lost cheese from last spring… YUCK and those year-old condiments) and then I wipe everything down. I am usually pretty surprised at what I find in there, and truth be told, I should be doing this far more often. Once all the stuff I want to keep goes back in, I realize I don’t have nearly as much food as I thought.
• Pick Your Favorites. All of us girls have impressive collections in the bathroom of different potions and tonics and makeup that we bought once upon a time. It’s hard to get rid of them because what if someday that lotion we used once and then shoved underneath the sink comes in handy again? Here’s why we should get rid of them. It will be in our nature to continue to acquire the newest scents and the newest makeup. If we don’t get rid of the old, we can’t make room for the new! Go through your medicine cabinets and sink drawers and ask yourself if you’re really going to use that sparkly lotion you bought from Victoria’s Secret 8 years ago. Keep all your favorites, but be honest about the stuff you don’t use. This is also a good time to get rid of old medicine that has passed it’s expiration date.
• Wash, Wash, Wash. I always get ready for winter by dragging out all the blankets and washing them so they’re fresh, fuzzy and super-cuddly. I must admit, I have some sort of blanket-fetish problem which I can’t explain, so there are dozens of blankets floating around our house in the winter. But blankets aren’t the only things that need to be refreshed. Winter jackets, hats, scarfs, etc. will all be significantly nicer to wear if they’re freshly washed.
• The Big Stuff. Everyone has they’re own preferred time for doing this stuff. But, the carpets, walls and windows are the final thing that I try to tackle before winter. I do the carpets myself, and the walls I have found can be tackled easily with some of those cleaning wipes that come in a canister and a “magic eraser”. It’s amazing how much dirt is on your walls. You don’t notice in daily life, but once you start washing, thousands of little finger marks and peanut butter smears suddenly become visible. I don’t wash my outside windows in the fall, but the inside windows get pretty bad from all the summer air breezing through the screens.

This seems like a lot, but you’ll find winter to be far more enjoyable, and in many ways spring will be better too, because you won’t have quite as much to be done. What are your favorite ways to get ready for winter? Got any good tips to share?

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