By Christina Giaquinto

Summer is always an exciting time filled with beach get-togethers, dips in the pool, road trips, and…de-cluttering. And I don’t just mean putting the rain boots and heavy coats in storage and finally ridding all kitchen countertops of scattered mail. I mean giving your home and lifestyle a whole summer refresh. In my experience as a professional organizer, I have discovered a number of helpful de-cluttering tips. Here are eight of these tried-and-true strategies.

1. Organize a grab-and-go station for pool and beach essentials. Isn’t it the worst when you are trying to leave for an outing and can’t find your keys or cellphone? Organize a bin by the front door or in the garage that contains summer essentials, such as sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, clean beach towels, and water bottles and you will be prepared for any outing.

2. Write down five things you want to do this summer. From camping excursions to trips to amusement parks, it seems like once summer hits there is almost too much you want to do. So de-clutter your plans; organize a summer bucket list. Once you write down the top five must-dos, schedule each of them on your calendar. This will ensure you accomplish the bucket-list items and plan other activities around them.

3. De-clutter last summer’s essentials. Garages and sheds tend to fill up with clutter. Spend a day de-cluttering expired sunscreen, deflated pool floats, and broken beach chairs so that you know what needs to be replaced. Trust me, the last thing you would want is to arrive at a pool party and realize one of your kids’ floats has a hole in it. Getting rid of any items you no longer need makes space for new essentials—and new memories.

4. Deep clean the windows. The sun is shining and that means windows and porch screens are open. Deep-cleaning windows will help you enjoy the lovely sunny days to the fullest. Take an hour or two to spray all of them with a cleaning solution and wipe them until they sparkle. You will smile every time you look through them.

5. Write down your home-organizing goals. Have you been meaning to paint one or more of your rooms a new color? Do you really want to clean every single carpet and rug in your living space? Commit to one home-organizing project and allow yourself the summer to accomplish it. I highly recommend scheduling the project on your calendar. Set your plans in stone and it will get done.

6. Create a travel station in your car. Summertime is filled with travel, so it is paramount to have your car organized. First, do a deep clean. Yes, that means vacuuming under the seats and picking up all the stale Cheerios all over the floor. Once the car is clean, organize a summer station in the trunk. Include hats, sunglasses, wipes for sandy hands, and an extra pair of clothes for the kids, in case a pool-invite opens up. Preparation is key!

7. Organize summer clothes. Spend an afternoon getting rid of summer clothes that you no longer love wearing or that don’t fit. Then organize your closet so all your summer clothes are front and center. Bathing suits tend to get mushed together. Fold one-piece suits horizontally and then vertically; pair two-piece suits together, folding the top over the bottom piece. Fold summer trunks like you would shorts and neatly stack them on top of each other.

8. Organize garden tools. Throw out any rusty or broken tools and organize a garden-tool bag so you don’t have to stress about finding what you need. Next to your garden-tool bag, place your watering can, ready to go. 

Christina Giaquinto is the professional organizer and brand ambassador of Modular Closets (DIY customizable closet units). Christina focuses on giving her clients de-cluttering and organizing tools, methods, and techniques to transform their lives and homes. She combines spiritual coaching with organizing to help her clients let go of things that do not spark joy and happiness. Her work has been featured on sites like Popsugar, Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Realtor.com, the Spruce, and Yahoo.