Spring Clean Your Cupboards & Closets in 5 Easy Steps

Spring has officially sprung, and there’s something motivating about the warmer weather and extra daylight. If you’re feeling energized to tackle a spring cleaning project, start by taking a look at your cupboards and closets. Despite being used on a regular basis, they’re probably feeling a bit neglected as they’re not usually cleaned or organized on a regular basis. Give them extra attention now so you can spring into summer with tidy cupboards and closets.

Here are five easy steps to get started:

1. Empty. The first step is to empty the entire cupboard or closet. It’s much easier to take an honest look at everything you need to sort through when it is all clearly laid out. You’re forced to look at each and every item instead of saving that tallest shelf for another time. If you empty it all in an inconvenient location, such as your bed, you’re more likely to follow through with the project; that way you can sleep in your bed that night.

2. Clean. Another advantage of taking everything out of that kitchen cupboard or coat closet, is that it’s now completely empty and ready for cleaning. Don’t let yourself get away with just a quick dusting, but instead commit to really cleaning out the nooks and crannies. Just think, this area probably isn’t going to get cleaned for another year so make the most of this opportunity. Save the light cleaning for when the area is full of items, like it is every other day of the year.

3. Sort. Now that everything is laying out in front of you, it’s time to decide what’s leaving and what’s staying. It’s just two simple piles: Go and Stay. If something is broken or unusable, why keep it? With the remaining items, ask yourself this hard question, “Have I used it in the past year?” If the answer is no, why keep it? Once everything is sorted into these two piles, take a look at the Go pile and decide if anything is still useable or needs to be disposed of.

4. Recycle. Check if anything in the Go pile is worth donating or giving to a friend. If not, is it recyclable? Even if you can’t recycle it in your curbside cart, can it be recycled someplace else? Certain items are hazardous and it’s extremely important for these to be taken someplace to be disposed of properly. The Brown County Hazardous Material Recovery Facility or your local hazardous material collection facility can recycle or dispose of many items including cleaning supplies, cooking oil, lightbulbs, paint and batteries. For a full list of items accepted at the Brown County Hazardous Material Recovery Facility, visit www.browncountyrecycling.org. Items accepted here are either disposed of properly or are sent to facilities where materials are recovered and recycled for reuse. Don’t forget to check bathroom cabinets for outdated or unused prescription drugs. To prevent environmental contamination, drug abuse and accidental poisonings, old or unwanted drugs should be brought to a drop box for proper disposal. A list of drop-off sites is also available at the Brown County Resource Recovery website.

5. Organize. Now that the only items remaining are the ones you want to keep, you can put those back. Evaluate how those items were organized in your closet or cupboard prior to this. Was that the most efficient method of organization or was it the cause of frustration? Perhaps purchasing a few storage bins and labeling those bins could be helpful. Reorganize as necessary and then put everything back in its proper place.

Now you have clean, clutter-less cupboards and closets. While many of us aspire to complete a deep clean of the entire house or apartment every spring, often we realize we’re biting off more than we can chew. Cupboards and closets are a great way to start, and you’ll be thanking yourself all summer long for completing this spring cleaning project.