Are you ready for summer fun? Get organized, and you will be prepared to take off on an adventure whenever the opportunity strikes!

Do you ever feel that you want to take advantage of the excellent summer weather, but there’s simply too much in your way to make it happen? Maybe your house is disorganized, and you feel like you wouldn’t be able to catch up on the housework when you get back? 

Perhaps you can’t find the things you need, so you waste time searching—Where did we store the picnic blanket?—or buying things over and over again—I can’t find the sunblock, so we’ll just stop by the store and buy more.

By the end of the summer, when kids are headed back to school, and the warm weather is waning, will you look back wistfully and wish you’d had more fun? This year, say yes to adventure with the confidence that you are organized enough to make it happen.

​Grab the Essentials

My friend Rachel is a beachgoer extraordinaire and is also a very organized person. I asked her for her best tips and learned that having the right bag packed with the essentials is the key to easy beach (or pool, or lake) excursions.

The best bag is a roomy tote equipped with outer pockets, so you don’t have to dig around in the main compartment to find what you need. Store larger items such as towels in the main compartment and fill the pockets with easy-to-grab items such as sunblock (reapply frequently!), flip-flops, and sunglasses. Bonus points if the bag has a zip-top to keep contents free of sand or dirt.

Here are some fabulous bags you might enjoy! The mesh versions are particularly good for the beach because the sand will fall right through instead of collecting at the bottom.

Zip-Top Utility Tote by Thirty-One 
Shop mesh bags at Target
Dejaroo Mesh Bag from Amazon

NOTE: I don’t get a kickback from any of these products. They are bags my family personally enjoys! 

Store the essentials in the bag at all times, so it becomes a ready-stocked kit you can grab on your way out the door. Rachel’s essentials include:
● Sunblock
● Bug spray
● Aloe or soothing lotion
● Ear drying drops to prevent swimmer’s ear. (Buy premade drops or mix-up
Rachel’s recipe of equal parts rubbing alcohol & white vinegar into a dropper
bottle.)

One clever trick Rachel has for banishing sticky sand (and keeping it out of your car) is to stash a bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you get to the car, sprinkle the powder on sandy feet and legs, then rub with a towel and the sand will come right off

Aside from your main tote bag, I recommend that each family member have a smaller tote or string backpack filled with their personal essentials: bathing suit, flip-flops, coverup, sunglasses, goggles, and a beach read. This way, you don’t have to try to cram everyone’s things into one family bag.

Store all of these bags near the door, in your mudroom, or even in the garage, so they are easy to find when you’re on your way to the car. If you park in the garage and your car doesn’t get too hot, you could even store them in the trunk.

I like to put swimsuits in mesh delicates bags, so they don’t accidentally go into the dryer and ruin the elastic. Now your beach clothes will be washed and ready for tomorrow’s excursion!

For meal prep tips, check out my blog, “Use Your Freezer to Speed Up Your Day.” My top summertime meal tip is to stop sweating at a hot stove or oven and instead, use the slow cooker or Instant Pot for healthy meals that are mostly hands-off. Search “slow cooker/instant pot summer recipes” for dinner ideas featuring lighter, fresher flavors than your winter comfort food staples.

What if your fridge is nearly empty and you have no time to go grocery shopping? Skip the store and fill your cart while you’re at the beach by using an online delivery service such as Peapod or Whole Foods. How easy is that?!

My final organizing tip for summer adventures is to keep an “emergency excursions” kit consisting of a picnic blanket, sunblock, and bug spray in your car. When you see a picturesque meadow, hiking trail, or pond, you’ll be ready to pull over and make some memories.

Have you ever been out shopping for gifts, braving the holiday crowds, when you spied the perfect plaid scarf for Aunt Betty, made your way to the checkout counter with your prize in hand, only to stop yourself and wonder in puzzlement, “Uh-oh. Wait. Did I give her a plaid scarf last year? Or was that Aunt Dot?” Since you can’t remember and don’t want to risk giving the same gift twice, you get out of the checkout line and go back to the gift drawing board. Ugh!

Solution: Keep an ongoing gift list. 

As I clicked open my own gift list spreadsheet last week to jot down some Christmas ideas, I looked at the tabs along the bottom and realized that I have been keeping a gift spreadsheet since 2005!

[My teenage daughter’s reaction to this news was to sigh, “Of course you have a gift spreadsheet,” accompanied a roll of the eyes.]

But really, it’s an easy thing to do and a great tool for holiday and birthday planning and budgeting, especially if you buy gifts for lots of different people: immediate family, extended family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, service providers, etc.

If you’re like me, making a spreadsheet helps you organize your thoughts and ideas into tidy rows and columns. However, if the mere mention of the word “spreadsheet” sends you into panic, fear not! You can keep an ongoing gift list with whatever tool you prefer.
Whether you use a spreadsheet, a notes app, or good old-fashioned paper, a gift list will keep you organized and ready for holidays, birthdays, and any-occasion
gift giving.

For a non-spreadsheet digital solution, use a word program (Google docs will allow you to access your notes online from anywhere.) or a list app (I still love Wunderlist but there are other great ones out there.). If you are a paper person, use a page in your planner or designate a little notebook as your Gift Book.
My spreadsheet is pretty simple, consisting of just three columns: name, gift, and amount. You can set up your spreadsheet or notebook the same way.

1. In the first column, list all the people and recipient categories (e.g. “teachers”) to whom you’ll give a gift.
2. In the second column, list the gift or gifts. On my spreadsheet, gift ideas that I’m considering are italicized and once I purchase them I put them in regular font. For a paper list, pencil in ideas then write them in ink after you’ve bought them.
3. The third column lists the total spent on each person/category. This is where a spreadsheet can make things easier by using a function to add numbers.

To keep your list going year after year so you can refer back to past gifts, use a separate spreadsheet tab for each year or a separate page in the notebook for each year.

So this year, streamline your gift-giving by following Santa’s example: make your list and check it twice!

If your basement is used primarily for storage, one big issue to keep in mind is combatting moisture.

Store items in plastic bins so they are impervious to surface moisture on the floor. Raise the bins on garage-style shelving or pallets. Label the bins so the contents are easily recognizable.

A dehumidifier is a key appliance. If possible, run a hose from the dehumidifier to the utility sink so they unit can drain constantly and you won't have to empty the tank every day. Check with your local utility company for rebates on new, energy efficient models.

Keep the area around the boiler, hot water tank, water meter, fuse box, etc. free of clutter so they can be accessed easily when they need to be worked on.

The main factor in keeping things organized is to create zones for the different types of items you store in the basement, rather than storing everything in one big area with no distinction. For example, you might have different zones for laundry, rarely used or seasonal kitchen items, holiday decorations, outdoor furniture storage, tools and household repair items. Distinctions between zones could be as simple as using different shelves or using painter's tape to mark off areas of the floor. Labeling everything helps the whole family know what goes where. If you don't have a label maker, just use painter's tape and a permanent marker.

Now is a great time to air out your basement and get it organized!

When the weather gets warmer, it's time to head to the garage and get it cleaned out for the season!

Of course, you might want to park your car in the garage, but aside from that the garage is a convenient place to store outdoor gear. That means making space for both lawn and garden tools and sports gear.

The first thing to do is actually clean the garage. It doesn't need to be pristine like the interior of your house, but it's a good idea to work from top to bottom (ceiling to floor) and banish the cobwebs, dust, leaves, and other debris that accumulates. A good wool duster works well and an extendable one will help you reach to the top of the ceiling.

Use cleaning wipes or a microfiber cloth to get the dust off of boxes and bins. Sweep the floor to evict the leaves and whatever dust that fell off the bins you just cleaned. Finally, open the doors and give the space a good airing out.

Now that the cleaning is done, let the organizing begin!

The goal with organizing the garage is accessibility. To take advantage of the few months of good weather, you'll want to be able to grab what you need and go.

• Make the snowblower trade spaces with the lawnmower.
• Hang items such as rakes and shovels on the side walls of the garage. Put the rakes closer to the garage doors now and the shovels toward the back. Next season, swap this positioning so you'll be ready for snow.
• Put bicycles within easy reach. If you want to hang them on hooks, make sure you can get them down easily. Otherwise, just park them near the garage door.
• Hang bike helmets on their matching bike so they're easily identified and not forgotten.
• Use large plastic bins (preferably clear and weather proof) to create kits of sporting gear: beach kit, soccer kit, camping kit, fishing kit, etc.
• Store the bins on sturdy garage shelving that fits the bins for easy accessibility without much wasted space. Shelves make it so that bins don't have to be stacked on top of each other, which makes them difficult to access.
• Use more bins to make kits for gardening, lawn care, and general household maintenance (i.e. tools).
• Hang beach chairs and beach umbrellas on hooks along the wall.

After you've finished spring cleaning the garage, be sure to reward yourself: ride the bikes, take a walk, or plant some lovely flowers!

Check out the first in my 4-part Spring Cleaning series with NBC10's Emily Volz.

​In the first video, I talk about switching your coat closet from fall/winter to spring/summer.

Here in New England, many of us have older homes with small coat closets or mudrooms. So instead of trying to squeeze all the coats into the closet, we have to make some adjustments and put at least the bulkier coats away for the warm seasons.

Before putting coats away, be sure to follow these steps:

• Inspect coats, scarves, hats, mittens and gloves for dirt, stains, or damage.
• Clean the coats and accessories before storing: Don't put items away if they're not clean because stains can set in and moths or other critters can feast and damage the fabric. Wash or dry clean the coats and accessories as indicated on the care labels.
• If you wash the coats in your machine, make sure they are completely dry before putting them away. You don't want musty, moldy coats next year!
• Repair tears, missing buttons, or other damage. If you're not skilled at this, bring the coats to your seamstress, tailor, or dry cleaner.
• Put items away in plastic storage bins or sealable bags for maximum freshness next year.

Once the bulky coats have been put away, use a small vacuum to clean the closet and wipe the shelves to get rid of the dust.

Now you're ready to stock the closet for spring and summer. Replace the heavy coats with light jackets, windbreakers, and raincoats. Hang summer caps and hats on hooks attached to the closet doors or along the side walls.

Because my spring jackets take up only about half the space of the winter coats, I have room to add a storage bin unit to my closet in the warm season.

As you can see in the photo, each of my two daughters has a drawer for her bathing suits and flip flops. One shelf has the sunblock container along with another container for goggles and a water-resistant zippered case to take along to the beach. The rest of the shelves are stocked with towels, which I roll to make them tidy and easy to grab.

At the bottom of the closet, I keep a first aid kit and two picnic blankets handy.

Now you're organized and ready at a moment's notice to enjoy the warm weather and be outdoors this spring and summer!