Everyone talks about spring cleaning, but we think spring organising is just as important and more fun! April is the perfect month to start organising things at home to help make your daily life easier. From giving how to clean you makeup bag to saying goodbye to winter with a wardrobe reshuffle. See our five ideas for how to be more organised at home in April....
1. Give your wardrobe a reshuffle
The trick to a successful morning routine is to make getting dressed easier and that means having the right clothes in the right place, not hidden under a bundle of clothes. One of the best tips for organising your home starts with your wardrobe. With winter safely behind us, pull out those thick woolly jumpers and opaque tights and swap with your favourite spring/summer clothes.
In the words of Marie Kondo on her Instagram @mariekondo ‘the first step to a tidy closet is reducing your wardrobe to only those clothes that you really love’. Pull everything out of your drawers and wardrobe and pick out any items you didn’t wear, or love, over the winter. Put them in a separate pile and recycle them to charity or list on Ebay or Deepop and store everything else in a sealed vacuum-packed bag. As we’re still in spring, remember to keep a few warm jumpers at hand for those chilly days and nights. Marie Kondo has some great storage organisation ideas or look online for more tips of how to prepare your wardrobe for a new season.
TIP: Give the inside of your wardrobe a good clean whilst it's empty. Wipe drawers, doors and shelves with a damp cloth and light detergent and replace drawer liners with a fresh piece.
2. Organise your garden
April is an exciting month in the gardening calendar and whether you’re a seasoned pro or prefer to potter, to get your garden looking lovely for summer, now is the time to get organised. If you’re after some professional organising tips for the garden check out the Royal Horticulture Society’s website www.rhs.org.uk. For April they advise sowing herbs, wild flower seeds and hardy annuals, plus giving your lawn attention, whilst getting your hands dirty and removing weeds before it really warms up they get out of control.
It’s also a great time to jet-wash your patio and spruce-up garden furniture so it’s ready for action as soon as the weather hots up.
TIP: Keep a garden journal and make a note of seeds and plants you have planted. It will help you track and learn best practices.
3. Declutter your makeup bag
Just as we move from a winter to a summer wardrobe, we also adapt the makeup we wear in the spring and summer months. Whilst you’re organising for spring, now is a great time to take a good look at your makeup bag and have a declutter and reorganise. First up, sort through your cosmetics and bin anything past its use by date. You can check this by looking at the month symbol on the product - 6m, 12m, 24m - to give you an indication of when you should stop using it before any nasty bacteria sets in. With what’s left, decide what items you think you will still use in the summer and what’s likely to sit in the bottom of your bag. Swap those dark colours for brighter and lighter hues - for example, replace a black eyeliner for brown, or even blue if you’re want to be really on-trend.
'Mia' Large Makeup Bag in Gold
Next up, give your makeup brushes a bit of love. It’s good to give them a thorough clean using baby shampoo and lukewarm water or replace those that have started to shred bristles. For optimum freshness, your makeup brushes should be stored in a separate bag from your makeup. Better still, put them in a clear makeup bag and you can see what's in there at a glance.
Now for the fun part! Once you have decluttered and re-cleansed, it’s time to perfect your storage space. We cannot recommend a hanging beauty bag enough, preferable with transparent compartments and detachable pouches so you can find the right makeup or brushes in an instant. A hanging bag is also ideal if you’re short of storage space as it can discreetly hang behind your bathroom or bedroom door.
TIP: For more cleaning and organising tips for your beauty bag see our blog 5 Tips to Declutter your Makeup.
4. Deep clean your makeup bag
It’s not a pretty subject, but our makeup bags are a breeding ground for bugs and bacteria. As part of your spring checklist to stay organised, we recommend giving your makeup bag or vanity case a thorough deep cleanse - and we’re not talking a quick swipe with a wet wipe! Our beauty bags are designed to weather the wear and tear of daily life and with a few simple care tips, they will stay fresh and hygienic for years.
You will have already decluttered and cleaned your brushes, so your bag will be empty and ready for a clean. Turn it inside out to get into those awkward corners - top hack, warm the plastic with a hairdryer so as not to crease it - and use a new toothbrush and cotton pad soaked in eye makeup remover to give it a thorough clean and remove marks and smudges. Once clean of visible dirt, spray with an antibacterial spray (make sure it doesn’t contain bleach as this will damage your bag), and using a clean cloth work it over the plastic and into the corners.
TIP: Find out more about the importance of cleaning your makeup bag and how to perfect a deep clean in five easy steps in our blog.
5. Set a meal plan
What’s for dinner? What shall we have for dinner? When’s dinner? Three simple questions, but when you’re busy and your head is full of other things to do and organise, this daily conversation can become tiresome. If you’re looking for ways of how to organise yourself, adopting a meal plan saves a whole lot of time. Plus, it helps you stick to healthy choices and means less food waste - better for you and the environment.
For a meal plan to succeed it needs to be easy, quick and flexible with plenty of variety. Schedule in time to shop and plan your meals for the week with your calendar at hand so you can see what you and your family are doing that week. The weekend is a good time for this as you can look at the week ahead. If it’s a busy one, batch cook some meals over the weekend or think of recipes that are quick to cook. Salmon for example is delicious and nutritious and takes just 15 to 20 minutes to oven bake. A slow-cooker is a hero for working mums - the small amount of organisation required in the morning is rewarded by a ready-to-eat meal at the end of the day. Whilst having a plan undoubtedly saves time, being a slave to one is no fun. Give yourself flexibility to allow for cravings, change of plans or unexpected guests.
TIP: Food delivery companies such as Gousto and Hello Fresh are great for helping you plan meals, plus they guarantee no food waste.
Give these quick organising tips for April a try and see how much better you feel. If you have any more quick declutter tips, we'd love to know about them. Share them with us @victoriagreen.