Inside: Wondering what to declutter in August? If you’re slow decluttering or doing maintenance decluttering, this “Declutter in a Year’ series is for you! This month we’re decluttering the car, pool and beach items and more.
It’s August. We’re still sweating it out in our Poconos “no central AC” house, working on summer projects like our garage makeover on cooler days.
While the rest of the country gears up for back to school – public, homeschool or cyber – we are doing a different kind of prep over here (including making Not Back to School Day plans).
I’m signing kids up for various activities and mentally preparing to get them to said activities: soccer starts in two weeks, theater, a few weeks after that. I’m choosing language programs and finding Kahn academy classes and working out schedules to help them accomplish their goals.
And in the middle of all of that, I’m learning all about the differences between home equity loans and HELOCs in order to get the funding to replace our roof this year. Because we said to the roof, “How about next summer?”, and the roof said, “Nope” by leaking, instead.
Isn’t adulting fun?
5 Things to Declutter in August
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This month, we’re focusing on seasonal items like outdoor toys, pool toys and camping gear. On top of that, we’re (randomly) finishing off the kitchen and tackling a challenging category for some: books.
Tackle the easiest categories first to give you the dopamine you need to deal with the harder stuff. You’ve got this!
Kitchen Miscellaneous
Over the past several months, we’ve decluttered a LOT of kitchen items. We’ve covered cookware, bakeware, silverware, dishes, cups, dish towels, the pantry and more.
This month, it’s time to tackle anything else in the kitchen that we missed! I’m thinking things like…
- Small Kitchen Appliances (hand mixers, blenders, that crockpot you haven’t used since that episode of This Is Us)
- Your Coffee and/or Tea Station
- Aprons
- That Random Take-Out Condiment Drawer
Whatever little kitchen pockets escaped the last several months, it’s time to tackle them and finish off the kitchen.
Beach & Pool Items
If you’re in a northern state like we are, by mid-August, you should have a good idea of which beach and pool items you actually use, and what needs to go. Some things like beach towels can hold up well for years, while others deteriorate over time (like our so sad inflatable pool tire).
When you have little ones, you accumulate so much pool/beach gear! Pool toys. Floaties. Sun hats. Water guns. And then, your kids grow up and out of those things, and it’s time to let them go.
Throw away items in bad condition, and give away what’s still in good shape. If you give things away by mid-August friends and family might still take them, especially in climates with longer pool seasons.
Outdoor Toy & Camping Gear
We recently decluttered our garage and sorted through old outdoor toys and sports gear.
When you want to make room for something new (a living room garage space), you have to get rid of stuff. We acknowledged that we didn’t need to keep five soccer balls, just one as a back-up. We didn’t need metal bats when none of our kids play baseball. No one roller blades anymore, so why do we still have roller blades?
We also had to accept that we are not, and never will be, campers. We hate even the idea of camping.
So we returned borrowed sleeping bags to a relative, but kept the tent, just in case our kids want to set it up in the garage this winter.
Have your kids outgrown that electric ride-on car? Time to clean it up and sell it or give it away. If no one uses the slip and slide anymore, why are you still storing it? Do you have more sleeping bags than you need?
Get that stuff outta your house/garage/shed ASAP!
The Car
The car is my nemesis. It is the one space I’ve chosen not to care about for years, and for a long time, it was pretty gross and very evident that we were a family with five little kids. If you were to open my van two years ago, you would have seen evidence of snacking, sports, drive-thru runs, co-op attendance and more.
But we can all reform! And it’s easier to reform when it’s not snowing outside.
My first step is purchasing a trash can for each car and car wipes to do quick clean ups.
But the second, more important step is to form the habit of taking everything out of the car when we get home and encouraging the kids to do the same. I’m not perfect, but I’m getting better.
If you’re starting at the beginning, clean the car out of everything except registration, insurance and car manuals. Then decide what deserves to go back.
Also, think proactively about how you can reduce car clutter.
- Could you switch to notebooks for drawing on long trips, instead of individual papers on clipboards?
- Do you need multiple trash cans throughout a larger vehicle like a van, instead of just one?
- Could you keep a canvas tote in the car specifically for gathering items to bring inside? (After which, the tote gets returned to the car.)
YMMV, but most of the car organizers I’ve purchased in the past weren’t worth the money ($100?! NOPE). Simple dollar store bins, a laundry basket in the trunk and the pockets behind car seats usually suffice.
Related: 7 Home Organization Products You Won’t Regret Buying (+ What to Avoid)
Books
I wrote a great big post about decluttering books recently, so I won’t go too in depth here.
The summary? You don’t need to own a lot of books to be an avid reader. We have more ways than ever before to access books: Libby, Audible, Kindle, Little Free Libraries and public libraries.
Yes, you can keep your books if you like. But are they overflowing their containers? Do you have stacks lining your living room walls? It’s probably time to sort through them and decide what you’ll actually read or use (I keep some books for photographs) again, and what you won’t.
Get the rest of the tips for decluttering your bookshelves HERE.
It’s Easy to Give Up Decluttering This Time of Year: Don’t
If you’ve been decluttering along with me this year, you’re probably getting tired of it. But don’t give up!
You CAN have peace in your home, have less stuff to manage and use all that free time you aren’t managing stuff for just about anything else.
Keep going. Tackle it one category at a time, one drawer at a time. You CAN do this.
All you summer lovers, enjoy soaking up the last of the pool days and summer sun! Personally, I’m hiding out in my basement to get away from the humidity and counting down the days to fall.
Missed July’s Decluttering Projects? Head HERE to get the scoop.
Read Next: 101 Easy Things to Declutter Today
