7 Things to Declutter Before Spring Turns to Summer

The change of season lends a cyclical rhythm to our lives. It’s a pace that’s comforting in its predictability (the sun always rises), yet it can also make time feel like it’s moving faster than ever (summer is almost here again?!). However the ebb and flow of time makes you feel on a larger scale, you can channel the energy behind the change in seasons to feel more in sync with your home and the living that happens inside your four walls.

In the spirit of saying goodbye to the past season and getting prepared for the coming one, we’ve made a list of some smart things to declutter as spring turns to summer.

You probably won’t need to use nutmeg any time soon, and if it’s been a while since you’ve used it in the first place, it might have lost its potency — which means it’s time to toss it. Go through all your spices and give them a good sniff. Whatever’s lacking a strong odor should probably go.

Related: The 2-Minute Pantry Clean Out I Do Every Spring

It’s definitely possible to revive plants that have seen better days. But you may have some that have kicked the bucket or that you can’t find a good place for. Toss dead plants, pass along unhappy ones to your green-er thumbed friends, and make sure to trim dead parts off of the plants you do keep. Along these lines, go through your collection of plant pots, saucers, baskets, etc. Keep only what you’re using and maybe one or two you love for future plants.

Now that holiday hosting is behind us and you’re confronted with the fact that you didn’t use those glittery champagne flutes for New Year’s Eve for the third year in a row, you may be willing to let them go. Take out all of your platters, drink dispensers, specialty napkins, and serving utensils and keep only the old faithfuls you reach for again and again.

When it comes time to clean, you’ll be far more likely to be in the mood if you don’t have to wade through a mess of floor mops you never use to get to the one you do use. Decluttering your cleaning tools and products also allows you to see what you might need to re-stock before you need it.

Now, before you need them, is the time to go through your sunscreens and bug sprays. Toss anything that’s expired or that has separated (give each tube a little squeeze to find out). Once you’ve cleared out everything that’s no longer good, you’ll know what you need to stock up on and you’ll have it before you want to sit out on the patio.

I recently went through our basket of teas and there were some that expired six years ago! (Old tea isn’t necessarily unsafe, but its potency wanes with time.) Since it may be awhile before you consume hot tea as regularly as you might have been doing during colder weather, take a moment to thin out your collection now. When you’re done, you might enjoy storing what’s left in one of these.

As the temperature shifts, your cooking may as well. Take stock of what’s hiding in the freezer and make plans to use it up so you have plenty of room for summer’s ice pops and ice cream.

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before Warmer Weather Sets In, Here Are 8 Wise Things to Declutter