Minimalism, organization

20 Items To Declutter to Prepare for Summer

mindbeautysimplicity

Looking to downsize your home for summer? Here are 20 Items To Declutter to prepare for those hot & sunny days:

pin for later

Worn Out Beach Towels

I like to keep up to five beach towels ( extras for guests). We are frequently going to the beach or the pool on weekends, so having a small collection of towels is crucial. Make sure they aren’t stained or worn out.

Expired Sunscreen

This is the perfect time to declutter any expired sunscreen & purchase new for the season. Protect your skin!

Ill Fitting / Worn Out Swimwear

Recently, I updated my swimwear collection & got rid of any damaged or ill fitting bikinis & one pieces. This is also includes accessories such as cover ups & hats.

Uncomfortable Sandals / Flipflops

There is no sense in keeping footwear that is uncomfortable & will potentially cause blisters. Some of my favorite brands include Havana, Reef & Sam Edelman.

Damaged Luggage

Summer means lots of travel. Be sure your luggage is up to par & durable.

Ill Fitting Shorts / Denim

A seasonal closet declutter is always a good idea. In the summer, I always go through my denim & shorts & make sure they are properly fitting. This season, I purchased a few new pairs from Loft & Levi.

Excess Water Bottles

I love carrying around my Hydroflask to the beach, hiking or running errands. Staying hydrated this time of year is so important. But we don’t need to hoard an array of options. Be sure you are only keeping ones you regularly use.

Vehicles

With all the road-trips & travels, it’s a good time to clean our cars. Trash any food wrappers & floating papers. I also end up having an array of winter jackets & winter hats hoarded in the back of the car that need stored. I also like to get the entire car detailed & vacuumed.

Sunglasses

A popular summer time accessory – go through your collection & declutter any pair that are warped, damaged or out of style.

Books / Kindle Library

Summer is my favorite time to read. Go through your shelves or kindle library & clean house. Check out this previous blog post on 5 Types of Books To Declutter From Your Shelves. Once you’ve decluttered, you can create your summer TBR.

Blankets

With the weather getting warmer, it’s time to put excess blankets in storage or closets. Go through your collection & declutter ones you no longer want.

Gardening / Yard Tools

damaged or broken tools need to be decluttered at this time. And if you lack proper outdoor storage, you may need to downsize your collection. We tend not to own many yard tools & simply borrow or rent when it’s needed.

Old Toys

This is a task that can be a regular routine. Make space for the toys they are using & will use for the summer season. Donate or store the rest.

Pool Toys

If you own a pool or visit your community pool regularly, you probably have an array of toys & floats. Downsize these items & keep the ones you know will be used this season.

Broken or Damaged Umbrellas

Protecting ourselves from the sun & keeping cool is important this season. Be sure the umbrella you own works properly. We tend to keep only one & sometimes simply rent one during our beach vacations.

Broken or Damaged Beach Chairs

Make sure the beach chairs you own are comfortable & durable. And rarely do you need a bunch of extras for guests. Instead, keep what you use & have guests bring their own.

Craft Supplies

Crafts are such fun ways to occupy your time during the summer. Be sure markers aren’t dried out, papers aren’t damaged & to throw away any trash or unwanted creations.

Papers

If you have school aged children, spend some time decluttering or organizing their past year school work & prepare for the next school year. You can also spend some time shredding old business papers or documents you no longer need.

Your Schedule

Summer is the perfect time to reflect & relax – possibly consider a slower summer with less commitments. Learn to say no more often & only agree to the events & obligations you want to attend. Leave people pleasing to the wayside & regain your time.

Your Expectations

Everyone’s summer can look different. You don’t necessarily need to travel far to have a proper summer. You can focus on resting at home, spending time with family or making time for home projects. Spend some time making a list of what you want your summer to look like & make that happen.

-B

Published by mindbeautysimplicity

48 thoughts on “20 Items To Declutter to Prepare for Summer”

  3. Love the list! I agree with tossing the expired sunscreen and ill-fitted shorts, both of which I am guilty of having when summer rolls around. My partner and I share a bottle of sunscreen and we can never seem to finish it by the end of the season and lately, I’ve been gravitating towards shorts that are juuuust a bit longer than short shorts for my comfort!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Love the last point!! It’s so true, dissapointing how it never looks like the movies 😅 We say we’ll do X and Y, but then it turns out either a rainy or too hot summer (30s degrees) and I cant leave the house as im suffocating 😬

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I just got rid of my old shorts yesterday and bought new ones because I lost some weight. I donated them to goodwill, along with some old shoes. My husband did a dump run to clean out the garage. It feels good to declutter.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Thank you for sharing these helpful tips on decluttering for the summer season. I appreciate the specific examples and the reminder to let go of items that no longer serve a purpose or bring joy. I definitely need to tackle my summer wardrobe and let go of items that no longer fit or have been sitting unused in my closet. Do you have any other decluttering tips or resources that you would recommend?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I’m in the process of clearing out a lot of my books, it’s so satisfying to see them disappear. Once I’ve donated all the books that I don’t want to keep I’ll borrow from the library instead.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Water bottles is always something I forget to declutter, that and plastic left over tubs! They seem to multiply in our cupboards. Love the post!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. This a great list of items to declutter! I need to go through my shorts and summer clothes and see if I have any that no longer fit, and that’s a good idea to declutter books and toys. Also, your last point that everyone’s summer can look different is so true!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Great article! I found your list of 20 items to declutter in preparation for summer really helpful. It’s amazing how clearing out those unnecessary items can make such a difference in creating a fresh and organized space. Thanks for the practical tips and motivation to tackle the clutter!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s