Lizzy Kline has always enjoyed helping her friends and family members organize their closets, drawers, and rooms. So two years ago, the St. Louis native started Happy Spaces by Lizzy, an organizational services company, to help even more people cut the clutter. Kline recently took a few minutes to share her top spring-cleaning tips with St. Louis Magazine.
1. Make three piles.
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When organizing a space, sort items into three piles: keep, sell or donate, and trash. Kline recommends putting an item in the “sell or donate” pile if you are undecided. “A few days later, if you aren’t missing any of the stuff, you can decide if you want to sell or donate it,” she says.
2. Keep what makes you happy.
Kline says many of her clients hold on to things because they were enjoyable in the past or because they hold sentimental value. But, she says, “If it doesn’t make you happy now, it doesn’t mean that it didn’t make you happy before.”
“If you have a specific item that you saw your grandma using, that’s important,” she continues. “But you don’t need to keep a whole house full of stuff.”
3. Wait to buy organizational solutions.
Kline recommends decluttering a space to see what is needed before buying any additional storage bins. “Use what you have, and you can always buy more,” she says.
4. Store similar items together.
Whether she’s working with spices in the pantry or Legos in the playroom, Kline recommends storing similar items together. “You [can] do it in a container or just on your shelf, depending on how much room you have,” she says. “It really makes dinner prep and everything much easier, and really more cost effective, because I can see I already have pasta sauce or I already have rice.”
5. Throw away unnecessary packaging.
Kline immediately discards boxes for granola bars and other individually packaged snacks and stores them in labeled bins. “That way, your kids can grab a snack and it’s easier for them to pack their lunches,” she says. “Or if you are rushing in the morning to grab a granola bar, you don’t end up with 20 half-open boxes.”
6. Get your wardrobe spring-ready.
Decluttering is a constant process, and Kline keeps a reusable shopping bag in her closet to hold items she no longer thinks she wants or needs. “If I haven’t worn you in a year, I’m not going to wear you anymore,” she says.
She also recommends putting seasonal items like winter coats, boots, and heavy sweaters in storage. “That way, you are wearing your spring stuff, and you’re not bogged down by the winter stuff,” she says. “When you go back to the winter stuff to reverse it, it’s almost like you have new clothes.”
7. Take the time to tidy up toys.
Kline has four kids, so she knows how toys can pile up. She periodically gets rid of broken toys or items her kids have outgrown. “Our kids bring home so many knickknacks and freebies,” she says. “Take the time and get rid of that stuff. You can even rotate toys, and it’s like a whole new thing for them to do.”
8. Keep your storage room organized.
A tidy storage room makes finding items much easier, whether it’s clothing for the next season, party wares, or sports equipment.
“If you really take the time to go through it, if you could put it in regular bins or clear plastic bins and label it, it makes for going downstairs and getting your holiday items so much easier because they are all contained in one space,” she says.
9. Once you’ve decided to get rid of something, get it out of the house.
“Don’t go shopping in those bags,” Kline says of the “sell or donate” pile. “Once you say goodbye to it, let it go.”
Kline helps her clients resell items through various outlets, such as Once Upon a Child, The Vault Luxury Resale, the Women’s Closet Exchange, and online sites like Poshmark, Tradesy, and local Facebook swap sites.
For clients who want to donate items, she recommends choosing an organization based on two criteria: its mission and its accessibility. “Make sure it’s convenient and accessible, because once you’ve made up your mind, you want to get [the item] out of your house.”
Learn more about Happy Spaces by Lizzy by visiting the organization’s website or Facebook page.
