HOME LIFE
How to Make Spring Cleaning
a Family Affair
BY PJ FEINSTEIN
S Busy parents
should schedule
spring-cleaning sessions as
they would
doctor or
dentist appointments
so that they
don’t get
“pushed to the side
when weekends
get busy.”
ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/BOWDENIMAGES
ee if this sounds familiar: Motivated by
your New Year’s resolution to declutter,
you binge-watched “Tidying Up with
Marie Kondo” on Netflix in January and duti-
fully thanked a few pieces of outdated clothing
and random kitchenware that no longer sparked
joy in your life. You may have even inspired your
significant other to part with some well-worn
socks and your children to say goodbye to a small
selection of toys they’ve outgrown.

Then, sometime between Groundhog’s Day
and today, your eagerness to “KonMari” your
entire home waned as the number of items on
your to-do list grew. Now that it’s spring, the
increase in activities for the family — soccer
practice, baseball games, playground play-
dates — means a decrease in desire to stay
indoors and tidy up. Besides, who has the
time to clean?
Before you hit the season running, it’s import-
ant to evaluate what you’ve accumulated over
the winter and decide what to do next. “Spring
is a great time to pause,” says Rachel Rosenthal,
an organizing expert in Bethesda. “Without stop-
ping, your house will become a breeding ground
for continued clutter.”
Rosenthal recommends that busy parents
schedule spring-cleaning sessions as they
would doctor or dentist appointments so that
they don’t get “pushed to the side when week-
ends get busy.” However, you’ll want to be
realistic with your time to prevent the process
from becoming overwhelming. “Start with 30
minute chunks at a time and then give yourself
a reward,” she suggests.

Before attempting to tackle a decade’s worth
of clutter in the basement, Rosenthal advises
families to begin in spaces that are more manage-
able. “Starting in the easiest place will give you
motivation to continue,” she says. The kitchen,
bedrooms and bathrooms will be less daunting
than, say, the garage.

And when Rosenthal refers to “families,”
she means the entire family. Involving your
children teaches them that tidying up “is how
you live, not a just a one-time event” and sends
the message that “we are an organized family,”
she explains.

Katherine Reynolds Lewis, author of
“The Good News About Bad Behavior” and
a certified parent educator with the Parent
24 WashingtonFAMILY APRIL 2019
Encouragement Program (PEP), agrees that
it’s important to include kids in the cleaning
process. Participating in chores, Reynolds says,
gives them “a sense of themselves as capable
and mattering to the family.” When children
put away their toys, for example, they immedi-
ately feel a sense of accomplishment and can
see how their effort helps out the family.

After you block off time to organize the
kitchen and task the kids with checking the expi-
ration dates on everything in the pantry, you may
feel tempted to stock up on bins and baskets.

However, Rosenthal recommends completing
the decluttering phase of the spring cleaning
process before running to Target or The Con-
tainer Store. Once you’re ready to shop, look
for products that can help you create organizing
systems rather than ones that simply match your
home decor. (And remember, always measure
your spaces first!)
Although every family’s organizational
needs will be different, below are a few of
Rosenthal’s favorite products for creating a
tidy home.

• Drawer dividers allow you to neatly separate
items by category in bedroom dressers and
kitchen drawers.

• Clear shoe boxes make it easy to find what
you’re looking for and can be stored under the
bed, on shelves or in a closet.

• Vertical file folders are ideal for categoriz-
ing mail and preventing important paperwork
from getting lost in piles.

• Hanging sweater bags create additional
vertical space and are a handy way to store
board games, hats and gloves, purses and, of
course, knitwear.

• Shoe organizers that hang over the door can
be used in kids’ bedrooms or bathrooms to
hold hair accessories and small toys.

Rosenthal understands that decluttering can
seem like a chore for those who haven’t done it
before, so she encourages families to think of it
as a way of life instead. “Spring cleaning is just
part of the process,” she says. ■
PJ Feinstein, a writer and the mother of two
young boys in Potomac, is guilty of making
piles of paper around the house.