In the fall and winter, we’re trapped by cold and climate so we’re more likely to clear a closet or tidy a space indoors. Don’t stop getting organized because it is summer. There are plenty of organizing tips that can help you keep things tidy or save you time during the summer months.

 

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1. Add a row of coat hooks to your garage or carport wall. Label one for each family member and add a few for guests. You’ve created a great space for wet bathing suits and damp beach towels.

2. Below each hook, add a plastic tote with handles. Each family member can drop in their swim shoes or flip-flops, suntan lotion or beach toys. Everyone is ready to go without a lot of scrambling.

3. Grilling out? Double your meat. Use half for dinner tonight and use the other half for dinner tomorrow – but in a totally new way. Tonight’s grilled chicken can become tomorrow night’s grilled chicken salad, hoagie or even chicken tacos. It’s too hot to cook every night!

4. Set a watering routine. It’s costly to replace sod, grass seed or flowers because you forgot to water. If you don’t have a sprinkler system, you can buy a battery-powered timer for your hose. Remember to water pots by tying it to another event such as putting your trash cans to the curb or putting the coffee pot on in the morning.

5. Keep your picnic basket stocked. There’s always an occasion, from a concert in the park to a ballgame, that calls for food-to-go. Stock your picnic basket with paper plates, plastic ware, cups, napkins and wet wipes.

6. Organize your grill tools by hanging them. Most long-handled spatulas and tongs are too long for kitchen drawers. Place a pegboard in the garage, outside the kitchen door or on a pantry wall. Or, add hooks to the inside of a pantry or cabinet door. Now you can store all your tools in one spot.

7. Buy an extra laundry basket. Use it for clean beach towels, cover-ups and suits. If you need to head to the water park, river, lake or pool, the entire basket can go with you.

8. A clean, extra outside trashcan is perfect for storing water toys. Drill a few holes in the bottom to insure that water will drain and the toys won’t get moldy. Use the can, without the lid, to hold water noodles, rafts and floats.

9. Rafts too big for a can? Add two hooks to the wall. Use bungee cords, connected to the hooks, to hold the rafts upright.

10. Don’t feel that you have to constantly be the one to clean up the outdoor toys, water play area and sandbox. Create a summer chore chart and assign that duty on different days to different family members. If they can share in the fun, they can share in keeping the area tidy.

 

 

About Lea Schneider

Professional Organizer Lea Schneider’s organizing advice has appeared in Woman’s Day, Natural Health and Better Homes and Gardens Kids’ Rooms magazines. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the Rolodex Office Makeover Challenge. Her team of professional organizers, at Organize Right Now, provides organizing assistance through her Organize Online program. She is the author of Growing Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide. Learn more at www.organizerightnow.com.