Spring is the only time of year when I am good at getting rid of things.

Helpful tips for spring organizing

Spring is the only time of year when I am good at getting rid of things.

Historically, it is when I have been most successful at paring down, making more space in the closets and attacking the stacks of books and who-knows-what-else in the basement.

Experts in organization advise “editing” your closets (and kitchen and garage and basement) twice a year, in the transition seasons. But, for me, the darkening days of fall bring out my inner hoarder. Colder weather makes me hold on tighter to my possessions. I want to keep all the perfume and nail polish I never use and would rather store those bright halter tops and sundresses in clear plastic bins where I can see them, even though I know they don’t really fit.

But, in May’s bright sunshine, when I switch out my winter clothes for summer ones, I can face the fact that I’ve gained weight since my 20s and that certain looks don’t look right on me anymore. I really notice the stains on the towels and pillowcases. I can be more objective about what I’m actually using and what is just in the way.

Many books and online blogs offer helpful tips for downsizing. They start to sound repetitive because there really are only a few simple rules to keep in mind.

A few are general; they apply whether you are trying to tame sports equipment in the mudroom or the furniture stuffed in your mother’s attic:

• Set aside a significant chunk of time, at least three or four hours at a stretch. You don’t want to stop until you are through. A half-sorted stack of anything will look even worse and be even more daunting than the mess you started with.

• Make sure you have good lighting. Flaws you can pretend not to see beneath a dim bulb will be unavoidable underneath a good lamp or portable lantern. It doesn’t need to be glaring, just get rid of the shadows.

• Work systematically. Start on the left and move right, or from front to back, or vice-versa. No skipping. For big jobs like basements, break the work down into sections so you can finish within the allotted time.

• Pick up every object or article of clothing and ask two fundamental questions: Do you use this? Do you enjoy using it? Each question, of course, begets more questions. But don’t worry; they all have answers.

Like, what if I might use it? And what if I have used it, but don’t need it frequently, like a ball gown or pineapple corer or antique rowing machine?

People living in homes with ample storage space have the luxury of being less strict with themselves, of giving their habits less scrutiny. For the rest of us, not being smothered with our stuff requires some realism, and some self-knowledge. I’m trying to follow a 51 percent rule when I get to that “might.” If it seems more likely than not that I will use it in the coming year, I’ll keep it. Otherwise, it goes.

As for the infrequently used items, that all depends on your answer to the second fundamental question: do you love it? Do you simply enjoy the fact that you have it? Does it give you pleasure just sitting on a shelf, like books you’ve read, or hanging in the closet? How much pleasure?

It is just a fact that people with lots of room can keep more things around that make them smile. But all of us deserve to keep at least a few objects in that vein.

Clothing, especially — I’ll say it — for women, has its own set of strategies, which are really just a subset of the above.

• Get rid of anything you haven’t worn in two years, particularly if you remember trying it on and taking it off again several times during that period. Except for maybe that ball gown.

• Get rid of any items that are stained or ripped and can’t be easily fixed. You only need one set of painting clothes.

• This one is the worst. Get rid of anything that doesn’t actually fit you, right now, as in today when you are clearing out the closet and trying everything on. We all have weight loss and muscle toning goals. But keeping skinny jeans you can’t close the zipper on doesn’t help anything.

The most difficult thing for me to part with over the past several years has been the beautiful tailored skirts, dresses and pants that I bought while living and working in New York City. Some of them, I have decided, still fit, though they hang entirely differently. Others I have reluctantly set aside to give away.

Luckily, I just got an invitation to a swap party where some women friends are going to drink red wine and trade clothes. Doing something like this can soften the blow — at least I might see that skirt sometime again.

Kristen Fountain is a staff reporter for the Waterbury Record. She lives in Moscow.

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