Our Top 3 Spring Cleaning Moves
Spring is a natural invitation to reset — but most spring cleaning advice leaves you pulling everything out of every closet, overwhelmed by 3pm, and wondering why you started. I'm here to offer something different: three focused, high-impact moves that will transform how your home feels without turning your weekend into a full-scale project.
1. Grab a Trash Bag & Walk the House
The Warm-Up Move
It might sound almost too simple. But this is the move that changes everything, and we recommend it to every single client before we do anything else. Grab one trash bag, set a timer for 20 minutes, and walk every room of your home with fresh eyes.
Your job is simple: throw away every piece of visible trash. Pieces of wrapping or packaging left on counters. Broken items you've been stepping over for months. Opened envelopes piled by the door. Expired coupons. Plastic bags, rubber bands, bottle caps. Anything that is simply unusable or worn past its purpose, toss it.
"You'd be amazed how much visual noise in your home is just garbage. Remove it, and everything feels lighter almost instantly."
Here's why this works: clutter is exhausting, but not all clutter is created equal. A significant portion of what makes a space feel overwhelming is just stuff that should have been thrown away already. When you remove the obvious trash, the real organization decisions become clearer, and much less daunting.
The hidden benefit of this exercise is momentum. You'll see a difference in your space within 20 minutes, which gives you the energy and motivation to keep going. This isn't the whole of spring cleaning. It's the spark that makes everything else possible.
Bring one bag. Don't sort, don't second-guess, just toss
Move room to room without stopping to rearrange anything
If it's broken beyond repair, let it go
If it's trash and you know it, don't negotiate with it
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2. Empty & Conquer the Junk Drawer
The Targeted Win
Every home has one. The multipurpose drawer. The catch-all. The "I'll deal with it later" drawer that has somehow become a permanent feature of the kitchen. It causes a low-grade daily frustration: rummaging for a battery, a pen that actually works, or that one specific tool you know is in there somewhere.
This spring, deal with it. Completely empty the drawer onto your counter. Every single item. Then go through it one by one and ask honestly: Does this belong here? Do I still need this? Is this useful at all?
Create three piles as you sort: trash (broken pens, dried-out glue, mystery keys), re-home (things that belong in another room, like batteries in a utility area or medicine in the cabinet), and stays (the items that actually serve a purpose in or near the kitchen).
"Containment is the key to a drawer that stays organized. Give every category its own zone, and it takes care of itself."
For everything that stays, group it into categories and give each category a container. A small drawer organizer is ideal, but repurposed boxes, pouches, or small bins work just as well. The secret isn't how pretty your organizer is, but that every item now has a designated home within the drawer.
Empty it completely. No half-measures
Toss broken pens, dead batteries, and anything you can't identify
Re-home items that belong elsewhere in the house
Contain what stays using categories: tools, batteries, writing, etc.
What we love about this exercise is that it's finite. It has a beginning, middle, and end. You'll finish it in under an hour, and every time you open that drawer for the rest of the year, you'll feel that small, satisfying sense of order. It's genuinely freeing.
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3. Give Your Pantry the Audit It Deserves
The High-Impact Move
The pantry is one of the most overlooked spaces in the home, and also one of the most impactful to get right. It's the room your family interacts with multiple times a day, and when it's disorganized, it adds a layer of friction to everything from breakfast to packing lunches to making dinner.
Start with one focused goal: the expiration audit. Pull items toward the front and check the dates. Throw away anything past its prime. And here's where you have to be honest with yourself. If something has been sitting untouched for over a year, you're probably not going to use it. Give yourself permission to let it go.
"An organized pantry doesn't just look good — it saves money, reduces waste, and makes dinnertime so much less stressful."
Once you've cleared out the expired and unwanted, step back and think about how your family actually eats. This is the key. Categorize what remains in a way that reflects your real life, not an idealized version of it.
Breakfast staples: cereals, oats, pancake mix, coffee
Snacks: chips, crackers, granola bars, nuts
Canned goods: organized by type (i.e. soups, vegetables, beans)
Baking: flour, sugar, extracts, baking powder
Grains & pasta: grouped together near the stove for easy access
You don't need labeled bins and a Pinterest pantry to get this right. You just need a system that works for the people who actually live in your home. When your family knows where the snacks are and you can find the pasta without moving three things, that's a win.
Bonus tip: you'll likely discover you have more food than you thought. Use this as a natural grocery list reset. See what you have before you head to the store. It saves money and reduces waste at the same time.
Spring cleaning doesn't have to be overwhelming. One trash bag. One junk drawer. One pantry audit. Three moves, one afternoon, and a home that genuinely feels different on the other side. Start there — and if you're ready for something more, we'd love to help.
Give the Gift of an Organized Life
Labeled Living Gift Cards make the perfect present for anyone ready for a fresh start: a new homeowner, a busy mom, or honestly, yourself.
The Gift Shop by Jennbroidery
8 S. Broadway, Edmond
