Pack away Winter the easy way.
Everytime Spring rolls around, there is a "changeout of seasonal stuff" at our house. Some things are a pain no matter how you do it - like moving out Winter clothes and moving in the Spring ones. You have to try it all on, then make sure it's clean before you re-pack it or donate it. But not all of it has to be difficult, though. You just have to set it up right the first time around.
Winter Accessories
In our house, each person has a fabric bin in the closet for their own hats, mittens, gloves, 
scarves, etc. I used to dump all of these out and pack it all away each Spring and refill them with warm weather stuff like balls, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and other small yard toys. Then I got smart (aka lazy) and decided to just make an investment in four more identical bins. Now when Spring rolls around I just grab all the bins and carry them downstairs and put them in a extra closet. I replace them with the Summer bins that are still filled from last fall. Completely worth the extra $25.
Winter Car Gear
Now is the perfect time to make that winter car emergency kit that all the experts tell you you should have. Then pack it away for the summer. You have to clean all that stuff out of your car and your closet anyway. We do have a winter car emergency kit. I made it years ago. It's old and ugly - but really, it stays in my garage, so who cares? It only goes in my van when we are taking a road trip since I'm pretty sure we'd survive if we go stranded on 169.
To make your own, first find an old duffle bag. Fill it with a few pairs of old gloves/mittens, hats/scarves, warm socks and maybe even boots if you have room. This is the perfect place for the items that still fit but are out of style or stained. (If you ever need them, no one will see you wearing them!) You also need candy bars, a few bottles of water a flashlight with batteries (keep the batteries separate), etc. You can find a list online. Then, this time of year, you can throw all your ice scrapers on top, pick the whole thing up and move it into a closet until Fall when you need it again.
Ahh.... Spring. It's official. Please hurry back! My children need more fresh air!
10 Habits of Highly Organized People by Sara Stebbins- reprinted from Oprah.com (Thank you to Lisa for finding this!)1. Walk away from bargainsJust because you can buy a cashmere sweater for $20 or three bottles of ketchup for the price of one doesn't mean you should. "Ask, 'Do I have something similar?' and 'Where am I going to store it?' before making a purchase," advises New York City professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.2. Make peace with imperfection Efficient people give "A-level effort" to the most important projects (say, work assignments or a kitchen redesign), and for the rest they do just enough to get the job done, says Renae Reinardy, PsyD, a psychologist who specializes in hoarding disorders. Maybe you give yourself permission to bring store-bought cookies to a school bake sale or donate a bag of stuff—unsorted!—to Goodwill. "Trying to do every task perfectly is the easiest way to get bogged down," says Reinardy. 3. Never label anything "miscellaneous"You put a bunch of things into a file or box and write this catchall across the front. "But within a week you've forgotten what's in there," says Morgenstern. Instead, sort items into specific groups—"electric bills," "lightbulbs," and so on. 4. Schedule regular decluttering sessionsRather than wait until an industrious mood strikes (we all know where that leads), have a decluttering routine in place—whether it's spending 15 minutes sorting mail after work or tackling a new project every Sunday afternoon. 5. Stick with what works"I have clients who will try every line of makeup, every cell phone—it's exhausting," says Dorothy Breininger, president of the Delphi Center for Organization. Don't waste time (and money) obsessively seeking out the best thing.
6. Create a dump zoneFind a space to corral all the stuff that you don't have time to put away the moment you step in the door, says Breininger. Once you're ready to get organized, you won't have to hunt all over the house for the dry cleaning or your child's field trip permission slip.7. Ask for help"The organized person is willing to expose herself to short-term embarrassment and call for backup," says Breininger. Which is to say, that elaborate four-course dinner you planned? Change it to a potluck. 8. Separate emotions from possessionsIt's healthy to be attached to certain items—a vase you picked up in Paris, your grandmother's pearls. But holey concert tees or cheap, scuffed earrings your husband gave you years ago? Just let them go. 9. Foresee (and avoid) problemsYou wouldn't leave the house on a gray day without an umbrella, right? People who appear to sail through life unruffled apply this thinking to every scenario, says Breininger. Have a cabinet packed with leaning towers of Tupperware? Organized folks will take a few minutes to short-circuit an avalanche before it happens. (In other words, rearranging that cupboard now is easier than chasing after wayward lids as they scatter underneath the fridge.) 10. Know where to donateIt's easier to part with belongings if they're going to a good home. Identify a neighbor's son who fits into your child's outgrown clothes, or choose a favorite charity. "It will save you from searching for the perfect recipient every time you need to unload something," says Morgenstern.
Bag it up, baby.This one is a serious time saver. Many of you already do this, so if you do - pat yourself on the back. If you don't - start tomorrow.
Once you get out of the "diaper bag" phase and ease back into having just a purse, you will be elated. This is the same age at which your children slowly begin to be involved in activites. And you also walk back out into the sunlight, from that baby fog you have been living in and have activites. Activities can be anything from swimming lessons to MOPS to going to the beach on a hot summer day. Activites need stuff. They also seem to need the EXACT SAME STUFF each time you do them (That is a hint...).
If you find that each week before swimming lessons you are running around with an empty bag looking for goggles a towel and shampoo, then you are doing it the hard way. Ditto any activity.
Each soccer practice needs shoes, the shirt, sunglasses, water bottle & socks. Spread all over the house, right?
What about the beach? Total nightmare, right? Goggles, a towel, beach toys, the special beach mat and in my case the big beach tent because MOMMY NEEDS SOME SHADE. Toys are in the garage, towel is in the bathroom, goggles are who knows where.
The answer is easy, but may take a mind shift. Here it goes. Keep it packed. Find a bag for each activity and dedicate it ONLY TO ONE ACTIVITY. Yes, I know that the towels get dirty after swimming lessons and that both the beach AND swimming lessons require goggles. After you wash the towel, rather than put it back on the shelf, roll it up and put it in your swimming lesson bag (or if it is summer, right into a beach bag). If you have lessons in the summer, buy two pairs of goggles. Seriously, it won't break the bank, I promise.
You know you own enough water bottles to keep one in your gym bag AND have one in Jr's soccer bag. Same with sunblock - if you don't already have two bottles floating around, buy an extra. Keep one in the beach bag and the other in the soccer bag. That way you won't forget it and you don't have to go looking for it. With this easy solution, the kids can even help. I can just tell Lily to go get her swimming bag and out the door we go.
I have one bag I keep for myself for going to the Y. I keep my magazines and catalogs that I want to read, my waterbottle, my ipod, my gym card and my workout shoes (several times prior to doing this I got to the Y and found I had forgotten them and had to go home or workout in my snow boots! Totally annoying...).
At first thought, you are probably thinking "That is a lot of different bags!", but it is sooooo much easier. If you can, keep the packed bags in your front door closet. If you can't do that or it isn't practical, put them in your childrens closet or downstairs by the laundry (swimming bag).
Let me know your thoughts....
A couple of years ago I had a revelation. I spent way too much time searching for my keys. Most days it was probably only five minutes per trip out of the house. But sometimes it was way more. Fifteen, twenty minutes on a really bad day. Time spent searching all the logical spots - in coat pockets (but which coat?), digging around that deep, dark abyss I call a purse and searching under paper piles. All the while getting later and later for whatever I was leaving at the last minute for. When I was in junior high school, my Mom had this key fob that would beep if you whistled for it. Of course, your keys had to be nearby for that to work. Kind of embarrassing in public places, too. I decided to go low tech to solve my problem. I attached a carabiner to my keys. Now the first thing I do when I get out of the car is attach my keys to my purse. Everytime. If I don't have a purse, I attach them to whatever I have that won't be leaving me. Beltloops on jeans work great, too. If I leave the house on average of three times a day, that means I could easily be searching for my keys 5 times. If I save even only 5 minutes per time, that is 25 minutes a day! Could be more depending on how long you normally search. Simple. I love it. They sell these things everywhere, too. Most hardware stores have bins of them and they are usually around $1.00. Well worth it. 
scarves, etc. I used to dump all of these out and pack it all away each Spring and refill them with warm weather stuff like balls, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and other small yard toys. Then I got smart (aka lazy) and decided to just make an investment in four more identical bins. Now when Spring rolls around I just grab all the bins and carry them downstairs and put them in a extra closet. I replace them with the Summer bins that are still filled from last fall. Completely worth the extra $25.
