Decluttering your homestead

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Decluttering my yard/outside the house is not something I ever realized was important until I got bored one day and tackled my shed. After that, I spiraled from there, really. What better time to have a completely decluttered shed, yard, etc. than before spring season hits?

Table of contents

5 quick tips on how to declutter your homestead before the spring season.

Ground rules for decluttering your homestead before the spring

Be realistic about your timeline – you won’t be able to do everything in one day.
Also, be realistic about the magnitude of the project you’re taking on.
When you start, accept and acknowledge how far you have come. This kind of task can be intimidating so pat yourself on the back when you’ve achieved a milestone!
Last, focus on one task at a time. Finish it completely before you move on to avoid burnout and completely giving up.

Decluttering your SHED

Since I’ve already brought it up, I’ll start with decluttering your homestead shed. Picture this: You’re in the middle of a huge project and you need that one screwdriver. You walk into the shed and it looks like a tornado swept through, twice, and you can’t find the screwdriver after 45 minutes of looking so you just quick and go watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy picking the project up the next day.

Discard any expired products, donate any extra tools you might not need. Recycle any other items you haven’t used in over a year. Once you’re done creating a purge-pile, tidy everything in a way that makes it the easiest for you to use. You will not regret the time you spend doing this! Finally, SWEEP! YES, I said sweep. It is surprisingly satisfying to sweep a shed.

Decluttering the yard

Last year my sister-in-law helped me pick up and declutter the yard during Christmas on the homestead. Although the common man or woman couldn’t tell the difference, I absolutely could. Now every year before the spring season hits I pile up all the stray PVC pipes, pieces of wood, etc. and figure out a way to get it to the dump. I think this year I’ll be renting a dumpster and doing one huge cleanup!

Sorting out the outside hangout-space

#ConfessionSession – I’m pretty bad at this one. We have an outside kitchen we’ve only used a handful of times. I love hosting people but the outside kitchen is always so messy, the grass is overgrown, there are wasp nests on the picnic table, etc. Then once the spring season comes, then summer is here.

Before you know it the cobwebs have grown and there might be a new breed of bug living in the cabinets and I’ve just been putting it off, okay! I’m adding decluttering the hangout space to my list so every spring I’m ready to host my friends and throw great cookouts.

Sort through your seed packets!

This one is super fun because you get to dispose of seeds and make room for more. I hate picking up my seedbox and have to look at every packet to see how old it is because I haven’t taken the time to declutter all year.

Obviously, step 1 is to only buy the seeds you need and will use so things aren’t wasted. I have a nice little box and all my seed packets are organized in alphabetical order. I plan to get a nicer setup going so my seeds last longer. Check out this post that I’m using as inspiration!

Trashing general trash

I admit that I’ve left a stray empty soil bag or such in the yard at times. It’s so easy to gather a few things with the intention to throw it away, set it down by the fence and then forget it there (for months). First thing is to make “drop stations” in the yard. I have a trash can out in the yard that is now easily accessible so I can throw away trash whenever I pick it up. I’ll be adding another in the front yard.

We only live on 1 acre so the walk isn’t so bad but convenience is the queen at times. Every year before spring hits, pick up all the trash on your homestead and get rid of it. Afterward, add a few receptacles for trash in places that it often accumulates. You’ll be decluttered for the spring season in no time.

Let’s summarize on decluttering!

How do you declutter your homestead every year? Do you do it during the springtime or before? I declutter a couple of times a year so I’d love to hear your strategy and regimen!