Spring has sprung, finally, and we’re all crawling out of our caves and crankiness to greet the daylight. Or at least that’s what we’re doing around here. Regardless of your stance on winter — and what your winter looks like — we can all agree on one thing that pops up every spring. Cleaning. There’s nothing quite like a fresh season to clear the clutter, both literally and metaphorically. So we thought we’d help you do just that.
Need some accountability to kickstart your spring cleaning + a chance to win one of seven free planners?
Join our Clean Slate for Spring Challenge. For the next seven days, we’ll post an easy way to declutter your work or headspace on Instagram. Use #mypandaplanner for a chance to win a Panda Planner and tag two friends to join the challenge! You must be following us to win.
How to Clear the Clutter and Get Organized This Spring
Below are 50+ tips, tricks, and tools that can help you clear the clutter and organize your workspace, schedule, inbox, routine, and more. Let’s dive in.
First up is an article dedicated to decluttering just about everything, from your physical and virtual desktop to your inbox and your brain. Each section gives you easy and actionable ways to go about the reboot, so all you have to do to clear the clutter is follow along. Don’t believe us? The first step is just figuring out where to start.
Getting organized never felt so, well, organized.
Typically, when we think about organization, we focus on the physical. The closet. The laundry room. The drawer where everything goes to die. Truthfully, there are other aspects of your life that could benefit from a reorg, and one of them is your time.
Organizing and managing time can be tricky, so it helps to have the right tools on hand. If you’re looking for digital options, these 13 time-management apps have everything you need. Pick one that suits your time-management struggles and get going.
+Get a physical tool to structure your schedule and make time-management way easier.
Speaking of apps, we wanted to take our review one step further. So we did a deep dive into one productivity app to see if it lives up to the hype. Did using it for two weeks really make us more organized? You’ll have to dig into the article to find out, but let’s just say that the app made the list for a reason.
We’re jumping into the digital world now, which means we’re taking on clutter in the one place everyone has it — their inbox. These five research-backed tips will help you organize your emails, of course, but that’s not all. They’ll also help you structure your time so that you’re not using precious hours of high-brainpower replying to every message that comes your way. Instead, you’ll learn how to optimize your schedule so that email eats up way less of it.
That’s a big win in our book.
We’re not done with email just yet. A recent article in The Atlantic sparked conversation about the elusive inbox zero and how realistic of a goal it was in the first place. The strategy they proposed is way easier and probably closer to how you already operate. Take a look at our review + a few ways to make it work for you, and set your email guilt aside. Permanently.
One way to ensure your schedule is organized and managed is to have the right tool. And the right tool, for a lot of us, is a planner. With so many options out there, it can be difficult to make a choice that’s right for you. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Check out our in-depth reviews of the features, prices, bonus content, and more of four popular planners, so you can make the best choice and get organized asap.
- Panda Planner vs. Passion Planner
- Panda Planner vs. Blue Sky Planner
- Panda Planner vs. Happiness Planner
And spoiler, we’re affiliated with the team at Panda Planner, so you’ll see their name pop-up a bit. However, the reviews are all about comparing features and figuring out your planner goals. So you can rest assured that we’re giving you all of your options. Promise.
Here’s another way to clear the clutter out of your brain and your days. It’s all about building repeatable habits that collectively make up a routine. This article isn’t about introducing new factors into your routine as much as it is making small changes to the routine you already have. And yes, you have a routine, even if you don’t call it that. You’ll be surprised at how a little a.m. structure can take you from scatterbrained to clearheaded.
When you’re ready to rev up your routine, this is the path to follow. With six, science-based steps and the time you need to accomplish them, you’ll be organized and ready to take on your day in under an hour. Some of the steps, like exercise, are easy ways to blast the cobwebs out of your mind so you can clear the clutter in the rest of your life too. Sounds good to us.
Ever wonder why decluttering is having such a moment? We did too. And the New York Times delivered some answers. They break down some research on clutter, stress, and procrastination that’ll have you reorganizing your desk before you know it. Keep it on file to remind yourself of your why when you dig into any of these ways to clear the clutter.
Your turn: What are your favorite ways to clear the clutter? Tell us how you get organized in the comments.
