Spring is in full swing in Vancouver, and as we come out of our winter hibernation, you may be thinking it’s time for a change. If you feel like your home has started to overflow with “things,” then it’s probably time for a purge and reset.
So, what will that look like?
Trying to declutter and organize an entire home in a weekend may be doable, but it isn’t very realistic for many, especially if you’re doing it without professional help. Oftentimes, people have good intentions to do a full weekend of decluttering, but with busy lives, 8-hour purge days just aren’t feasible. You may start strong, but you will quickly fizzle out of time and energy.
If you want to declutter and reorganize your home this spring but don’t know where to start, check out our 2026 home organization plan. We’ve created this 3-month organization plan designed for busy Vancouver households that will help you get your home on track and keep it that way.
Month 1: The Purge
When tackling an organizational project, things need to get messy first. Decluttering is always the first step, as there’s no point in organizing things you shouldn’t keep. Creating a manageable schedule and a list of places that will accept donations is your first step. Decide which days and how many hours on each of those days you can dedicate to decluttering, then look at each area of your home. The best way to declutter is to break the tasks up into more manageable blocks.
For instance, you may want to dedicate one time block to decluttering your kitchen cupboards, another to your bathrooms, one to your closets, another to your bedroom, and so on.
Create three different piles: Give, Toss, Keep, to help you quickly sort through items and stay on track. Once you’re done with an area, toss any items in your toss pile right away, and drop your donate pile off as soon as possible.
Month 2: Organizing to Fit Your Life
Most people have seen a home makeover show or two, and while they can be entertaining, they can also set you up for disappointment. Decluttering, organizing and redecorating an entire home is jammed into a 30-minute episode that ends with a perfect-looking home. But do you get to see how the family is doing a month or six months later? Whether they were able to keep up with the organization and systems put in place work for their family?
Organizing systems are not a one-size-fits-all solution and require thought and planning to ensure they work for you. The wrong organizational solutions can create more stress and chaos, especially if you’re focused on trying to keep everything looking perfect.
Here are a few things to think about to help you decide what type of system will work best for you:
Locations – start to think about “where would I/we normally drop this?” For instance, your countertop is always full of scrap paper, junk mail and bills. Would it make sense to create an area for these items in your home office? Probably not, because if you and your partner/family are used to leaving these items on the counter, chances are they will continue to be placed there and won’t make it to the office. So, instead, consider a basket or bin on your counter to keep these things contained. Then create a habit of going through and cleaning out the bin once a week, paying bills, recycling junk mail, and filing important paperwork.
Children’s backpacks and school items are another common item to think about; if they are constantly being dropped by the front door, it only makes sense to create an area to keep them organized that is close to where they usually end up.
Open vs. Closed Systems – while it may be more visually appealing to have closed organizational systems, that doesn’t always work for all items, or all households. Sometimes bins, baskets and bowls (for keys, for example) are the best option. Often, a mix of both works well, each serving a different purpose.
Labelling – get some nice-looking labels to help keep your household organized, which will reduce stress and frustration for everyone. Etsy has a fantastic selection of editable and printable labels that will not only look nice but also help everyone stay organized.
Accessibility – if you have smaller children, you will want to consider how accessible their toys and items are. Ensuring your storage solutions are accessible (and well-labelled) will help children gain independence, learn good habits, and make clean-up time a breeze.
Month 3: Maintain
There’s a lot of information out there about how to organize, but what happens after? How do you ensure your home will stay clutter-free and organized?
The best way is to look at organization as a habit, rather than a one-and-done project.
A few ways to create these habits are by:
- doing a 10-minute nightly reset, weekly reset and seasonal reset;
- completing a monthly mini-declutter; and
- following the one in/one out rule.
Get the family involved in each of these tasks to make light work and to create good, lifelong habits.
