August 2025 Decluttering Priorities: 9 Areas of Focus per Organizers' Recommendations
Preparing for a Clutter-Free Fall: Expert Decluttering Tips
As the professional year comes to an end in August, it's the perfect time to declutter and organize your home for a smoother transition into the busy fall season. Here are some expert tips to help you get started.
Holistic Life Coach Francesca Offers Minimalist Organizing Advice
Francesca, a holistic life coach and organizer with over 20 years of experience, emphasizes the importance of using minimalist organizational habits and theories to empower clients to make lasting lifestyle changes.
Barbara Brock's Organizing Expertise
Barbara Brock, a professional organizer since 2001, holds two patents for award-winning makeup organizing products. She suggests focusing decluttering efforts on seasonal transition items and high-traffic zones.
Key Items to Declutter in August
- Summer Wardrobe and Sports Gear: Evaluate swimsuits, summer clothes, and sports uniforms for wear, fit, and use. Discard damaged or unused items and pack away those to keep in labeled storage bins to free closet space for fall clothes.
- Seasonal Decor: Remove summer décor pieces you no longer like or plan to replace. Clear surfaces and public areas of extra photos and unused items before adding fall or holiday decorations to avoid visual clutter.
- Paperwork: Organize and reduce paperwork accumulation, shredding or recycling unnecessary documents. Use organizational tools like expanding file folders to keep important papers manageable for a clutter-free workspace.
- Entryway Clutter and Hobby Equipment: These are common areas for clutter that benefit from assessment and clearing.
- Expired Pantry Goods and Worn-Out Gear: These should be thrown out to maintain a functional household environment.
Decluttering Methods Recommended by Experts
- Set realistic, room-by-room goals: Begin with manageable areas to avoid overwhelm and focus on specific problem zones.
- Use sorting categories: Divide items into keep, donate, discard, relocate, fix/mend, or recycle groups using bins, bags, and boxes for efficient processing.
- Label storage: Clearly label storage bins when packing seasonal items for easy identification and access later.
- Declutter transitional spaces and high-traffic zones first: Entryways, mudrooms, and places where miscellaneous items accumulate are priority areas for better home functionality.
- Clear surfaces strategically: Use trays to cluster a limited number of items (no more than four per tray) to create cohesive, uncluttered surfaces.
- Plan for donation and recycling: Connect with local thrift stores, charities, and recycling centers to properly dispose of items so they don’t add to landfill.
Other Expert Tips
- Meaghan Kessman Home Organizing: Meaghan Kessman, a professional home organizer based in Los Angeles, recommends organizing your home office to lead to a clear desk and mind.
- Audra George: Audra George, with over 12 years of experience working in clients' homes, suggests upgrading shed storage with a corner double tool organizer from The Container Store.
- Liora Seltzer: Liora Seltzer recommends helping kids declutter (or at least contain and organize) their toys and books, making their room and space more compatible with their interests and the new grade they are entering.
- Setting Up Children's Workspaces: Keeping everything out in the open and easy for children to find can help to encourage creativity in their downtime.
- Decluttering the Backyard or Shed: Decluttering the backyard or shed is recommended to prepare for fall, as the task becomes less appealing as the days get shorter.
By following these expert tips, families can reset their homes during August and smoothly transition into the busier fall season with less clutter and improved organization.
- Incorporate minimalist principles into interior design and lifestyle changes for a good start on decluttering, as suggested by holistic life coach Francesca.
- When organizing the home for a clutter-free fall, consider also decluttering areas related to fashion-and-beauty, such as outdated makeup products or unwanted clothing, inspired by professional organizer Barbara Brock.
To further declutter and simplify the home environment, one can focus on food-and-drink areas by disposing of expired goods, and home-and-garden zones by cleaning and organizing outdoor sheds. Additionally, it may be beneficial to declutter children's spaces for a better work and play environment.
