The Great Fall Reset

Over the past year, our homes have become much more than just living spaces. They’ve served as our workspaces, online schools, and entertainment centres. So as the world continues to open up, this fall presents an excellent opportunity to create a more organized home. We asked Pauline Duhart and Rosalind Tantalo, founders of Simply Home Downsizing, to share their tips for bringing your home back to a new sense of normalcy.

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Win a full day of home organizing with Simply Home Downsizing on our Instagram! Follow us @richardsgroupremax to learn more.

Declutter your clothes closet Get your front closet and garage winter-ready

Have you been wondering if you’ll ever wear anything other than yoga pants and comfy clothes again? The big question may be, “Are jeans considered dress-up”?

Think about what you really want, and will, wear. Why clutter your closet with items that don’t fit or feel good?

Decluttering your closet properly means taking out all your clothing and accessories, trying them all on (unless you just know they need to go!), and then asking yourself if you feel good in them at this point in time. Picture yourself wearing the clothing in this moment — not in the past or future.

If the answer is no, consider donating them. If it’s a maybe, put it aside in a box and plan to decide on a certain date. Do not put the “unsure” items back in your closet — make your decision first! For the keepers, fold and organize the items you want to keep by activity, style or colour. Box away seasonal items like coats and scarves to give your current clothes more room in your closet.

When you have a closet full of items that make you feel good, your way in the world shifts, your confidence goes up, and your stress level goes down — a combination worth striving for. Your entryway closet is the busiest place in the house at the best of times — and you’ll want to make sure it’s clear for all the bulky winter coats, boots and gear. Remove everything from your closet, create piles of what to keep, let go of, and donate. Any items you’re keeping that won’t serve you in the winter should be stored and labelled in clear plastic bins or placed at the far end of the closet.

The same rules apply to your garage. Start to think about putting away the summer sports equipment, camping gear, gardening & lawn care supplies and outdoor furniture to make room for the winter shovels, de-icers, winter mats, skis, toboggans, etc. Use hooks and pegboards on the wall to keep items within easy reach.

Most importantly, let go of anything that’s broken or no longer useful. There are several ways to donate used items, but one of the most fun is the Buy Nothing Project. This hyper-local, free forum will let you post items in their Facebook group and people pick them up. It’s a fabulous way to meet your neighbours and make community ties. Make the most of the space you have with these sneaky storage solutions.

Maximize the hidden spaces where no one looks — like under your bed! The Whitmor Spacemaker system comes with a vacuum seal bag and a lightweight mesh storage unit.

Whitmor Spacemaker Vacuum Storage Bag

→ iQliving, 542 Danforth Ave.

Decorative baskets give you a place to store blankets and magazines. These banded baskets come with hand-dyed colours or neutral bands and can easily live underneath a side table or on top of a desk.

Prairie Knot Co. baskets

→ The Curated Market Co., 2116-A Queen St E

Improve your kitchen flow

The pandemic has disrupted how most of our kitchens function in a significant way. Whether it was baking sourdough bread, experimenting with new cuisine, or making fancy lunches for your Zoom calls.

It’s good to ask what worked well and not so well. To start, ask yourself if there are any items (food, small appliance, dishes, supplies) that you no longer need?

Is your kitchen set up to meet your goals? Whether your goal is having easier access to items, preparing healthier meals, shortening preparation times, or creating more culinary masterpieces, your kitchen should be set up to support that.

This transition is a great time to tackle the pantry and decide what kinds of foods you want to keep and enjoy and which ones are undesirable, expired, or unhealthy. Dig into the very back of your cupboards, shelves, drawers and pantry, and pull it all out, as you may have stocked up more than usual during this time.

Once you know what you want to keep, sort it into like categories — all spices together, canned goods, oils and vinegar, baking supplies, cereals and so forth. Use baskets, jars, bins, crates, and containers to optimize the space.

And when you need a break from kitchen organizing, reward yourself with dinner out!

Where to donate

As the old saying goes, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. There are many organizations throughout East TO that will happily make use of your used items:

Habitat Restore

You can drop off at Restore locations or book a pick-up if you have enough stuff. Great for donating: appliances, furniture, renovation materials, home decor items, books

Diabetes Canada

Diabetes Canada has drop-off bins located across the city. Great for donating: accessories and bags, clothing (all types), curtains, general household textiles (towels, blankets, sheets), shoes and boots, sleeping bags, etc. (Basically, any soft items that fit in the bins.)

Oasis Clothing Bank

Oasis Clothing Bank also has many drop-off bins around the east-end. Great for donating: Any good condition non-fragile items that can fit into the drop-off bins. (No big items like furniture or TVs.)

Value Village

There are two drop-off locations in the east end, including one on Queen Street East in Leslieville as well as Danforth and Woodbine. Great for donating: Pretty much anything.

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