UHeart Organizing: Switchin' Things Up For Spring!

Who is ready for spring?  Me me me!!  Although it hasn't officially sprung here in Wisconsin, I do take a moment to not only do some spring cleaning once the weather starts changing, but we make other minor changes around here too.  Things like swapping out bed linens, clothing and winter jackets to spring ones.... I get giddy just thinking about it.  My super pa,l Courtney from A Thoughtful Place, is switching things up a bit in her own home due to the seasonal change.  She is here today to show us what she has been up to now that spring is in the air!

Hello, IHeart readers!  Because we live on the West Coast, we see sunny skies and temps warm up pretty quickly.  For us, that means we are out and about and headed to the park, pool, or beach beginning in April.  I am all about making those excursions as simple as possible.  If you have young ones, you know that just getting down to the beach and back is an event.  We have streamlined our garage so that we are summer ready.  I am passing along a few of my tips today.

If you have visited my blog before, you may have seen how we organize our garage.  You can see that full post here.  But to make sure we were ready for warmer weather, I stored the umbrellas and rain boots and pulled out the items we grab each time we head out.

I like to know we have sunscreen, goggles, sunglasses, towels, flip flops and the beach bag ready to go.  The kids know where we keep everything and it makes it so much easier to load up our bag and go.  The storage shelves on either side are his and hers!  I have one large metal cart with my craft/paint supplies and my hubby has his for his tools and work items.  The smaller white bins on either side hold running shoes and sandals.

I recently found these cute pails in the $1 section at Target.  I used clear Command Hooks to hang them on the wall.

I used another hook to hang my beach tote.  It's nice to not carry this inside as it normally fills with sand during our outings.  A stack of towels and the sunscreen is easily accessible as well.

The other tip I have is keeping a basket just for flip flops.  Keeping them all in one place is so much easier and the kids can simply toss them in the basket before we go in the house.  I have a small towel in the bottom of the basket so that I can dump sand anytime I need to.

The label is polka dot wrapping paper that I covered a piece of cardboard with.  If you know me, you know I have a huge crush on using wrapping paper and even just wallpapered my daughter's closet office with it!  Then a simple chalkboard label and punching some holes does the trick.  I hung it from the handles with jute.  The basket is another Target find.  Here is a similar one.

You can see from the shot below that a red clock hangs above the door and the overhead storage on our garage ceiling allows us to tuck away rarely used items.

Oh, and in case you are curious, the stripe rug is from Target.  It is machine washable which is always a plus.  I figure it will last me through the season.  I even picked up an extra one to have on hand when this one wears out!

So that is a peek into how we transition from rain boots to sunny skies and beach outings over here.  Enjoy your day!

"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC,  with my talented sister.  I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."