Now that summer is coming to a close and fall is in the air it is time to start thinking about storing away our summer decor and getting rid of toys no longer needed. You don’t have to pull your hair out trying to figure out what to do with your summer decorations and seasonal toys. The tips below will be help you  transition smoothly from summer to fall in an organized fashion.

Summer Decor

While there are many ways to store your summer decor, I would suggest that you store your items in a plastic bin or container. This is possibly the easiest and most economical option. You can then store your seasonal items anywhere without worrying about damage from the elements.  in a plastic container you now need to figure out where you will store it. Below are some tips to do just that.

• Where? Where will you be storing your summer decor? In the basement, attic, or outside storage house? Wherever you plan to store your Summer decor the first step is to figure out where. Once you have done that the rest will fall in place.
• Label. Always label your bins with what you have put inside. This will save a lot of time in searching and spare the trouble of only clear plastic bins. You can use a label machine or bin labels. Make sure to label at least three sides so no matter how it is stacked you will see the label.
• Zones. You should set up zones in your storage area. The zones can be broken down into seasons, holidays, etc. Once you have made zones then it will be easy to organize your bins and to find them when you need them.

Remember, a little effort spent planning your storage will prevent a lot of frustration in the future.

Toys

Now that you have your summer decor put away let’s turn our attention to toys no longer needed. The best way to handle toys that are no longer wanted or played with is to put a empty box in your child’s closet or playroom and have them put any toys that they no longer play with or want inside. Every month follow the guidelines below to dispose of the unwanted toys and start over again for the next month.

Guidelines:

• Make sure the toy is not broken. If so then just go ahead and trash or recycle it.
• Make sure that you clean any toy that you plan on donating or giving away.
• If you plan on selling the toy at a yard sale then store the toy in a box set aside for yard sale items.

I hope these tips will help you to put a organized end to Summer and get off to a great start to the Fall. How do you store your Summer decor? Let me know in the comments below.

Image Credit © Mariadubova | Dreamstime.com