How to Declutter and Brighten Your Home for Summer

Create a winter storage area in your attic or basement, using a canvas-covered clothing rack and heavy-duty plastic shelving. This makes everything easily accessible—and lets you annually appraise inventory and throw away or donate things you no longer use or wear. (Dry-clean your coats before storing them, and use cedar blocks to keep away pests.)

Replace dark throw pillows and slipcovers with affordable white or bright-colored versions; clean and store winter fabrics with your linens. Consider adding an extra lamp to further lighten things up.

Swap out dark photo frames on your shelves for white. Ask kids to pick their favorite piece of artwork each week and drop it into a frame; toss the rest (after photographing for posterity).

Keep surfaces clear by instituting daily cleanups ten minutes before dinner, when everyone puts away his or her own possessions. Cynthia Tobin, like many moms, finds it easier and faster to pick up after everyone herself, but "why bark when you've already got a dog?" says Walsh.

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