By Elaine King

Just throw it all out.

April showers bring May flowers, but also the dust mites out from under the bed. Instead of sacrificing time, energy, and tears this season as you look to do your spring cleaning, I suggest you do away with it all and join the minimalist movement. However, if one fork, spoon, and plate for each household member is too much of a leap from your hoarding tendencies, here are five tips to at least declutter.

1. Tackle the closet with a friend. For most, letting go of that one sweater you wore that one time at that one event is too unbearable a task. So, ask your most honest friend to come over and force that skirt from 20 years ago out of your grasp.
2. Utilize Colors Color coding keeps an organized house but also the task at hand from becoming too boring. Pink is my favorite color.
3. Win the war battles at a time. Instead of taking on the entirety of your spring cleaning at once, look to Pinterest to help manage your time and spread out your to-do list so it isn’t so daunting.
4. Blow the Tax Return Rather than spending that tax return on a warm beach vacation, spend the day in IKEA. Buy yourself new bins, boxes, and other organizational resources that will make your most organized neighbor swoon.
5. Find Worthy Distractions If you’d rather just ignore the overflowing closet and paths to the bed, find excuses worthy of giving.