Simplify the storage-box shuffle

It’s time to do the storage box shuffle.

You know – that step-by-step process of packing away your pool towels and summer gear and hauling out your boxes of fall decor and comfy throw blankets.

But before you do the fall flip-flop, identify a few projects around your house that will make the process easier – even if you won’t notice it until it’s time for spring cleaning.

¢ Divide and conquer: Group similar summer supplies together so unpacking will be more convenient next time. For example, tuck the festive plastic dinner set you use for summer barbecues inside the picnic basket.

¢ Let the calendar inspire you. Instead of packing all of your seasonal items together, separate them according to the month you’ll use them. Put all of the Fourth of July decorations that you’ve stashed in your hall closet in a box marked “July.” Then you don’t have to deal with them in May when you pull out the hammock.

¢ Lovely labels: Identify a fun way to label storage boxes. Snap a digital picture of your kids holding the contents of each box. Then print them out and tape them on the sides of each box. Or give the little artists a box of markers and ask them to decorate the brown boxes. The cardboard box containing summer yard games becomes a canvas covered in colored croquet mallets.