1-800-GOTJUNK: End of summer cleanouts can feel more manageable and don’t need stress

As summer winds down, August offers families a natural opportunity to reset before the school year takes over. Weeks of activity often leave garages, playrooms, closets, and entryways cluttered with unused gear, outgrown clothes, and forgotten projects, and clearing that clutter now — before schedules fill with school, sports, and other commitments — helps establish smoother mornings and a calmer home for homework and family time. Key areas to target include entryways and mudrooms (common drop zones for shoes and backpacks), kids’ closets and bedrooms, playrooms, and garages, where bulky furniture, damaged outdoor equipment, old electronics, and miscellaneous boxes tend to accumulate. To make the process manageable, families should tackle one room or category at a time, sort items into keep, donate, recycle, and remove piles, ask whether each item has been used in the past year, set a firm deadline to avoid lingering clutter, and call in professional help for larger or bulkier items that are too much to handle alone.