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For many generations, the advent of spring has meant saying goodbye to winter by doing a deep, thorough clean of their homes. Over the chilly season, when hunkering down, it’s not surprising that we overlook certain household tasks, and ignoring clutter would certainly fall into the category. A springtime cleanup is an opportune time to tackle the buildup.

Over time clutter can become almost invisible or just part of the furniture. How it gets to that point comes down to simply having too many things and no system in place for storing or organizing them, says author Laura Wittmann, a self-described organizing junkie.

“It all comes down to systems and stuff in general,” Wittmann explains. “Often, we just have a stuff problem, and it becomes clutter because we don’t have specific spots to put it. It just piles and clutter attracts clutter. Before you know it, all your surfaces are covered — your counters, dresser tops, any surface is fair game. It just seems to collect and before you know it, you can’t find anything you need to access because it’s buried.”

In her book Clutter rehab: 101 tips & tricks to declutter your home and organize your space, Wittmann offers simple, easy-to-implement methods to claw back the clutter that can overwhelm a living space. The easiest one to put into action, she says, is creating a “donation station” — a name which describes its specific function. Wittmann, uses this method herself and has placed a laundry basket in her linen closet where she just tosses items in when she notices that they’re no longer functional for her home.

“We all have things in our kitchen cupboards that we don’t love or need,” she notes. “In our head we’re thinking ‘I’ll have to get rid of that at some point,’ but that never comes. Just grab it and put it in the donation station right away. It’s the easiest way just having it there rather than grabbing a bag and walking around the house aimlessly.”

For Wittmann, having an organized home is all about functionality and efficiency — not making it Instagram-ready. If you get there, that’s great, she says, but don’t get caught up in colour-blocking your books or finding the trendiest storage container. Her house, where she uses mostly dollar store finds to keep items sorted, demonstrates that creating an efficient home doesn’t need to be costly. Most importantly it’s not as complicated as people envision it to be, nor does it need to be done on a large scale. She suggests taking a drawer and dumping it out and sorting through it, even while watching TV. Remove, sort and purge is the mantra she goes by.

She recommends looking for “like” items in the kitchen as a way to see what is being used and what can be purged.

“I noticed in kitchens people don’t have like with like,” she says. “They’ll have cups over here in another cupboard. I’ll suggest let’s just tackle cups. Remove all your cups and put them together… It’s way easier to purge at that point.”

To clear kitchen counters, she suggests putting everything in a box and only bringing things back as needed. Often people don’t return all the items finding that they’ve “fallen in love with the empty space.”

In Clutter Rehab, Wittmann offers an easy-to-follow approach that can be remembered with the acronym PROCESS: plan, remove, organize, evaluate, solve and simplify. The first three being the most important to achieve. The book’s information is presented in short bites, the entirety of the advice is easily digestible, and the reader can adapt it to their own needs.

“It’s a very easy read,” Wittmann says. “You don’t have to read it from cover to cover. Because it’s written as 101 tricks and tips for decluttering, you can pick and choose. There’s a list of them all and you can just jump in where you feel comfortable. It doesn’t have to be ‘do this first, do this second’ kind of thing.”

Out of all her tips for creating a more functional home, Wittmann urges people to foremost set up their house for the way that they live. “It doesn’t have to work for anyone else but you or anyone else that lives with that family. That’s all that matters.”

Though she shuttered her longtime popular blog the Organizing Junkie a few years ago and no longer works as a professional organizer due to a chronic illness, Wittmann is still in contact with readers via her Instagram account @orgjunkie. Most of her current content is in the IG stories format rather than posts.

Clutter rehab: 101 tips & tricks to declutter your home and organize your space

By Laura Wittmann | Ulysses Press, April 14, 2026, 128 pages, $19.99

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When Donna Balfour heard that the oceanfront property was hitting the market, she knew she had to act. “I knew right away it was for me,” she recalls. “It’s the perfect location on Robert’s Bay. As soon as it was listed, I bought it.”

Her quick decision wasn’t entirely impulsive. Balfour had long felt connected to Vancouver Island, from family ties in Victoria to summers spent in Oak Bay, and after settling in Sidney, she knew she wanted a home by the beach.

At first glance, the 2,667-square-foot home is a serene Scandinavian-meets-West Coast retreat, with warm wood tones, natural stone, vaulted ceilings and a generous covered deck overlooking the water. Designed by Jamie Banfield Design , The Sidney is the kind of place that invites slow mornings, cosy gatherings and evenings with a glass of wine in the tub — an interesting first impression for a home perched on a bay that doesn’t always behave so gently.

“When we got there, it was the view and [figuring out] how to capture that,” says principal designer Jamie Banfield. “There are stormy days there. There are really good sunsets and really good sunrises — there’s lots of different movement that’s happening there.”

Those movements in the landscape sparked a series of design changes. After reworking the floor plan to bring more usable living space toward the waterfront, the team also looked at how to make the home feel brighter and more open. They relocated the stairs and raised the roofline by eight feet, creating a vaulted ceiling with asymmetrical peaks that captures more light inside despite the home’s covered outdoor areas.

It was a dramatic decision, but one that paid off. “Jamie called me one day and said he wasn’t happy with the look of the outside of the house,” shares Balfour. “He asked me if I’d be willing to take the roof off to make the peak. It’s made the house so stunning from the outside and inside. The wood is gorgeous.”

The wood wrapping the ceiling continues outside, where thermally modified Lunawood cladding is paired with matte black and bronze metals for an exterior that feels both warm and durable in the coastal climate. Over time, the wood is meant to weather from a reddish brown to a silvery grey, reflecting the changing seasons. “They’re timeless,” says Banfield. “There’s no maintenance, but it’s also going to wear really well with the elements.”

Inside, the moody, nature-inspired palette layers dark walnut cabinetry, copper fixtures and blue-grey quartzite to echo the shoreline and shifting skies. “We wanted to give a nod to what we would find outside,” says Banfield.

But the design is about more than just views, light and cohesive colours. Banfield says the team thought carefully about the different “extremes” of how Balfour would use the house, from day-to-day life on her own to a full house when she’s hosting.

Rather than organizing the kitchen around esthetics alone, the design team laid it out by functional zones. “I think that’s something people miss a lot of the time,” says Banfield. “They’ll try to design it for a pretty picture instead of how it’s actually going to function.” One side acts as a more casual drinks station, with a coffee maker and bar fridge positioned for easy access to the deck, while the island anchors the main cooking and entertaining space. A separate butler’s pantry keeps a secondary oven and freezer used for baking neatly tucked out of sight.

Balfour notes the kitchen works just as well for her daily routines as it does for guests. “Last summer I had back-to-back company and loved it,” she says. “Everyone enjoyed cooking in that kitchen. There’s room for everyone and it doesn’t feel crowded.”

Outside, a 522-square-foot heated deck expands the kitchen and living space, complete with a built-in outdoor kitchen by Outerspace and room for everything from Balfour’s book club to casual barbecues. Yet it still feels comfortable when she’s on her own, whether for a quiet coffee at sunrise or an evening by the water.

And when the weather shifts, the home adapts with it. Accordion glass doors and oversized openings frame the ocean views while allowing the main living space to feel protected from wind and rain. “I don’t think many people think about that when they think about the waterfront,” says Banfield. “Storm watching is really entertaining to see, just watching how strong the water is and what it can do.” Below the upper deck, a flagstone patio off the principal bedroom offers a second sheltered spot to take in the shoreline.

For Balfour, it’s that balance that makes the home feel right year-round. “The home is very cosy, even on the deck,” she says. “It’s fun to watch the stormy weather. The summer is amazing and outdoor living at its best.”

Architectural design, interior design and furniture selection: Jamie Banfield Design Inc.

Builder/Contractor: Top of the Line Contracting

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