Float On

Now that summer has fully arrived, we’ll be beating the heat in the pool much more often.

But with another year gone by, your outdoor areas might need attention, especially when it comes to organizing pool floats, towels, sunscreen and more. We spoke to Blaire Davidson, owner of Neat Method Jupiter who shared some great tips for organizing your pool area so all you have to do this summer is relax. 

Get Hooked

You can stylishly organize your outdoor space by adding some hooks. Davidson explains that it's a chic way to display items without a messy feel. “You can do a wonderful color story on hooks; it doesn’t have to look sloppy.” Color-coordinating display towels or hanging hats and swim toys are other tips she recommends. 

Keep It Simple

This is a cardinal organization rule in general, but it especially applies to outdoor spaces. “The key elements of summer organization are keeping it simple and being willing to declutter and get rid of what’s not working and keep what is,” Davidson says. If the item isn’t serving you, is outdated, outsized, worn out, damaged, broken or uncleanable, it’s time to toss, donate or recycle it. “If that means having three noodles instead of 17, I would recommend it. A couple of pool floats, not a whole bunch. They do get moldy. Down here, if you leave anything outside, I find things get icky pretty quickly, so I always advise clients to be discerning,” she says.

“Bin It to Win It”

This is one of Davidson’s favorite phrases and it definitely applies here. Once you’ve decluttered, use weather-tight bins to keep your remaining items categorized and sorted. “Those things are great to hold cushions for pillows, cushions for outdoor furniture. They’re also great for pool floats and swim toys, life jackets — all that sort of thing,” she says. If you’re looking to go green, you can try a bin in a natural fiber like seagrass, Davidson says, but sometimes containers like these are no match for the South Florida humidity so you may want to opt for rubber bins.