Tag Archives: Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning Inspiration

Spring is here! Longer days, better weather, flowers in bloom. It is definitely my favorite season.

For some reason springtime is also synonymous with Spring Cleaning and that, in turn, leads to organizing. It’s the time of year that inspires us to purge and organize. So, let’s get to it!

While it may not sound like or actually be fun, we all need to do some Spring Cleaning from time to time and, IMO, not only in Spring. I think each new season is a good time to purge and tidy up a little. It’s a chance to get rid of things that are ripped, soiled, broken, missing a piece, no longer fits or no longer feels or looks good. A little purging and tidying up can go a long way toward eliminating clutter and the results are well worth the effort.

When it comes to purging and/or de-cluttering you can do it as you go about your life, which will help keep things organized. OR, you can do it later when the piles are high, things are out-of-control or you can’t find what you want or need. But why wait until that happens? Why not just make organizing a part of your daily routine. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Just a few minutes each day. Why not just try doing things differently for one month to see how it works out?

As we’ve all heard… “The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result”. Why not stop the insanity and try selecting one area, one small area, that needs to be organized? Take a few minutes (since it’s a small area) and organize it.

I suggest that you do whatever you can, when you can. Organizing isn’t just something that happens once. It’s always work in progress. Take a few minutes every day to stay on top of things. Open the mail, clean the dishes or put them in the dishwasher, do a load of laundry and then take the time to fold it and put it away. Whatever you choose, just do something around the house every day so things don’t build up and get out of control.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. We all have choices about how to spend that time. Spending just a few minutes every day to get something done, anything, will help you get organized and stay organized.

“They” say that clutter is caused by delayed decisions and not having a designated place for something. If it’s not dealt with, it will undoubtedly continue to grow over time and get out-of-control, adding more stress and distraction to our already busy lives.

NOTE: Rule of Thumb: If you take something out, put it away when you’re finished. Put it, whatever “it” is, where it belongs.

Here are some hard and fast rules for organizing just about anything:

• Get your supplies – Bags for trash, bins for laundry, boxes for donations, new hangers so that things look cohesive, labels so you can find things easily
• Take everything out of whatever area you are working on
• Sort things into categories – Put like items with like items
• Get rid of the trash
• Make a pile of donations if applicable
• Decide what to put back
• Put things back so that they are accessible
• Label whenever possible

Even if we get close or succeed in achieving our organizing goal, perfect order is never a finish line. It’s a moving target because life isn’t static. That’s why we have to maintain whatever systems we put into place to sustain them. I can assure you that you will be more inclined to maintain the area you organized because you’ve put in the time and effort. Because it will look good, feel good and will undoubtedly make your life easier.

Come on…Just do it! If you need help, we’re ready! It’s what we do. Call us anytime.

10 Ideas to Take Spring Cleaning to the Next Level

It might be a little early to talk about Spring Cleaning but its finally getting warmer, the rain is letting up and it’s been on my mind. So, I thought I’d provide a different take on Spring Cleaning. Instead of giving you tips and tricks on how to go about your Spring Cleaning rituals, I want to talk about the things that never seem to come up when we get ready to tackle our Spring Cleaning chores. For example, most articles talk about switching out winter clothes for spring and summer clothing, house cleaning from dusting to window washing to carpet cleaning. But what about all the other things like:
1. Cleaning and/or replacing make-up brushes or hairbrushes.
2. Cleaning out the junk drawer or any drawer for that matter.
3. Instead of just switching out winter clothes for Spring, what about going through & getting rid of the clothes you didn’t wear this winter before storing them away.
4. How about going through the cabinets & closets throughout the house. I don’t mean all at once but, every so often it’s a good thing to go through these areas to determine what to keep, what to donate and what to toss. Break it down & do one cabinet or one closet at a time until you’ve gone through them all. It will take time but there’s no rush. Afterall Spring is still a couple of months away.
5. When was the last time you looked at the stacks of magazines that seem to pile up around the house in different areas (think bathroom)? Do a sweep of the house & get rid of any magazines that are older than 3 months. The only exception is if you or a loved one are in that magazine.
6. Have you looked at the kitchen counter lately? Are there appliances or other random items that are there just because they’ve been there and not necessarily because anyone is using them. Take anything off the counter that really doesn’t need to be out. Put it away or give it away if you don’t need it or want it any longer.
7. Medicine cabinets don’t get much love either. Take a few minutes & throw away the old razers, expired medications & make-up that you haven’t used in several months. After you make some room you can put away the other things that have been on the counter because there was no room in the medicine cabinet.
8. Book shelves. Look closely & see how many objects, other than books, are on the shelves. Oftentimes there are so many other objects that you can’t even get to a book without having to move the other items (ie, photographs & small objects that you didn’t know what to do with so you just put them on the shelf). Wouldn’t it be great if you could just pull out a book that you want to read without having to move everything over to get to it? Move 90% of anything that is not a book off the book shelf. Keep a photo or a chotschke or two but move the rest out of the way so that you can actually see the books. Find other more appropriate homes for those items that don’t belong on the book shelf.
9. Wires and cables and chargers Oh My! I see it all of the time. A box or bag or drawer full of wires and cables and chargers that nobody seems to need. You’re probably saving them “just in case” but mostly they are for items that you no longer have. If you had the item you would undoubtedly need the wire that came with it for one reason or another. Soooo, if you haven’t needed it for a few months chances are you won’t ever need it. At the very least, go through them and sort and purge in the process.
10. Finally, get rid of anything that “you’ve been meaning to fix or mend” and just haven’t gotten to it. The broken piece of ceramic from your favorite mug, the ripped article of clothing, the handbag with the missing shoulder strap. I’m sure your intentions were good but, if it’s been sitting around waiting to be fixed for a few months, perhaps its time to let it go.

To be clear, I’m not saying that the above should take the place of Spring Cleaning. I’m just suggesting that there are other things and places around your home that need attention too.

I’d love to hear from you if you thought this was helpful. If not, I’d still like to know.