Spring Cleaning Fling

Author: Alyice Edrich

“If you have items sitting around that do nothing to enhance your home or enrich your life, then give yourself permission to let go of them,” says Kathryn Porter, author of Too Much Stuff. “An invisible weight begins to fall as we free ourselves from the hold of material things…creating a clarity in thinking that allows us to discover—or re-discover—our passions and purpose in life.”

As spring approaches, let’s take Kathryn’s words to heart and release ourselves from the bondage of clutter and mess. Let’s make room in our lives for more important things: spending the sparse moments of time we have left in each day with our children, our spouses, and our friends.

How do we do that you ask?

We start with the age old ritual of spring cleaning…

The first step in any spring cleaning ritual is to remove the clutter that has plagued us over the past year: throwing away old magazines after tearing out the one article we kept the magazine for in the first place, filing away the stacks of papers collecting dust on our desks, and clearing out drawers that have become the “catch all” hide-a-ways.

The second step is to actually clean the year’s worth of dust that’s collected over the long winter months, remove the dirt from our carpets, and breathe new life into our homes.

And to get started, all you have to do is follow our tips.

When clearing the clutter from your house, sort your belongings into three categories: keep, get rid of, and trash.

Your “keep pile” should be items that hold special memories, are used throughout the year but not on a daily basis, and are in good condition.
Your “get rid of pile” should be items that are still useable by another human being.

This pile should contain items you have no intentions of ever using again, have more than one of, hold bad memories, or you never really liked in the first place.

If an item held a special memory at one time but no longer has a place in your life, take a picture of it. Don’t keep something simply because you cannot part with the memory. There are many ways to savor memories including the start of a memory journal. In your memory journal, write about the memories that item holds: when you got it, why you got it, who gave it to you, how it made you felt, why you’ve kept it all these years, and why you’re now ready to release it into the world. Then paste a picture next to the journal entry.

If an item holds a bad memory, but you can’t part with it because of the price tag associated with it, sell it. There are many avenues for selling your items: eBay, a local pawn shop, an ad in the local paper, or a garage sale.
Your trash pile should be anything that cannot be donated. Remember, donating saves our environment and helps worthy causes.

Once your home has been de-cluttered, it’s time to clean out those dust bunnies and make it sparkle and shine.

The first step in spring cleaning involves making a list.

Having a list to check off as you complete a task will make the task appear less daunting, give you a sense of accomplishment, and help make sure that you didn’t forget something.

Things to put down on your list are: dust ceiling fans, dust light fixtures, dust wall corners, dust window ceils, dust furniture, dust knick knacks, clean windows and picture frames, wax or oil furniture, dust computers, dust dryer vents, clean out refrigerator, clean out freezer, move furniture, vacuum rugs, steam clean rugs, sweep floors, mop floors, wash down kitchen cabinets, clean toilets, get hair out of drains, wash bath tubs, etc.
The second step in spring cleaning involves shopping for supplies.

Go through your cleaning cabinet to make sure you have everything you need to clean: rags, soap scum remover, rust remover, wax, dusters, vacuum bags, etc.

If your shower curtain is broken, this is a good time to get a new one. If you’ve run out of light bulbs or batteries for your smoke alarms, put them on your list.
The third step is to enlist the help of everyone in the house.

Sit down with everyone in the family to determine the best day to tackle spring cleaning. If your family works together, you can complete your spring cleaning ritual in less than 8 hours! And while you’re at it, talk about who is going to do what, when and how.
The fourth step involves tackling the mess.

While it will be tempting to start cleaning at eye level, you’ll only be making more work for yourself later. Start at the top (ceilings) and work your way down (floors).

If you come across items that have no home, place them in a box marked, “lost items”. You can always sort through that box, together, when the spring cleaning fling is done.
The fifth step involves ordering in!

As much as you’d like to save money, you’re going to be too exhausted to cook dinner and taking time out to make sandwiches will only cause you to lose your momentum. So eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast, order pizza for lunch, and call out for Chinese for dinner.

And if you’re really rambunctious, you can always plan another day to rearrange the furniture and paint the walls.

Happy cleaning!