Time to Spring Clean
Written by Adrienne Harris
The weather has turned nice and the days are warming up. Do you still have your winter boots, coats and hats still in that entry way closet? If you do well it’s time to Spring Clean!
Spring Cleaning can be a daunting and time consuming task, but after it’s done you will feel so free of your stuff it will something you take on seasonally. Being in the industry of sorting, packing to move and helping people let go of their stuff I have devised a system that will help you not only sort through your things but will help you let go of them as well.
First thing first, set some time a side and walk through your space. Decide the areas you want to go through, make a list and commit to going through those spaces. It may be one closet or it may be every room in your house, it’s all doable with a strategy. Now you know the areas you want to address it’s time to strategise around how your going to tackle these areas.
1) Make time in your schedule. Start off by blocking one hour to work on a space, if you finish early then great, if you need to extend your time then you need to rebook another hour.
2) Pull everything out of the area you want to address. If you are limited for space, then take out half of the items, or break it into sections. For example if you are working in a room, you can start with the bedside tables, or a dresser rather than everything at once.
3) Sort things into 3 categories, Keep, Donate, and Purge. I don’t have a “maybe” pile because if it’s a “maybe” then it’s a keep.
4) Time to sort. Did you wear or use the item is past season (Fall/Winter)? For example if it’s a flash light, do you use it, does it need new batteries and is it a necessity. If the answer is “yes” then is that were the item lives? Everything needs a home so it can be found easily when needed.
5) Only items you are keeping go back into the space. Grouping like things together will make it easier to find when you need something.
6) If you are going to keep something, here are some HARD questions for you to ask yourself.
• Does it fit into your life?
• Does it have a purpose?
• If it doesn’t then why do you keep it?
• If it has sentimental value, what does it bring into your life?
If it’s not something you can let go of, put it in a box and make a mental note about that item. Next time you sort through that space and you come upon that item and you haven’t used it since, it’s time to let go and pass it on to someone else who could use it.
7) When you are going to donate something there are places in your community that take certain things (ask me for a list). By making sure those items get out of your space and into the trunk of your car to drop off, you will easily detach yourself from those items.
8) And lastly when you are purging items, place make sure all items are dealt with in a responsible manner. What I mean is recycle old electronics, separate out your cardboard from your garbage and take it to the proper facility, if we can all do our part the earth will be better off.
Spring cleaning should be fun and not overwhelming, by strategizing around the task it should make the process that much easier. If you have lots of stuff maybe the help of a professional can help get you started.
