Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. At least that is what my calendar says. If you’re watching the weather channel, it might be spring with some snow in the North East. There is nothing we can do about the weather, but what comes inevitably with Spring, is Spring Cleaning. A friend of mine told me that she and her sisters picked up a fierce habit, from their mother, of spring cleaning through every single room and all their belongings. Every year, they now do the same. Spring cleaning scares me a bit. We somehow collect things unintentionally through the year, so a whole house cleaning could be overwhelming.
I have adopted and held on to two philosophies: (1) only buy what you need and not what you want; and (2) if you indulge in what you want, get rid of the duplicates you already have.
Instead of a full house purge, here are a few tips of what I have done in the past, and what I plan to add this year.
Rule #1. Always put on some music first. Queue up your favorite dance tracks, or whatever keeps your inner dancing queen energized!
Rule #2. Keep some fresh lemon water at hand. If you’re low on hydration, you might not be as productive as you’d like. So keep sipping as you go about your efforts – worst case, it’ll keep you moving as you run to the bathroom. J
Rule #3. Possibly the most important rule: have fun and enjoy yourself. De-cluttering our space of material possessions can have a wonderful effect on our outlook.
With these rules in mind, here’s a plan of attack that you can use and customize to your heart’s content:
- Sweaters/dresses: Weed out what you know you didn’t wear this past winter, and what you don’t think you’ll wear this coming summer. I’m sure someone else can benefit from them. Our tastes evolve over time, so we shouldn’t be afraid to get rid of things that are out of synch with who we are now.
- Make-up and nail polish: Last season’s color might not be this one’s, and cosmetics expire much sooner than we are done with them. If you’re not sure, check the expiration – the small icon of a tub with a number in it should give you an idea. For instance, mascaras are only good for 3-4 months!
- Holiday pantry items: If you were like me and bought extra pumpkin, peppermint or molasses to bake for the holidays, it’s time to move on to spring flavors like lemon, raspberry and lavender. If the holiday items have a long shelf life, I’ll be donating my excess to a food pantry.
- Nightstand: This is probably not so specific for spring, but a corner of a drawer in my nightstand is filled with holiday gift receipts, which are definitely no use to anyone. Out they go!
- Books: I love reading and have quite a few books on hand at any given time, depending on how I am feeling. Sometimes they’re just for décor or to match the space’s color scheme (shh!), but this is a good time to start pulling out books and bagging them for donation. Your local library will usually collect books in decent condition to sell during their fundraising events. Or, you can always swap them with friends or family and start your own lending network.
I’m optimistic for a refreshing spring ahead – hope you are too. If you have any other spring cleaning tips that you swear by, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
