One strategy to add to the #KonMari #organizing toolkit is the capsule wardrobe, says Classy Glam Living. The concept is to build a foundational wardrobe for each season out of just a few essential, high-quality items that you love — those that “spark joy” — and build upon it with accent colors and textures. Once you decide which garments make up your capsule wardrobe, can get rid of almost everything else — #streamlining your style, #decluttering your #closets and even making it simpler to get dressed for the day. Bonus: You can always #donate the many #castoffs to ClothingDonations.org.
Tag: clothing donations
Get a Headstart on Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning is a tradition that’s likely as old as civilization itself. Certain cultures even incorporate spring cleaning into their religious practices, but the imperative is more likely a byproduct of brighter days and warmer weather. People naturally want to shake off the cold, dark days of winter and make a fresh start.
You don’t have to wait unit March 20 to begin a thorough spring cleaning, however. In fact, with unusually warm months ahead predicted for much of the U.S., it may feel like spring in your area sooner — and that means you can take advantage of the weather to make everything spotless.
The Simply Organized Home suggests starting spring cleaning in February — that’s now — with a thorough #decluttering. “There is no reason to start deep-cleaning if you are surrounded by clutter,” it says. “There is no point in cleaning things that you don’t need, use or love.”
Go through the house room by room and get rid of the things that are just taking up space — clothing you don’t want or need, small appliances you don’t use, knickknacks that hold no real sentimental value. Box and bag your lightly used castoffs and visit ClothingDonations.org to schedule a free #donation #pickup.
With that #junk out of the way, you can start #deep-cleaning. Take a single room and dust, vacuum and clean everything in it, from the window treatments to the windows to the linens to the baseboards to the floors. Proceed to the next room (not necessarily on the same day) until everything is clean.
Alternatively, Apartment Therapy has a single-day spring cleaning plan that refreshes bedding and household fabrics while also sanitizing windows, woodwork and other seldom-scrubbed parts of the home that may have accumulated dirt and grime over the winter.
Spring cleaning is a once-a-year opportunity to freshen your space and make it more livable. But you don’t have to wait — start it now, and you’ll be in a great position to fling open your windows and enjoy the gentle breezes.
Start Small With a Winter Deep-Clean
With a winter storm blanketing much of the United States with snow, it’s unlikely that legendary groundhog Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow tomorrow morning. To cope with another six weeks of winter gloom, try doing a thorough #deep-cleaning of your home. Start small, says My Creative Days. Pick a single drawer, closet or room, and #purge it of accumulated #junk. Keep an empty box nearby for anything you find to #donate to ClothingDonations.org, and call for a #donation #pickup as soon as you fill a few boxes or bags. Then #deep-clean the area and #organize the stuff that goes back in it.
Binge-Watch These Shows to Cut the Clutter
If you’re anything like The Organizing Blog staff, you’re probably spending lots of time indoors this month to avoid exposure to the coronavirus and the frigid temperatures. That likely means you’re doing lots of binge-watching of broadcast and subscription TV.
It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic emerged, however, and your surroundings may have gotten a bit #cluttered with all of that at-home time. What if there were a way to binge-watch and learn how to #streamline your space at the same time?
Good news! There are multiple programs that will help put you on a more #minimalist path. Watch them, then get off the couch and practice what they preach to cut the #clutter in your home.
First up is maybe the biggest #decluttering show of all time, Netflix’ Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Since the show’s premiere in 2019, the organization expert has helped people organize their lives to “spark joy” starting with their sock drawers.
HGTV’s Hot Mess House offers harried homeowners a video one-on-one with organizing expert Cassandra Aarssen to help them figure out their organizing style. They (and viewers) then can take her tailor-made tips to make their homes happy and clutter-free.
Nashville-based organizers Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin offer a glimpse into their celebrity clients’ lives in Get Organized With the Home Edit while offering useful tips for the more quotidian declutterer-to-be, targeting specific stresses and decorating styles.
Finally, no #organization playlist would be complete without A&E’s long-running Hoarders. Offering sobering cautionary tales of what can happen when people allow their #stuff to run amok, the show will have you cleaning out your closets in no time.
Binge-watch a few episodes of the above shows; before you know it, you’ll be inspired to tackle the clutter in your home. And be sure to schedule a #pickup with ClothingDonations.org to #donate any of your lightly used, unwanted #junk to a good cause. Happy #decluttering!
Resolve to Cut the Clutter Consistently
As the new year begins, many among us will take a hard look at our lives and lifestyles, making resolutions to lose weight, cut the #clutter and so on. The trouble is that sudden, sweeping moves don’t pay off as often as gradual and consistent efforts. To ensure your #decluttering effort succeeds, set more reasonable goals, says the Economic Times. If you can’t clean a whole closet at once, start with a single shelf. Or take 10 minutes each day to sort through a box or drawer, keeping a bin handy for those things you no longer want but can #donate to ClothingDonations.org.
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