Decluttering is a hassle because clutter is such a burden, says The Humbled Homemaker, but it’s the first thing you should do when launching your spring cleaning. Use the “keep, donate, trash” system as you tackle each room of the home, and set aside boxes and bags of extra stuff you’d like to donate with a convenient pickup from ClothingDonations.org and get rid of that clutter out of the house once and for all. Before you put the “keepers” back in their proper places, however, remember to wipe down that shelf or drawer, and you’ll have a good start on a general deep-cleaning.
Tag: spring cleaning
Take Your Spring Cleaning From the Top
The last thing you want to do when the weather gets nice again (and it will) is waste time indoors. That’s why you should start spring cleaning now, while you won’t be tempted to do something more fun or immediately gratifying. Start with a few simple tasks that you don’t do every week, such as cleaning out a closet. Or pick the most remote room in your home to start the deep-clean and work inward, the New York Times suggests. And when dusting or washing surfaces, always start at the top of a given room and work downward to get a gravity assist.
Use Winter’s Indoor Time to Start Spring Cleaning
Much of the nation has been snowed in for the first half of the month, but that’s no reason to avoid the inevitable spring cleaning. In fact, if you take advantage of that “indoor” time to declutter, you’ll get a jump on the season. “There is no reason to start deep-cleaning if you are surrounded by clutter,” says The Simply Organized Home. “There is no point in cleaning things that you don’t need, use, or love.” Sort that extra stuff into boxes and bags for ClothingDonations.org to pick up, and you’ll clean a clutter-free environment when the time comes.
Is It Already Too Late to Spring-Clean?
Can you believe that spring started only a couple of months ago? Back then, it seemed like there was all kinds of time to sort through the junk and spring-clean the house, but with Mother’s Day over, summer will be here before you know it. And with Memorial Day just around the corner as the “official” start of summer, there isn’t much time left to accomplish important tasks like these.
But there’s really no bad time to spring-clean. For example, SpringCleaning365.com suggests that you dedicate just five to 15 minutes per day, every day of the year, to specific cleaning and organizing tasks; by the end of the year, your life will be less cluttered and less stressful. For May, the blog suggests (among other things) dedicating an entire week to a master closet purge and a thorough cleanup of digital photos.
While digital photos can undoubtedly benefit from better organization, that closet purge will be good for more than your own mental health and well-being. After you set the winter clothing aside for storage, donate the extra garments you no longer need to ClothingDonations.org, which will distribute them to local resale stores and dedicate the proceeds to veterans’ programs.
Cosmopolitan offers a complete how-to on performing a closet purge. It says to get rid of “clone” clothing (stuff that you have multiple other and better versions of), as well as the things you bought but never wore. Also get rid of “other you” clothing, the magazine says—things you last wore years ago, when you were skinnier/heavier/younger/trendier than you are right now.
You will find “junk” during a closet purge—stuff that’s too tattered or stained to pass along to friends, relatives or ClothingDonations.org. Donate these items—at least the softer, more absorbent ones—to the rag bag. That way, they can help you with the next step in your spring-cleaning regimen: wiping down and scouring the various parts of your home that tend to collect dirt and grime.
No matter what the calendar says, it’s never too late to declutter and spring-clean!
Easy Plantings for the Patio
Your backyard or patio can be a great place to relax and entertain in the warmer months with a few well-placed plantings, a little bit of mood lighting, and a comfortable place to sit. You don’t have to have a green thumb to grow many climbing vines and hardy plants such as Russian sage, according to LoveYourLandscape.org; you can even use some of the junk you clear out of your closets while spring cleaning creatively as planters and outdoor accents.