Spring into Action
Some of you may have already completed your spring cleaning, and some of you may have been putting it off. If you identify with the latter, here are some tips to make the process more efficient:
Use the “divide and conquer” approach – Cleaning and organizing can be daunting if you only look at the big picture. It’s best to create achievable goals so that it’ll be gratifying rather than discouraging. Pick a room or a section of a room, like your closet (for example), and once you have your closet in order, move to another room or section of a room. This way you’ll see the progress in a sweeping fashion, and one section of your home will be optimally organized, instead of having your entire home half-heartedly organized.
Don’t be a hoarder – Many of us have some hoarding tendencies. You hold onto something because you think you may need it someday, or you plan to fit into it again, or you’re hoping it’ll come back in style. I like to follow the rule that if you haven’t used it in a year, chances are it’s just taking up valuable space.
SEGMENT – Put everything in an easily accessible and logically segmented space. I had ample storage space, but my place was still in disarray. I realized it was because I didn’t have enough compartments, bins, boxes, or storage solutions to make things easy. For example, instead of having a bookshelf I had books piled up in a stack from biggest to smallest. The problem is that keeping things organized in this fashion takes more work than necessary. If you have kids, don’t make it harder on them by using this kind of methodology. Give them a bookshelf, and a few bins for them to dump all their toys in. It’ll make cleaning less complicated, simpler, and therefore less off-putting.
Bonus tips: What can I do with all my discarded items?
Donate it to a local charity – The Salvation Army and Value Village both take more than just clothes. However, there are social impacts that come with this option. Sometimes the unsold items can end up in developing nations and impact local manufacturing. If you like to be socially conscious there are other options.
Join a local “swapping” or “bartering” group on Facebook – There are many local groups for different areas, in addition to local “mommy” groups. “Bunz” is a mobile app, that spawned a whole slew of Facebook groups that prides itself on tapping into the “helping” and “bartering” culture.
Repurpose it – You can find so many creative solutions for old t-shirts “ 29 ways to makeover a men’s t-shirt ”. Etsy and Pinterest also have a lot of ideas for crafts, or you can search the web.