Spring Cleaning

Other than cozy sweaters and the crisp air that comes with Fall, my favorite season is definitely Spring. There are so many possibilities that come with opening up your windows after months of cold temperatures - letting fresh, warm air in and freeing up your space, as well as your mind. 

For most people, when they think of Professional Organizing, they think expensive systems and major changes, but the truth is that organizing can be as simple as adding a $10 shelf, a $4 tote and creating a home for everything in a cabinet. You don't have to purchase specific under-the-sink organizers though many can be found for $20 - $30. It's more about "the shift" instead of an overhaul. Let's combine three bags of dishwasher pods into one single bag and throw out powders that have hardened because they're never used. Old sponges that find their way to the back of the cabinet can be tossed and a new pack of them are now in a see-through container OR in a hanging organizer off of the door. Do you have a sponge holder with suction cups INSIDE your sink so that it doesn't sit in greasy water while your frying pan soaks? Do you have a cleaning bucket or caddy for items that you carry around the house like wood and window cleaners... paper towels... microfiber cloths?

Life doesn't have to be as hard as we make it. You'll hear me say this over and over if you follow my blog or even work with me down the road: WE ALL HAVE WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. It's true. It's true, whether you like it or not. Why do you have twenty cleaners when 90% of surfaces can be cleaned with FIVE types of cleaners or less? Maybe you realize this or maybe you don't. Honestly. Some people were never TAUGHT how to clean growing up. Did Mom (or Dad or older sibling) always do your laundry or wash your dishes? Did he or she swoop in on a Saturday morning and change your sheets, make your bed or put your folded clothes in the drawer? There's nothing wrong with this, by the way. It's an expression of love. Who really wants to clean a toilet or wipe down baseboards? I enjoy cleaning my home and I actually find purpose in helping take the load off of families who want to spend more time with their spouses and children. But just like knowing how to "carry the one" on a scratch piece of paper comes in handy if you don't have a calculator, it's also beneficial to know how to clean, know how to organize and know what products are truly necessary to renew every surface of your home. Because you may not always have a housekeeper or family member around to save you.

Just as Spring brings nature back to life, I suggest taking the time to pull items out of the Attic, Basement and Storage Unit to reflect on what they bring to your life and decide the following:

• Do I really need this? Have I used it in the past year - past two holiday seasons? Is someone else looking for this in a store and it's no longer available? Why am I hoarding this (and yes, there's hoarding on ALL levels)? 
• Am I truly taking care of this? EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM... We own has to be maintained. If you have a collection of any kind, are you keeping the items dusted, waxed, oiled? Are they properly displayed or just shoved in a box to be thrown around and broken? Is the cost of properly caring for it a one-time purchase of $10, $20 or even $30? Ornament boxes really aren't that expensive, but they make a world of difference for the ornament that can't be replaced - the one that your 5-year-old made in Kindergarten. 
• When I look at this item or this space, what do I feel? Like immediately? Do I get a lump in my throat? Do I feel frustrated? Did you ask your spouse 6 weeks ago to take the items to donate and here you are still tripping over them? Call someone to take it. It doesn't even have to be me. Call the CLOSEST church to you and say, "Hey, I have six totes here that I need out. TODAY. Do you have someone that can come down and pick them up? There are a few shirts, blankets and towels in them and you can have them, and whatever else is in there, for free." As you see that person load the stuff into the car and hear them say how ALL of those items will really help the church distribute to people who've been waiting for such items, but didn't have the budget to purchase them, it'll make you feel better. I promise. 
• Are these items worth wasting a FULL Saturday to hold a garage or yard sale to get rid of them? I'm not saying Estate Sales don't pull in higher amounts because often times, they do. Furniture sells. Artwork sells. Antiques sell. Appliances sell. Holding a sale for an entire household is different because not only are you making money on those items, people are paying YOU to haul these items off. What I'm talking about is the one-off items you've found around the house over the course of one to two weeks that you just can't part with unless someone "buys" it from you. We've all been there. We have a sweater that we loved at the time we bought it. We paid $100 for it, we paid to dry clean it. It was a "splurge" purchase for us. We loved it. We wore it out. Maybe it shrunk or maybe it was just a little too scratchy. "But I paid $100 for it!" Sweetie, no one cares. And this isn't me being harsh. I'm being realistic. And that sweater in a garage sale? It's going to bring you $10 MAX. That's only if someone is a fan of the brand or likes the color or just hasn't found anything like it and even then, they'll be able to walk away from it if they offer you $8 to get a deal and you don't take it. So you list your garage sale as starting at 8am. No matter what you tell them, people WILL show up at 7am and linger in your driveway. They'll knock on the door. They'll peer in your windows. You'll resentfully open the garage door at 7:30am just to get them in and out. They'll peruse your stuff, low ball you on whatever price you put on the ONE item that gets their attention then all leave by 7:40am. THEN... No one else will come until 10am. You've sat there in a folding chair with cold coffee, staring at all the stuff that's brought you distress over the years, waiting for someone to come and save you from it and they won't. Sure, around noon, five people will come all at once and a neighbor will stop by to see how you organize your garage because they've always wanted to know, but only $15 will end up in your pocket and Betty from next door won't leave. Now you're hungry. You yell into a family member to bring you a sandwich and your 9-year-old brings you mustard on a piece of oddly moist bread. (Did they prepare it on a plate or in a random puddle of who-knows-what on the kitchen counter?) You stand up and stretch. One more person comes by and asks for directions. Someone else spends $5. You start moving tables closer to the street and put up a sign that says NOW FREE and hope a car comes by and just takes it. You see people out walking, jogging, bike riding, enjoying their lives. You wonder where the day went. You decide to close up early. You pull everything back in, fold up your tables and count your money. You made $30 in 8 hours and your garage is still full. You're still frustrated. You're hungry and your eye is twitching. You walk in your house and not only is it still dirty from the week, but all of your family members destroyed it making box and pillow forts while you were preoccupied in your dusty garage. The point - and I know this was a long one - is how much time is your stuff costing you? How many Saturdays do you spend trying to correct the spending mistakes you've made? And we all make mistakes. That's what a splurge is that we no longer want and no longer have the receipt for to return it. It's a mistake and we all make them. Sometimes it's easier to load up the SUV with $500 (retail price - what we paid for them) worth of mistakes, drive it 10 min down the street, drop it all off and walk away. It's 1 hour of your time and you now have a clean slate. You'll feel so free that not only will you be more careful when you go shopping, you'll probably go back in to your home and look for MORE things to donate. It's hard for some people to wrap their mind around, but after you do it once, you'll never look at garage sales the same. 
• Finally, was this a gift? If so, and it's not my style, my interest, my size... It has to go. Period. A gift is all about the act. So many people worry about hurting someone's feelings if they get rid of something that person bought them. Free yourself. Don't hold onto it for months thinking that if the person asks about it, you'll at least be able show them you still have it. No, the very next day, put it in a pile to sell online, re-gift to another friend or donate. If your friend asks you how you like the pants that were fuchsia and two sizes too small, just say, "You know, it was so nice of you to give them to me, but they didn't fit so I gave them to my cousin, Ann, who was REALLY excited to take them." Done. Conversation is over. If that person seems upset or they try to guilt-trip you into feeling bad, that's on them. That has NOTHING to do with you or what you did. You made a very kind choice. You took at item that would have otherwise wilted, molded, faded in your guest closet and passed it on to someone who will actually wear it and give it the care it needs. Don't feel bad about SAYING NO to preserve your own sanity. The more you scan your space and train your mind to notice what's out of place with what your current interests, values and goals are, it'll be so much easier to let go. Do it every day - or every weekend day - until you can look at every room in your house and say, "I'm in love with everything I have and I pledge to take care of it."

So when you think about Spring Cleaning, don't just think about your stuff, think about space itself. Think about your physical space, but also your mental space. Do you need five shampoos for two people just because they were on sale? Do you need twenty pairs of dress pants when your office is business casual and you usually end up wearing jeans with a dress shirt anyway? 

The next time you have twenty minutes to yourself, sit down with a notebook and write down your dream life in less than ten bullet points. Then look up at your current space. If you want to buy an RV and travel around the country, but you don't have the money, can you sell pieces of furniture from every room, downsize to a condo and buy that RV? Do you dream of creating a sewing room for yourself, but can't part with your college student's childhood room? There are climate-controlled storage units for keepsake items. Move her stuff or ask her if she wants any of it. I know when I came back from college, anything that was still there wasn't important enough to take to college with me. I knew my Mom cared about my trophies more than I did. It never hurts to ask. Don't just assume that your twenty-year-old wants to come back and sleep with her elementary school stuffed animals. Having a ten minute conversation with her can clear up a 10x10' space in a day. Then you clear off her desk, put your sewing machine on it then slowly get bookshelves and baskets to build that magazine-worthy craft room. It happens a little over time. Baby steps. 

I know my first post may seem long-winded, but I'm just getting started. I have sooo much to talk about with you all. (Yes, I lived in the south for over a decade, but no, I won't say ya'll. lol) I know a lot of you can really do a lot with your own spaces if you just have the right guidance. Others really need someone to come in and help them. There will always be those people. If you're one of them, DO NOT feel bad. Cleaning and/or Organizing is just not in your wheelhouse. There's nothing wrong with that. Ask for help. I can help you. Sometimes just a second set of eyes - a sister, son, friend - can see something you don't see. Dream big; start small. Once the ball starts rolling, anything can happen.

Now it's May. (Where did the time go?) Where do you want to be by June? What can you do this weekend to lighten your load? Start small. Open the cabinet under the kitchen sink and throw away at least THREE things, even if it's three sponges. If you don't have one single organizing item - a tote, shelf or basket - go to the "dollar place" and get something, anything. If it's doesn't work under your sink when you get home, take it to another room and find a home for it in a drawer or closet. Bringing organizational items into your home is OK. If you never find a home for them, donate or return them and pick out something different. You got this. 

Open your windows, take a few things out the front door and out of your life. Take a deep breath and get some fresh air. Enjoy all that Spring has to offer and embrace "the shift." Your best life is in front of you.