"Spring" Cleaning, Part II

Here is Part II of “Spring” Cleaning.  De-cluttering at its best!  There are so many people out there that could use what you have that you don’t need, so it’s time to give back and donate unused/unwanted items that aren’t trashy.  When you go through each room in your house, you really need to have the mindset of a “minimalist”.  You can easily narrow things down by categories.  Here are some examples you could use:

• What do you use EVERY DAY? (Keep in the front or in a reachable area.)
• What do you use EVERY WEEK? EVERY MONTH? (Keep towards the middle and back, or in hard to reach areas.)
• What do you only use on SPECIAL OCCASIONS? (Store these things.)
• Is this item a KEEPSAKE? (Store these things.)
• Can you live without it? (If no, fit it into one of the categories above.  If yes, get rid of it.)

*Excellent Bathroom Organization from www.designsponge.com*

Room by Room “Spring” Cleaning Tips:
1.       Closet:
a.       Refer to Rule #2 listed in Part I.

Don’t buy more hangers.  If you find yourself hunting for a hanger, you can easily find it by taking another article of clothing off of one.  Before you buy new clothes, go through your closet to free up space. (the Guru taught me that one too)

b.      Try on all your clothes and shoes.  If they don’t fit, give it up.  None of this “I’m saving it for when I get skinny again.” When you do reach your goals, you’ll have room in your closet for NEW clothes!
c.       If your stuff has holes, severely worn, stained, scruffed, etc., get rid of it.  You shouldn’t be seen out in public in any of the above.  No, you won’t wear it to work out in or do yard work in. 
d.      Categorize! Categorize! Categorize! Separate your t-shirts, sweaters, pants, jeans, sleeveless tops, dressy tops, under shirts, etc.  It helps to see what you have an overabundance of and what you may need to get.
e.      The only things that should go in your bedroom closet are clothing items and/or things that hold clothing/personal items (suitcases, purses, etc.) Nothing else.  Not even bed sheets and blankets. **Obviously, if you are short on storage space because you live in a loft or something, then disregard.**
f.        All of your closets should have a purpose and only contain 1-3 categories. For example, your entryway closet may house coats and jackets, outside gear (umbrellas, mittens, etc.) and board games.  Linen closet could be sheets, towels, bathroom stuff, and household extras (paper towels, toilet paper, light bulbs, etc.)
g.       WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum, sanitize, and throw away trash. Put donations in your car to drop off later.

2.       Bedroom
a.       Most common clutter space is the bedside table.  Again, you should not have a “junk” drawer. 
b.      Limit your reading material.  Let’s be honest…you’re not going to read 20 books and magazines right before you sleep.  One or two is fine, but put the rest back on the bookshelves.
c.       Whatever is in your nightstand drawers should be used for…well, nighttime. 
d.      PILLOWS!! If you like to make your bed, then decorative pillows are great.  If you don’t, then get rid of them.  You still should make your bed, but you may not need the fluff.
e.      WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum, sanitize, and throw away trash. Put donations in your car to drop off later.

3.       Office Space
a.       2 words: FILES and ORGANIZERS

• If you don’t have a filing cabinet, get one.  It will make your life so much simpler and easier if you can locate, say, your son’s social security card FILE.  It’s harder to find important things if it’s lumped together in a stack. 
• Everything should have a space.  ORGANIZERS are cheap and can be found anywhere. 

b.      Go through every stack of paper you have and eliminate the trash.  Simple as that.  For example, why are you hanging on to the envelope the bill came in?  Throw it away and FILE the important stuff. 
c.       Test all of your writing tools and discard the unusable ones.  Pens, markers, and highlighters dry out over time.
d.      WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum, sanitize, and throw away trash.

4.       Living and Dining
a.       Its not a daycare! If your living and/or dining room has so many toys and kid’s stuff it looks like a daycare, start purging!

• Think: What do your kids use on a DAILY basis? Whatever does not fit that category, donate it.  (tip: you may not want to do this when the kids are home…unless you like fits of rage.)
• NOTE: THIS APPLIES TO KIDS ROOMS AS WELL!

b.      Go through all your DVD’s and Blue Ray’s, keep the ones you love, donate the rest.

• Space Saver Tip: It might be good to consolidate and put all the disks in a binder. 

c.       WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum (curtains, cushions, pillow, floors, etc), sanitize, and throw away trash. Put donations in your car to drop off later.

5.       Kitchen
a.       Get rid of surplus.  Look through your dishes, mugs, cups, etc. If things fall out of the cabinet every time you open it, then either throw them away (if they are totally unusable) or donate.  YOU DO NOT NEED 50 coffee mugs, any number of restaurant carry-out cups, 10 spatulas, etc. 

• Think: What do you use on a WEEKLY basis.  Keep those and donate the rest.

b.      If you host large parties, then put what you would use for parties (extra cups, etc.) in a box and store for those occasions.
c.     WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum (curtains, cushions, pillow, floors, etc), sanitize, and throw away trash. Put donations in your car to drop off later.

6.       Bathroom
a.       Use Rule #1 from Part I:

If you haven’t used it in one year, get rid of it.

b.      If you have crazy amounts of hair product, lotions, make-up, etc. then narrow it down to 2 occasions: Every Day Wear and Special Occasions.  If it doesn’t fit those categories, or if it still has a label from 1970, chuck it. 

• Example: I have Every Day make-up and then I have Special Occasion make-up.  Same applies to hair product. 

c.       ORGANIZE! Get some cheap organizers for your drawers and cabinets.  Again, everything needs a home so you can find it when you need it.
d.       WHEN FINISHED: Dust, vacuum (curtains, cushions, pillow, floors, etc), sanitize, and throw away trash. Put donations in your car to drop off later.

What do you think?
I am open to suggestions! What has worked for you in de-cluttering your home?? Give some of your tips in the comments below.