Spring Cleaning? Tips?
From the "do you make your bed every day?" thread, I learned that about 80% of you are way more compulsive about neatness and order than I. And possibly in need of treatment for OCD. (Kidding!)
So I was wondering how many of you do a real Spring cleaning, and what it involves? What do you add to a normal whole-house cleaning - things that need to be done only every so often? And what are those things?
I've just ordered Marie Kondo's decluttering book, and hope to make good use of it too, in the process. Has anyone tried her methods, and is decluttering part of your Spring cleaning- like closets, etc.? Or is this something you do once, or on an ongoing basis?
TIA, I need all the advice I can get.
- Not the best housekeeper
Rebecka usually declutter right after New Year's. I am fairly neat anyway but it is nice to get rid of things that I do not use or need anymore. Spring cleaning for me is just extra good cleaning: windows, moving furniture, Wiping down walls.
Just an FYI Hackettstown Library has a spring decluttering class next Tuesday:
Easy Spring Decluttering
April 4, 2017 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
This event at the Hackettstown Public Library is presented by organizing humorist Jamie Novak. You may have seen her on HGTV or QVC or read one of her bestsellers like her newest book Keep This Toss That! Jamie travels nationally presenting her programs and her tips have appeared in multiple national magazines. With offices in NJ and CA Jamie helps clients on both coasts clear clutter. Contact the library at 908-852-4936 with any questions about this event which is free and open to the public!
happycamper For piles of papers, my motto is pay it, file it, or throw it away.
If it's something I havent used in 5 years, it goes. I am very good at needing that item one month after I've thrown it away :)
For cleaning, take a specified amount of time, say 1 week, and try and go thru one room per day. We've gone so far as having a room dedicated to all the stuff we don't want and when it fills, have a garage sale once a year. You'd be surprised at what people buy. If a garage sale is not feasable, then bring to a consignment store, or donate to Habitat or the like.
3wbdwnj spring what? clothing as the spirit moves me - aka the 2 year rule - If I haven't worn it for 2 years I'll never wear it again - reorganizing closets- as the weather changes -
dusting walls - Never - windows - now and then and that never lasts - the next rainstorm spots them up - I did just go through my file drawers and shredded out of date tax returns etc..............
Clearly I have no advice on the subject - sorry
4catmom 
Botheredbyuu2 I do a lot of spot cleaning so things don't get out of hand. As for my closet my rule is if I buy anything new something has to get tossed/donated/yardsale. This helps keep my closet from getting over crowded
Sunshine We are moving after being in the same house for almost 40 years. I had to declutter before we put the house on the market. 30 bags of junk just from the closets. Haven't even got up in the attic yet. I have come to the conclusion that I am border line hoarder and will never let it get this bad again !!
Mariann If you are local, I actually might be able to help you out. I work WITH people on cleaning, decluttering and organizing. I am NOT a certified professional organizer. Most of the people I have worked with are ADHD/creative sorts that need a personal touch customized to the way they actually live. I'd be happy to meet with you if you wanted. I am by NO means a Martha Stewart. I certainly have my own struggles, and my methods (some of which are very unconventional) are based on YEARS of finding workable solutions for myself and others. Additionally, I am very familiar with the KonMari Method of decluttering. I am usually available between the hours of 10-1 M-F and can give you a free consultation if you'd like.
Antimony I am a senior citizen in my what some people would call their "twilight years.."...I would not consider myself a hoarder but I have plenty of "chotchki" and things in my home that I have collected and like to look at and enjoy each day when I start a new day. My closets are full of clothes that I have not worn in years but I am holding on to them..just in case or for sentimental reasons..! lol! My home is clean and presentable.. I love yard and garage sales and keep collecting more all the time. Spring cleaning tips??? Nah! I just do as much cleaning as I can in my home every day..Spring,Summer, Winter, or Fall... and so far it is always presentable... and if people are not happy with the way I live...Well...I guess they don't have to bother to stop by!!
Joyful Joyful, that is my philosophy also. You know....clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy!! And I agree, you don't like it....don't come!!
Parental Unit Just move. I sold my house after 40 years in it. I started throwing things out for two years before I put in on the market. I took bags to the employers dumpster. Went to a Condo so I was cleaned up pretty nice. I couldn't stand the management and bought a house again. I had to re supply the yard and house needs. 10 years later I had to move again being unable to do the things necessary in home ownership, and moved to an apt. I am finally down to only necessary items and cleaning is much easier. Now no one comes to visit. I have out lived so many of them, but I still clean. You never know.
Old Gent I feel like I am in a constant state of decluttering and cleaning, but with 3 kids, two large dogs and two cats I guess that is to be expected. :-) Even with all my cleaning there always seems to be some amount of clutter, animal hair and muddy paw prints to be mopped up! But I would always rather have a full house than an empty one!!!
Jesse134 We do the following in our house for spring cleaning and everyone in the family helps out.
* Move couches and lighter furniture away from walls and vacuum behind
* Vacuum and wipe down baseboard molding
* Wipe down walls to remove any marks (Magic Eraser if bad, otherwise clorox wipes)
* Dust doors (the little ledges of the door paneling)
* Cobweb patrol/removal
* Clean windows
* Have curtains dry cleaned
* Clean out kitchen pantry and throw away any expired items. Donate anything we don't plan to use
* Wipe down fronts of all kitchen cabinets
We don't have clutter or lots of knick knacks in our house. We donate all throughout the year so its never a big project for us.
Harris Thank you all so much for the replies and tips!
So many things here I can use towards the goal of getting the house into reasonable shape. I really appreciate the help.
I can't believe there is a class coming up at the library for exactly what I need. Thanks for letting me know about that, Happycamper. I would have missed it.
And for those who also aren't the perfect housekeepers -- thanks for letting me know I'm not alone! I know I'll never be great, but just want to try to be better.
Antimony - a friend of a friend is a professional organizer who does the Kondo method. She is scheduled to come here next month. The problem with this house is there are too many places we can store things. Instead of getting rid of something, we can always stash it somewhere, and decide to "deal with it" later. Now we have spaces (attics, garages, shed, barn, shop) that have so much stuff it's ridiculous.
Ok- I am off to wipe down the walls. With big dogs, and it being "mud season on the farm," I kind of wish I could just take the hose to them!
LOL Rebecka - I call spring "mud". I cringe when the snow melts in the dog yard because I know that until summer it's a losing battle. This year they're making me crazy with pine needles.... I guess with all the wind/rain etc it's battered the pine trees enough that they're bringing in a million pine needles in their leg and rear end feathers.
Our house is never the way I would like it to be... doesn't help that hubby is "clutter blind". I try very hard to go through the mail and then recycle things I don't want - but then I save a few catalogs to look through later - but "later" becomes a stack on the kitchen table, but hubby collects a few stacks...
dadogmomma Rebecka - You suffer from the George Carlin Stuff Syndrome (TM). If you have a big house, you need to go out and buy stuff to fill the house. Then you need to buy a bigger house for all your stuff. What was that you were say before about OCD? ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
GC If anyone is looking for organizing/decluttering assistance, there is a woman in Long Valley who has run an organizing business for years now; she's wonderful.
http://www.everydayorganizingsolutions.com/
GetOverYerself GetOverYourself - yes, Sherry is wonderful! She's an amazing woman, and has been helping me more in terms of prioritizing projects and life goals over the past year. She is the friend-of-a-friend organizer I spoke of. We have yet to really tackle the organization of the house. That's next. Can't say enough good things about her. She is so much more than just an organizer of things. She definitely acts as life coach for me. She's kind of like a therapist for people who are 'ok' (that's what I tell her)! She has helped me through the loss of a good friend and three of my beloved dogs which happened all within the space of 15 months. Non-judgmental, understanding, offers a balanced perspective and helps you get a clear view of your life and where you want to go next. Love her!
Don't use it.....toss it....that's the tip I give....was able to get rid of things I don't use anymore last year....the lack of clutter is great....a lot more room
Hank Arthur
This will have shredding but also electrics waste and free items. They are also looking for anyone to donate items too. I will be cleaning out some closets, declutter one my home and bringing my bags to them but going to check out stuff they may have as well.
https://groups.freecycle.org/HackettstownNJ/posts/59712542
Mintyfresh Doing the Marie Kondo thing (decluttering) and part of it is taking everything of one type of thing (eg shirts) and putting them all in one place to go through them to see how many you have of that item. I am really, really, really dragging my feet to put all of the shoes I own in one place. I'm kind of afraid it's on the Imelda Marcos level. Can anyone else relate? What is a reasonable number of pairs of shoes to own? For women I mean - we do need different shoes for different occasions. Most men have fewer, I'm sure. I would love to know a reasonable number to start to pare down... and I'm hoping donating to charity will help assuage the guilt I will feel when I put them all together and see the ridiculous excess. (And Antimony, I may actually need your help to get this done, as I'm a fabulous procrastinator when a task is unappealing.)
:-(
We''re getting ready to move, so I just got rid of a bunch and I still have a bunch left. Maybe 50 pair (or more) !! I guess I'm not a good person to ask about this !!
R - I'm going to PM you my cell number. I can help you a bit over the phone easily enough. I'm going to be off my email though in a bit as I have to go do school pick up and general craziness with the evening routines. Cell is the best way to reach me.
Ok, Antimony. Thank you!
Mariann - 50 sounds like number I could aim for. Thank you for the start. Any other opinions? Obviously this is a "first-world" "problem" - but I'm wondering if 50 seems reasonable to other women. Do you have more than that in your closet right now? Fess up? ;-)
I have 15-20 pairs of shoes, just off the top of my head. I could probably reasonably pare it down to 10, which would cover a few dress shoe options, sneakers, boots, and weather-specific shoes. My husband has probably 5 pairs which cover any shoe need he might have. Men have it easy with shoes!
Katherine Rebecka - If going through your shoes seems like a daunting task try breaking out the task into multiple smaller tasks. Create categories for your shoes, such as dress shoes, boots, sneakers, casual, sandals, etc. Then just take one category at a time.
If that doesn't work, you could just open up a shoe store and put them all for sale. Close the store when only 50 remain. :)
Lol re: opening a shoe store, gm mom! And that is a great tip re: dividing the task by categories.
I am inspired by Katherine with 15-20 pairs. I want to get to that point. Needless to say I have a long way to go.
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