Spring Clean or Spring Organise
Spring Cleaning is the process of thoroughly cleaning your home in the Springtime. Traditionally this comes from the days when homes were heated by fireplaces, and efforts were made to prevent heat from escaping. The coming of spring and warm weather was an opportunity to air the house and clean it of soot and all the grime accumulated over the winter months.
Our Habits Are Changing
A survey by Money Magpie found that less than 50% of the 2000 people interviewed were planning to do a Spring Clean citing the following reasons:
- Lack of time – Work and family commitments
- Our homes are cleaner – There is no longer the need for such a deep cleaning as homes are kept clean all year round
- Lack of energy – Don’t have the energy or desire to complete the task
Why Spring is the perfect time to declutter and organise
Whilst many more people may not complete a traditional Spring Clean, they still feel Spring is the perfect time to declutter and organise their space.
The arrival of spring brings with more day light and warmer temperatures (questionable today as we are face Storm Gareth). Both of which help us feel more energised and generate a desire to get everything in order before the summer months.
Benefits of Spring Decluttering & Organising
What are the benefits of Spring decluttering and organising? Is it worth the effort and time?
- Increases Productivity and Focus
Sorting and organising our space can help reduce distractions and help us gain more time. With ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ you’ll spend less time looking for misplaced items and be able to proactively manage your time.
- Reduces Stress
Clearing and organising your space allows you to set up effective systems to simplify your home management and put into place effective daily habits to reduce the future build-up of clutter. Having clear systems in place and effective daily helps helps to reduce stress.
Effective Spring Decluttering & Organising
The key to success is to purge before you organise. This is simply to decide what you need to keep and the items you no longer need before deciding how and where to store everything. The easiest way to be organised is to have less stuff.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
The key to not feeling overwhelmed is to:
- Schedule time to declutter and organise
- Identify areas where clutter has built up
- Create an action plan of all the spaces that you would like to sort and prioritise each space
- Ask you clear each area focus on your achievements so far rather than everything that still needs to be done
- Ask for support. My clients really value working with the support of a professional organiser to guide them and provide motivation to achieve their goals
Key Areas For Spring Decluttering and Organising
Each person will have a different list of priorities, but these are some of the key areas to be sorted. As you clear out each key area you can give it a deep cleaning before putting the things back
Under the beds – what’s lurking under your bed
Wardrobes – has your wardrobe become a floordrobe?
Bathroom cabinets – toiletries and medicines
Linens/towels – audit your current stock and purge unwanted items or those in poor condition
Fridge – perfect time to sort and organise your fridge and freezer and give it a deep clean
Junk Drawer – this may be in the kitchen, bedroom, home study, hallway or all four areas. This may be lightbulbs, batteries, stationery and miscellaneous. Use shallow boxes in the drawers to group like items together
Tupperware drawer – tame the Tupperware. Be realistic about how many you need. Purchase a stackable set in different sizes if you need to replace everything
Books/DVDs/CDS – manage your book collection and decide in you still need your DVDs and CDs. The majority of my clients are now streaming videos and music.
Organising Once You’ve Decluttered
Once you have completed the sorting process and decided which items to purge (recycle, sell, donate) you can start to think about organising your space. ‘A place for everything and everything in its place’. Think about storing items for convenience and easy access. Items that you use less frequently can be stored in less accessible places or archived away.
I wish you success with your Spring decluttering and organising. Once it’s done you can look forward to the summer months knowing that everything is in order and enjoy the benefits of a simplified home management system.If you need support with induvial areas or your whole home I’d be delighted to support you.
Tracy Ross
Professional Organiser
Blissfully Organised