How to Get Your Home Spring-Clean
After the winter months, you need a little pick me up. This applies to your home as much as it does to any other aspect of life; sometimes a clean slate is just the thing to kickstart the warmer months.
During the colder seasons, we tend to accumulate a lot of junk we don’t need: old clothing, equipment, and boxes of old items line the garage walls and pile up in storage rooms. It’s true that a lot of us become pack-rats in the winter, because most of the time, a trip to the dump or the local donation bin is too arduous for sub zero temperatures.
If you weren’t feeling inspired during the winter to give your home a good clean and get rid of the old junk piling in your basement, don’t feel bad - you’re not alone. Here are some tips for spring cleaning that will make your home feel brand new, and make your living space feel as fresh as a spring breeze.
Take an inventory
Do you really need nine knitted sweaters? Is your lawnmower older than most of your children? If the answer is yes, chances are you can just throw them away.
Take a look at everything you own and ask yourself if you can do without them. By taking inventory of your space, you’re better able to evaluate what is essential, and what’s just clutter.
Think of Marie Kondo - if it doesn’t spark joy, let it go!
Make arrangements
Start the cleaning process by arranging your discarded items into different categories - items that can be donated, and items that need to be thrown away completely. It’s important to cut down waste as much as possible, so if anything can be put to a different use, consider donating to a charity foundation, or to another association that accepts donated clothing, furniture, etc.
Tackle it one step at a time
It’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. As a result, you may end up throwing away items that you want to keep, or not be thorough enough with the cleaning process. Take it easy, and set reasonable goals for the spring cleaning process. If, for example, your goal is to get everything out of your house by the end of the weekend, try to tackle a bit on Friday and Saturday instead of leaving it all to the end of the weekend. This will give you time for careful consideration as to what you truly want to discard.
Make it a group activity
Although spring cleaning isn’t everyone’s favourite activity, there’s no denying that getting the whole family involved makes it easier and more efficient, especially when it comes to the actual “cleaning.” Try to assign a task to each member of the family, letting them know that through their involvement, they cut the amount of work down significantly. After all of the tasks are completed, take the family out for a celebratory treat in appreciation of all of their hard work.
Spring cleaning is a highly rewarding task that will put your home back into order and give you better peace of mind for the summer months. Now, unpack the barbeque, get the lawn furniture out, and get ready to enjoy the sun!