My readers know how I feel about clutter and possessions; they are burdens. We have clutter in our homes, offices and cars.

“But I can only find things when they are on the floor or counter, so I don’t want to put them away.”

“Okay. I haven’t used that in 25 years, but I cannot part with that. I may need it some day.”

“I’ll get around to fixing that soon, and it’ll be as good as new.”

“I love this skirt, but it doesn’t match any of my shirts. I’ll keep it and some day I’ll find a top to match.”

Have you ever found yourself saying anything similar to the above?

That is why spring cleaning is such a wonderful thing.

A lot of effort is required for a truly successful cleaning and reorganization project, but you will find it to be so rewarding. In order to successfully clean and reorganize, you’ve got to have a plan. Here’s how to start:

House

• Write down what you’d like to accomplish – Whether that is cleaning out every single room in your home, plus the garage or just a select few places in your home, know what your goals are.
• Get help from your kids and spouse.
• Determine how you will remove your unwanted possessions from your home. (Donate to a charity, have a yard sale, sell items on Ebay)
• Make sure you know what each charity will take. Most will not take everything you have. Have a pick up date set in advance. That will get you motivated to get it done. If you are cleaning out many rooms, you may need to do this in segments. But whatever you do, do not keep the discards lying around. GET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE!
• Plan your project using a calendar. Be realistic about how long each room will take. You may want to set aside one weekend day every 1-2 weeks until you are done or take a few whirlwind days or a week to get the entire project done during the summer.
• Before getting started gather non-toxic cleaning products and collect cardboard boxes, protective wrap for breakables and large trash bags for storing removable items. Boxes from liquor stores are the strongest for holding glass items.
• Tackle one room at a time, and clean thoroughly as you go.
• What to get rid of:
  - Any item in the house you have not used or thought about for years.
  - Clothing that does not fit.
  - Clothing and accessories that are out of style.
  - Clothing items that have been hanging for a while but do not match anything to make a complete outfit.
  - Anything in closets, drawers, shelves or in the kitchen that is broken, tattered, torn, scuffed or otherwise ugly.
  - Anything you find yourself moving around the house because you never really know where to put it.
• Your goal is to make drawers, closets, shelves uncluttered and easy to organize and maintain. Tackle even that junk drawer in the kitchen. Toss pens that do not work, old business cards and little junk that collects.
• Shred unwanted personal papers and old files.
• If you cannot decide whether to keep something or not, talk to the family about it and take a vote. Ask yourself, “If I were moving tomorrow, would I take this with me?”
• Make a list of all the stuff you are donating, and take photos of boxes and bags for tax purposes.
• Throw out unusable items. Check with the City Waste Management to find out how to properly dispose of unused household paints, chemicals and pesticides.

Celebrate your hard work after each room is done!

Run through the sprinkler with the kids,

go out for a huge ice cream sundae, go on a picnic!

Follow Up

• Do not start shopping and collecting more stuff!
• When you do need something, have a policy that the new item is going to replace an old one. That way you will not start to accumulate again. Remember what a pain it is to get rid of your stuff.
• When the holidays and birthdays come, agree that less is more. Celebrations do not have to always include stuff. Refuse to buy items that will end up in the discard pile within a year!
• Enjoy the time you have freed up having less clutter! Less to dust, clean, move, store.

This is all about stuff we have in our homes. But have you ever thought about the clutter we have in our minds and with our associations with others? We’ll tackle that subject tomorrow.

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!