Spring Cleaning
Get Motivated
Listen To Music
Whether you choose the radio, an mp3 player, or your favorite playlist on the computer, music will help you be more excited about cleaning. Choose upbeat music, it will make you work faster and as an added benefit it can count as light exercise.
Wear Real Clothes
Not your best clothes of course, but not pajamas. Really getting dressed down to comfy shoes can help tell your mind that you've got work to do. If you start cleaning in your bed pants and house shoes, it may be more difficult to take the work seriously, and therefore get it done quickly.
Set a Deadline
Invite someone over for dinner. You'll be more motivated to clean because you have to get it done by a certain time. Be careful to give yourself enough time to actually get your cleaning done. You can also use a timer. This works really well with kids. Try to beat your last "record" for cleaning. Kids will actually get excited trying to beat the clock.
Give Yourself a Reward
This can be something you purchase..."If I finish my daily cleaning, I can buy that new book I've been wanting." or, it can be time doing something you really enjoy..."When the master closet is reorganized, I can spend two hours scrapbooking." Creating a reward for yourself when you've finished a dreaded chore can be a great motivating tool.
Cleaning Overview
Organize and Clear the Clutter
One of the biggest parts of spring cleaning is getting rid of clutter that you don't need. Now is a good time to advantage of the natural spring urge to get rid of items that are weighing you down and begin fresh with a more streamlined lifestyle. A systematic four-step approach to identifying problems, analyzing reasons, determining solutions, and implementing remedies can be extremely productive at this time of year. Sorting your belongings into four categories—throw-away, give-away, store-away, or put-way—can also be effective as you begin the spring-cleaning process.
Now is a great time to plan a garage sale or to donate items to good causes. Cleaning will be a lot easier when the clutter is gone.
Get the Family Involved
If you need a little help in your cleaning endeavors, get your family involved. Even the most unwilling helper can make a big difference in the workload. Don't worry: There are ways to deal with even the most reluctant helpers. This is actually a great time of year to get the entire family to work together. Try throwing on some music or establishing a family reward as an incentive to get the work done.
Tackle the Seasonal Chores
There are some special chores that need to be done seasonally. We ignore them for most of the fall and winter, but now it is time to bite the bullet and get these things clean. Even though these chores only need to be done once or twice a year, they will help your home run look better and run smoothly. Outdoor chores like cleaning grills, patios, and windows can be a little intimidating, but there are some simple tricks that can keep the jobs manageable.
4 Bucket Method
We all aspire to a more streamlined life, but getting rid of the clutter in your home is not as easy as it sounds. Even the things we might have used only once or twice seem to call out to us with its greater purpose in the scheme of our lives once faced with the trash can. With this simple-to-follow method, with a little willpower, it is possible to give clutter a life far away from yours.
Find 4 boxes and label them with the 4 categories:
Throw Away: This box should include any item that you do not need or want, but that is not worth donating or selling. Damaged and broken items should be included in the trash if they are not worth someone buying it and repairing it.
Give Away: Here is your chance to be generous. Think about the uses someone else might get out of the items vs. the use it gets in your home buried in cabinets or closets. You should also consider the financial benefits of selling your stuff at a garage sale.
Store Away: This is where you put items that you cannot part with but do not need on a regular basis. Make an inventory of the items as you box them. Group similar items together. Remember one good way to clean out closets is to store out of season clothing.
Put Away: This should be your smallest category. These are items that need to be out on a regular basis. Monitor yourself by determining if you have a place for each item. If the items in this box will not fit into your home without cluttering an area up, try to reassess if you really need them. If you do need these essentials, try to come up with a storage solution that fits into your home.
Working room by room, sort items into the appropriate boxes. Work with one item at a time determining its proper place in your newly organized life. Do not forget to go through closets, cabinets, and storage spaces. Removing clutter from rooms like the kitchen and bathroom may be very easy to do, while rooms with storage containers and closets may take a lot more time.
Work on one room at a time to provide yourself with an easy stopping point for interruptions. When you come to a stopping point, be sure to throw out the trash immediately. Box up the storage box. Place the giveaway/sell box in the garage, or out of sight. If you allow yourself to contemplate the decisions you have made, your brain can trick you into rescuing the clutter.
Things To Remember
Items are not equivalent to memories of the person who gave them to you, but pruning items with an emotional attachment can be difficult. Consider carefully if you need the item to have the memory or emotional attachment. If you simply aren't sure, consider storing items on a trial basis, or giving them to another family member for safekeeping.
Get rid of old clothing even if it's the size you used to be and hope to return to. It's tempting to keep them for when you reach your goal but think about instead rewarding yourself with a new wardrobe when you get to your goal weight.
Keeping things just because you might need them someday may seem like a good reason for clogging your closets. Remind yourself that what you really need is space and organization.
Use the free cleaning check list below to streamline your spring-cleaning room by room!