Spring Organizing

A new season has arrived and the term Spring Cleaning is on a lot of minds.  As a Professional Organizer I always advise some Spring De-cluttering first.   Professional cleaning companies state that residential cleaning time can be cut by 40% if the home is mostly clutter free.  Which makes perfect sense - if you don’t have to pick up and move things to clean you save a lot of time and energy. To me that is worth the price of admission right there!

How to begin your Spring De-clutter?  There is a social media project going on this month led by Ann Marie Heasley, a popular home and lifestyle blogger and author of White House Black Shutters.  Called “40 Bags in 40 Days” it is a challenge for members to remove one bag of unneeded and unloved stuff from their homes every day except Sunday for, well, 40 days.   

Ms. Heasley is not too strict, declaring the bag can be any size, but she encourages removing more than one per day too.  She is obviously a fun girl calling the process “decrapifying”. 

Although it’s a “closed group” in facebook-speak, it seems that anyone can apply and be admitted to the group within a few hours, and there are currently over 20,000 members.   The 40 Bag insiders offer photos, support and accountability, and Ms. Heasley provides some helpful info such as a list of places to de-clutter around the house, and a downloadable progress chart.

In addition to the information on her blog I recommend a few really key points for de-cluttering and organizing your home this spring.  These include:

1.       Keep it small – only work on one area at a time when sorting and purging.  Start with one drawer or one shelf, and when that is complete you’ll feel successful and energized and ready to begin another small area.  Bite off too much and you quickly become overwhelmed.  Having 7 small unfinished projects at the end of the day is more depressing than never even starting.

2.      Assign a home for anything that remains.  Designating a place for stuff that is easily accessible and memorable hugely reduces the stress of finding the thing you need when you need it. This also increases the odds that it will be put away when done.

3.      Don’t purchase containers until the purging and assigning are complete.   People find cute or discounted or yard sale containers and try make their stuff fit them.  It’s a typical rookie mistake that usually results in lost time, space, and sometimes money.  Your system comes first – determine how much space you need (and agree to give) a specific item or group.  Then measure the stuff and the space.  Then get the containers.

4.      This is a great time to work on those “behind closed door” areas – closets, pantries, medicine cabinets, and garages  - where most of our important stuff actually resides.  Once you make some room in the storage areas you'll find that clearing your open spaces becomes easier.  Please, please never fill it back up entirely.  Shoot for 85% full because 1) open space looks and feels more luxurious and 2) it hugely eases the put-away process.  Think of the last time you tried to cram more socks into an overstuffed sock drawer.  This is how piles of clean clothes end up on chairs/beds/floors/dryers/etc.

5.      Finally get a friend (or Professional Organizer!) to help or at least be with you as you work.  This makes the process more fun and provides real accountability.  Schedule an appointment with yourself and friend, clear out 1 bag or 40, and congratulate yourself on any wins.  Enjoy your clean serene home this Spring!