It is a beautiful spring day. I washed my car. I’ll wonder where I am now that I don’t have to look out the grime-smeared windows that tires spray on the windows and rearview mirror. I got out the window cleaner and as I was washing the windows the nearby birds were chattering. Ahh, it’s so good to hear the birds again.
This must mean spring is here, which means spring needs to be arranged. I have a small table on my front porch and I was changing the quilt on it. I looked around and realized that there were definitely places that needed some paint touch ups. There’s an ugly green rug on the porch and this is the year I’m going to replace it.
1. Look around your home and see what maintenance needs to be done, see if you need to get rid of the clutter. It can be as easy as sweeping cobwebs from the corners of your porch or near the ceilings of rooms in your house.
2. Replace the screens you removed from your windows last fall. While you’re at it, wash the windows. Clean gutters and downspouts. April showers bring May flowers and you want the water to have a place to go.
3. Replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This is a good time to change your furnace and air conditioning filters. She was teaching a class the other night on organization at the community college and a woman said that she hates moving something to a better place because when she goes to pick it up she thinks of the old place instead of the new place she moved it to. . I know this has happened to me too.
4. When making a home for an item, think ahead where you will use the item and think of the most logical place for it to be. Take a moment and analyze it in your mind. If it’s something you don’t use very often, make a list and keep it in your planner of where you’ve put certain items. Or tape the list to the inside of a cabinet door.
5. Keep similar items together. This doesn’t mean having only frequently used items in one room. (Things like scissors, tape, paper, etc.). Make houses for similar things in as many rooms as you use them. Always put them back in the same place after use.
6. Is getting rid of clutter an overwhelming task for you because you feel like you have so much to do? Set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes. When it rings, walk away, go get a drink. Give yourself permission to stop at the end of this time or, depending on your energy, continue organizing for another 15-20 minutes. The most important thing is not to continue working until you are exhausted and never want to return to the task at hand.
7. Every few months in our neighborhood there is a food drive for the local food pantry. What a great opportunity to go through your pantry and donate food that your family doesn’t eat but is still good. Keep a basket on your pantry shelf just for treats. This way, you’ll always have a designated spot, even when the treats have run out and before you get to the store.
8. Put away the winter sports gear and bring out your summer gear. By taking inventory now, you’ll know what you still have left and if you need to restock before the first big outdoor party.
Get rid of the clutter by starting now, before summer rolls around when you won’t want to do anything but play and have fun.