A wise neighbour once told me that in order for abundance and good things to come into your life, you have to make room for them.  This means clearing your mind of past regrets, grudges and other negative thoughts that keep you focused on your past, but often it means having to clear physical clutter as well.

Yes, it is the middle of spring and and I’ve finally gone through my stuff, got whatever needed to be stored stored, tossed tossed and given away given away.

I both love and hate spring cleaning.  I love it because every winter, I end up feeling cramped (I live in a small apartment).  Each year I acquire more stuff and putting away or tossing currently unneeded or unwanted items frees space and gives the illusion my apartment is roomier.  I hate it because it is hard work. That being said, it is definitely worth it.  Through the years I have saved a ton of dough by cleaning up and being organized.  I have also made a little cash by selling bigger ticket items as well.

This is my method for spring cleaning:

1. I decide which area or room or section of a room to do first (I do one room at a time usually and base it on which area is most cluttered).

2. I grab some boxes and label them A. For Charity, B. For Storage, C. Garbage/Recycling, D. Sell

3. I go through the room and start filling the boxes with the appropriate items.  I try to be merciless/unsentimental with my things: if I haven’t worn a piece of clothing, used an appliance, make-up for a year or so, it goes into the charity, sell, or garbage box.  If something is collecting dust in a corner, and I find that I am dusting it each cleaning day, same thing.  I most likely will never use it again or even miss it.  But if I do find something I cannot bear to part with or that is really only used/needed once per year - it goes into storage.

4. As soon as I am done cleaning each room, I call Big Brothers to pick up the charity box, put the garbage box out for trash pick up or go to the dump, and start posting stuff on Craigslist.  Warning: Don’t go back into the boxes. Once you put an item in the box, it stays there.

5. Next is the storage box.  I go over most, if not all the items in my storage area.  Sometimes I need to reorganize some stuff to get the new items from the box in there.  All the items I keep in the storage are categorized: Holiday Decor-Christmas/Halloween, Tools, Gardening Supplies, Seasonal Sports Equipment/Toys, Craft Supplies, Childhood Toys, etc.  I also have a list of the items I have within each category taped inside the storage doors (that way I never lose the list and it’s handy when it’s time to update it).  I add the stuff in my box into the list under the appropriate category.  This way I always know what I own/have and where to find it.  It’s a good habit since in the past I have bought doubles of things simply because I forgot I already owned it or worse, couldn’t find it when I needed it!

Some benefits I have gotten from spring cleaning:

1. I feel better, I’ve accomplished something.

2. If I find stuff to give away, I have contributed to the needy via a charity like the Salvation Army or Big Brothers.

3. I made a buck or two by holding a yard sale, or listing on eBay, Craigslist, etc.

4. When I have yard sales, I get to know my neighbours a bit better.

5. I know exactly what I have and own.

6. I have rediscovered some old treasures (old photos, my kid’s first school drawings…)

7. I now have more living space at home.

8. Now that I’m organized, I’ll be able to find things more easily when I need them.

9. I have been able to save some money (by not buying doubles of things, not paying for unneeded storage space).

If you haven’t gotten to doing your spring cleaning this year yet, why not start this weekend?  And if you find you have some stuff to get rid of, don’t worry, I’ll put down some Yard Sale tips next week that may help you out.

Do you have a de-cluttering, organizing or spring cleaning story?  Write us, we’d love to hear from you.

For more organizing tips and stories, visit the Organizing section of this website.