Spring Cleaning!

I’ve had the spring cleaning bug for a while now.  And I don’t mean the I-need-to-Lysol-down-the-doorknobs spring cleaning.  I mean the purging kind.  When we moved from our 1000 square foot house into this one, I felt like we’d moved into a mansion!  There was empty space everywhere and I swore this house would never get cluttered up with junk like the other one.  Famous last words.

The last year or so, I’ve used the excuse about having a toddler in the house (see above) and I’m over it.  There’s stuff everywhere and I just couldn’t stand it any longer.  So I decided every weekend we didn’t have plans, I was going to tackle one room…clean out the closet, every drawer, under the bed etc.  I used an app called Cozi and made a list (those of you who know me well are not at all surprised that I made a list!)  The list has multiple heading of rooms and then every single thing that had to be gone through is on the list.  For example, my bedroom had things like:  go through dresser drawers, sort shoes, clean closet, clean off cedar chest, go through bedside tables and on it goes.

So all that to say, I’m about half way through the house and this past weekend, I was able to do Kylie’s room, the linen closet and the master bath.  All that’s left is Jenna’s room and the bonus room.  But those are the worst ones.

Normally here’s how my housecleaning goes…start in the kitchen…wiping down the counters…oh, here’s a book I finished reading.  That really needs to go upstairs on the bookshelves in the bonus room.  Here we go…up to the bonus room.  Putting the book on the shelf, I spy my hair brush.  Hmmm…how’d that get there?  I better go put that in my bathroom or I’ll forget and never find it.  Now to the bathroom.  Put the brush away.  Holy cow…that bathroom trash is overflowing.  I need to take that out.  Haul the trash can downstairs to the pantry to get the trash bags and empty said can.  Look at the mess in the pantry!  I can’t even GET to the dang trash bags.  Better clean that out.  And so NOTHING EVER GETS COMPLETED!  I call it housecleaning ADD.  (incidentally, this happens to me at work from time to time when I need to get through my emails…perhaps there’s a pattern??)

Anyway, this list keeps me on task and I get total fulfillment being able to mark something off the list.  I have been know to, when making a list, put something ON the list that has already been done JUST for the pleasure of marking it off!  Sad, I know, but true.

Anyway, I have made some great progress by adjusting my process.  When I find something in the room I’m cleaning that belongs in another room, I put it in a box or bag and it goes up to the bonus room.  The bonus room isn’t being used right now (for obvious reasons!) and so those things will and have just piled up.  The bonus room will be the last room to be done and by then, there should be plenty of empty space in the other rooms so those things which have landed there will find their space eventually.  I also make a lot of donations and I take the tax write off at year end.  To do that, I have to inventory every item I’m donating so I can have back up for my tax write off. I’m making a big ole pile in there for that as well as a few more expensive things that I plan to try and consign or sale (no, I refuse to do a yard sale).

In the end, I think it will end up being a great thing and we will all feel so much better in a uncluttered and eventually CLEAN house!  YAY FOR SPRING CLEANING!!