As someone wise once said, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Odds are good that at this very moment, there’s something in your home that you’ve been meaning to get rid of, something you haven’t touched in years, and someone out there who would be excited to have either. Don’t toss your unwanted clothes, home goods, books, movies, or even furniture – donate them to help them find new homes! What better way to kick off spring cleaning season than by supporting a good cause like the programs and services of AIDS Action?
Of course, decluttering is often easier said than done, which is why so many of us tend to put it off. What if you have a hard time saying goodbye, even if you haven’t worn that shirt or watched that movie in years? How do you start sifting through all the stuff you’ve managed to collect (where did it all even come from??) and how do you know which of it you no longer need?
You have to recognize when it’s time to say goodbye to something, otherwise, it’ll just pile up and up. Spring cleaning is hard enough, you don’t need piles of things you rarely use anymore getting in the way. If you’ve ever seen Hoarders you know how extreme it can get when people find it hard to say goodbye to old things.
And to really show how bad it can get to a person like you or me, clothes that have been stored away without being used or disturbed can become prime targets for clothes moths or carpet beetles. It ends up just being a waste at the end of the day when you finally get to that suitcase and find more moths than clothes inside. Plus it means you have to call in services like https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/tennessee/cleveland/ before the bugs spread to the rest of your home. That’s the last thing you want when spring cleaning.
Luckily, there are folks who are so good at decluttering that they do it for a living. Folks like real-life superheroes and all-around delightful person Marie Kondo is one person who has shown the world that decluttering is indeed, an art! A Japanese organizing consultant, author, and recent star of her own Netflix series, Kondo developed the KonMari method of tidying up and helping hoarders and it’s taking the world by storm. Imagine getting rid of the excess things in your house, and maybe, making a business out of it! Some people have made it a full-time business – if you look at online thrift stores that have cropped up on social media, you’d know! Thinking about their terms, people could do a survey about the same using free survey accounts (https://www.qualtrics.com/free-account/, for instance) and knowing the needs and wants of the different age-groups! We think it’s the perfect way to make spring cleaning way less intimidating. You can choose to donate or do a business out of it, the choice though, is on you!
The KonMari has one simple question at its core: Does it spark joy? “Sparking joy” basically means “makes you happy that you own this.” When you look at that ceramic cat cookie jar, do you smile? When you hold up that shirt, are you excited to wear it again? If you don’t feel any particular way about an item, and it doesn’t have a practical use in your home (sorry, but you probably shouldn’t donate that toilet brush), then you don’t really need it.
Kondo recommends tackling the tidying process by category, rather than by room. Start with clothing; put all the clothes you own (yes, literally all the clothes) on your bed and survey the likely shocking mountain in front of you. Then, go piece by piece, holding up each item and asking yourself if it makes you happy. If not, put it in your Boomerangs donate pile so it can spark joy for someone else! Then move on to the other categories that Kondo lists: books, papers, miscellaneous (kitchen, bath, garage, media, knick-knacks, etc.), and sentimental items. And once you’ve cleared off and cleaned everything within the house, you could do the same outside. This may be the easiest part because all you have to do is clear up the trash, and there isn’t much to hoard unless you enjoy collecting leaves and other detritus. While you’re at it, get your gutters inspected and cleaned (get help from Gutter Cleaning Sacramento) as they could get clogged during the spring season.
Now, back to the interiors, once you know what you’re keeping, all you need to do is figure out where it goes. Kondo suggests finding a place for every item to belong so you won’t have to think about where to put something later. When you know that spatula goes in the left drawer and those plates go in the cabinet over the sink, for example, it’s much quicker to clean up after dinner. Plus, you’ll score some major adulting points for being so organized! And once you’ve identified the items that no longer serve a purpose in your home, you could get a cheap skip bin hire sydney to get rid of them for good.
Now you’re ready to start your spring cleaning like a champ. And remember to please donate to Boomerangs when you’re done – we love sparking joy for our customers and for our clients at AIDS Action!
