Finally: Spring is here!

The plum tree in my garden flowered two weeks later than last year – which shows it’s not just my imagination that we had to wait for Spring a bit longer this year.
But now that it seems to have finally arrived, let’s make the most of the energy it (should) give us and get some classic Spring Cleaning done.

Why Spring Cleaning

Clutter can be a drag on our energy levels…

…unless you are completely comfortable with living in clutter and unfazed by being late, missing appointments and paying extra fees. Most people aren’t, in our social environment. The reasons for feeling down when having too much stuff are varied:

You don’t find things, so you constantly purchase things you know you have (somewhere)
You forget things – late fees arise as do missed appointments
You constantly think about the clutter and the huge task it is to conquer it. Your mind becomes preoccupied and you can’t focus on anything else in the end. To do lists should be realistic – not overwhelming.
‘Can’t-have-anybody-over-syndrome’. You don’t want to have friends or family over because you are too embarrassed to have them in your house. That is particularly distressing for kids, if they are not able to invite friends.
Most of the above cost money – which you could save if you were better organised. Knowing this is a huge burden.

So why don’t you ‘just do it’???
”This is going to take forever!”
“I don’t know where to start”
“This is all too much”
Some tips to get you started

Start now

Don’t overthink it, there is no time like now. It’s actually not that important to figure out where to start. It’s important that you start. Spring is the perfect time to get going as most of us feel a burst of energy and we have the entertaining and then festive season in front of us so motivation is high.
Sit back and have a good look at your expectations. Does perfectionism hold you back? Do you always aspire to have everything perfect and then don’t start at all because you know perfect isn’t possible. Sometimes good enough IS good enough!!!
It doesn’t matter where you start – it matters that you start!!

Start small

Even if the garage is your biggest worry – don’t. It’s much more rewarding to declutter a small area, get it done and finish it than not having enough time and energy to tackle the big things. You will learn to declutter and then divide that big task into smaller ones and get it done that way.

Start with something easy. You’ll be amazed what a difference half an hour of focused organising in a wardrobe makes.
Divide big jobs into lots of small ones
Don’t be a perfectionist; it’s more important to get it done than to get it done perfectly.
Organising is a skill everybody can learn
Don’t make excuses:

“ I can’t do this,” “I don’t have the money” “ I don’t’ have the time.” Decluttering is not expensive at all – and once you have less items to store, you don’t need to buy any organising containers or gadgets. No money spent.
If you don’t find time, maybe you don’t find it important enough – which is fine. Not everyone needs to live in a clutter free organised home – we are all different. There might be the time when enough is enough and you will find the time.

Have a plan and schedule it in your diary – take these appointments serious
Tell a friend about your mission – that makes you accountable and much more likely to succeed
Don’t just shift stuff from one area into another. Be realistic and know that things have to go
Hire a Professional Organiser

Easy tasks to get you started

It takes 7 ½ minutes to declutter and clean a shelve in the fridge.
Declutter your handbag and purse when you are waiting for something
Sort your e-mail by who sent them and start deleting when holding the line on the phone
Flip your wardrobe from winter to summer NOW.

There is no point in wasting valuable real estate, meaning eye level space in your wardrobe, with something you are not going to wear the next 6 month. If you really think you can’t find the space to store your out of season items, you could try to find a suitable storage solution via Spacelli and use someone else’s for very minimal money.