Get Rid Of The Excess AKA Spring Cleaning Boogie

I have to admit...as soon as there is a hint of Spring (or Fall) in the air, I start getting the itch to go through the house and get rid of things. I can't help it! I don't know if it was trained into me, if it is my personality...I have no clue. I just want to purge!

Now, when I say get rid of things, I don't mean throw them out. I mean find new homes for them. Unless it is stuff that NEEDS to be thrown out, then out it goes. My favorite way to get rid of things is through Freecycle. For one, I don't have to load things up in the car and take them anywhere. Two, I know that the people that come to get the stuff really need it or know someone else who does. (You can go to Yahoo Groups and sign up for a local Freecycle group in your area!)

My other favorite thing to do is simply donate them to the local non-profit organizations around town that accept donations. I know that they will be used to help support that business and that is a good thing.

The last is having a yard sale. I say last for several reasons. While I realize that I can make a few bucks doing it, I hate having the stuff sitting around my house while I wait for the rain to let up enough to have a yard sale. Usually not till around May. There is NO way I want boxes and bags of stuff cluttering up the house that I am de-cluttering for another two months. No siree! IF I have a yard sale, I save it for more big ticket items that I can store in our shed until the "big day".

The itch to purge my house every spring has grown over the years. As our family has grown, so has our "stuff".

One of the questions I hear from friends and family is "How do you find the time?" I remember one of my former pastors saying, "You find time for what is important." I think that applies here also. If you are not interested, you will not find time. However, if you have time but have no clue where to start because it is so overwhelming, I have some ideas for you:

1. Sit down with a pad and paper. Write the name of each room at the top of a page. After that is done, go to each room, sit down and write what you see needs to be done. Then write how long you think it will take you to do each task and give yourself plenty of time. For example, if you think it will take five minutes to clean out a drawer, give yourself ten or fifteen.
2. Now, you have your lists and they are organized by room, then by project, then by time. Every day, try to fit in a couple of those projects. I would suggest working on one room at a time. In fact, you could have your goal be to work on a room a week. Then, each day, you look at your list and work on a couple things. By the end of the week, hopefully, you will be done. If not, spend another week doing it.
3.  Another thing I do sometimes, usually in a room that only needs a little help, is set the timer for so much time and scramble to see how much I can get done. This is a great tool also for getting your children involved! Set the timer for 15 minutes and tell them to surprise you with how much they can get done. My kids usually race around like crazy and amazingly do a great job! We usually do this every afternoon for the main living areas of the house: living room, dining room and halls. That way daddy can come home to a tidy house.

If the task seems over-whelming, remember that it didn't take one day to make the mess and it probably won't take one day to get it purged and organized.

Why do I like to get rid of the "stuff"? Several reasons:

• It saves me time. When you don't have to sort through piles of mail to get to that letter you are looking for, saves time. When your keys actually have a home, saves time. When you don't have a gazillion clothes to wash, saves time.
• When my house is not cluttered by stuff, I feel relaxed and refreshed. I am fine with people just dropping by or hearing that we have last minute company because I know it will only take a couple minutes to tidy up. My mood seems to be lighter cause there isn't so much "stuff" lying around.
• Donating things to people using services such as Freecycle, Goodwill and Salvation Army is a way of helping out others. It is teaching my children that there are people that are less fortunate than them that would love what we are not using.
• Saves money. What? Yep. When you can't find that "thing" that you thought you had...you search all over and just can't find it. You need it. So you go buy a new one. What happens? You find the old one later. When you know what is in your house and where it is, it saves you money. No buying things simply because you cannot find it.
• There is less to clean, organize and take care of.

I have been searching and I cannot find the article I am looking for....when I find it, I will post it. However, there are proven studies showing that people who live in cluttered, messy houses are more depressed. I am sure some of you have watched "Hoarders" or "Clean House". Alot of these people are very tired, depressed individuals that sometimes have lost all connection with loved ones because they refuse to give up their "stuff". 

So...what's my challenge for you? Start today. Take one room. One Drawer/Closet/Area. Go through your stuff. Make three piles: Keep, Give, Toss. Don't let it sit around. Once you have cleaned out that area, put away the Keep pile. Load up the Give stuff into your vehicle and donate at next chance. Toss what needs to be tossed. Then look at the progress you made....and GRIN! You are doing it!