Beauty Buzz/Blog Biz
Contents:
- Time To Dust, Declutter & Demolish
- Organization Makes Cleaning A Breeze
- Deep Cleaning Time
- Start With Organization
- Dedicate 30 Minutes Every Single Week To Organize
- Sample Tasks Of Areas To Be Cleaned & Organized
- Final Words
- Connecting With Sylvia On Social Media
- Author Bio
- Image Descriptions
Time To Dust, Declutter & Demolish
It’s springtime, and that means spring cleaning. But, do we really need to work so hard to dust, declutter, and demolish the piles of stuff that have accumulated in our closets again? And, not to mention, do we need to take down all of the curtains and wash them? I don’t know about you, but it is spring, and that means I’d rather be outside enjoying the amazing weather that is finally here.
But, yes! It is spring, and that means it is time for some spring cleaning. It’s time to throw open the windows of our homes, and our hearts. It’s time to take stock of what we have and figure out what we need to clean and/or throw out.
Sometimes this idea of decluttering and being a minimalist comes up too. I am all about decluttering. I especially love to give things to people who need or want them. But, I admit, I am not a minimalist, I like stuff, I like having a lot of stuff. This makes it even more important to keep it clean and organized.
Organization Makes Cleaning A Breeze
I admit it—I love to clean and organize—I truly cannot explain it as I have vivid memories of not enjoying it all growing up. My Mom was one of those who literally cleaned and did laundry every single day. Okay, we probably needed to do laundry every day as we were a family of seven. I can’t even imagine what a week’s worth of laundry would have been like. Wow!
Also, for many years I talked to my parents, who have now both moved onto Heaven, while I did my Saturday morning housework. So, maybe this explains why cleaning is something I just seem to like. Additionally, I have taught organizational strategies for so long, that eventually I implemented all of those ideas and found myself really benefiting from being super organized.
As a person who cannot see it really makes a big difference to have a place for everything. Of course, everyone else in the house has to put it back in that designated place. Someone let my husband know this is the rule.
“The most effective way to do it is to do it.”
~Amelia Earhart
Deep Cleaning Time
My Mother-in-law used to visit us every spring. We live too far for that now, but, this meant we did a thorough deep clean, or spring cleaning. It was one week of, well, torture. But, our house was spotless and dust-free (which is virtually impossible if you live in Florida).
We are clean and tidy people, but it is amazing how much dust can accumulate in curtains, corners, vents, ceiling fans and so on. And, let’s not even talk about the deep refrigerator and oven cleaning. If we did not have a regular cleaning and organization plan and practice, I would have never let visitors come.
“We dream of having a clean house, but who actually dreams of doing the cleaning.”
~Cecil Baxter
Start With Organization
So, let’s talk about how to organize; it can feel absolutely overwhelming. I think this whole idea of spring cleaning is absolutely absurd. If you are like me you just want to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather spring brings. You don’t want to be cleaning.
My strategy is not really spring cleaning… it is organization. I promise if you use this method spring cleaning will no longer be so hard. It will literally be completing those tasks you really only do once or twice a year.
Dedicate 30 Minutes Every Single Week To Organize
What if I told you you could just spend 30 minutes a week and your whole home would transition into this well-organized place? It works.
Many years ago I had this brainstorm; I needed my house to be more organized. I was experiencing rapid progression in my vision loss and I just could not find things when I needed them. When you opened a closet or cabinet door things were likely to fall on you. We did not even know what we had. We had triples of things, because when we could not find something we just bought more or another. Is this soundning familiar? I bet it is.
I decided to start the new year off by letting my husband and daughter, who was 8 at the time, know we would be spending 30 minutes every Saturday morning organizing. We made a list of small tasks that could literally be completed in a short time.
Rather than clean out and organize the hall closet, it was organizing the top shelf of the hall closet. Now, I’ll admit, many times I would get motivated and just keep working. But I never made my daughter go beyond the 30 minutes and, I rarely asked my husband to do so. We would make it fun by putting tasks on small papers and putting them in a bucket and letting our daughter draw out the one to work on that day. It made it fun… well mostly.
Sample Tasks Of Areas To Be Cleaned & Organized
- Silverware drawer
- Kitchen junk drawer
- Office junk drawer
- Under the bathroom sink
- Medicine cabinet
- Top drawer in the dresser
- Toybox
- Drawer under oven
- Spice rack
- One drawer in the file cabinet
- Tennis Shoes
- Purses
Yes, it took me over an hour to organize my purses. Purses and bags are something I seem to love and have a lot of. I am sure you are getting the idea!
Final Words
That was almost 15 years ago, and I still follow this strategy. I clean and organize every Saturday morning first thing. It’s become a good habit and one that makes me feel good, organized, and clean. It also makes the “spring cleaning” almost unnecessary. I do still clean the curtains and a few other things for spring cleaning, but most other tasks are ongoing as they cycle throughout the year.
“Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go.”
~Heidi Johnson
Start where you are. Develop a plan. Keep it simple. Make it fun!
Happy cleaning and organizing! Spring is here, so spring into a new way to clean… so you can really enjoy spring.
Connecting With Sylvia On Social Media:
- Facebook: @Sylvia Stinson-Perez
- Twitter: @SylviaSPerez101
- National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University (NRTC): www.blind.msstate.edu/about
Author Bio:
Sylvia Stinson-Perez is a leader in the blindness field helping individuals and organizations succeed through innovative strategic planning and implementation. She has Master’s degrees in Social Work, Visual Disabilities Rehabilitation, and Business Administration. Sylvia is blind as a result of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), however, she believes that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their potential, a conviction she promotes through:
- her position at the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision
- projects she leads such as Speak With Confidence public speaking training, and mentoring
- service on advisory committees and boards of directors.
Image Descriptions:
- The header photo contains an assortment of different colored plastic cleaning bottles in a basket with yellow rubber gloves. In the background is a blurred floral spring backdrop.
- Piled-up clutter in a small space that needs to be organized. Bins, boxes, vacuum, freezer among other things.
- Handwriting on colored sticky notes against a black background. Each note has a word on it: Declutter, Recycle, Sell, Keep, Trash, Donate.
- Different sizes and shapes of wire, cloth, and wicker storage boxes and containers for tidying up.
- Closeup of a red 30-minute timer
- The author’s bio photo is a glam photo of Sylvia in a pink dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair is in a fancy updo with a pink flower on the left of her bun.