A few years ago, I started a personal tradition of spring cleaning. Not just some casual dusting and mopping. That’s for amateurs! I’m talking a serious purge of every square inch of the house. I start at one end of the house, go through each closet, drawer, and cabinet, and empty it. I go through every item, one piece at a time, decide if we are keeping it, tossing it, or donating it. I clean the drawer, vacuum the closet, then replace whatever we are keeping, but organized and neat.
This year, I stocked up on matching baskets and containers so that as everything went back into closets or cabinets, it all looks nice and tidy. Even the laundry room shelves have cute little matching baskets now.
I don’t do all this just to indulge my OCD impulses, though. There is a method to my madness. It’s amazing what you can accumulate in just one year! The only way to keep it under control, remember what we have, and eliminate the clutter is to make a conscious effort to look at all of it, one piece at a time, and really think about what we need and what we can give to someone else or toss out.
I am almost finished. I went through my make-up drawer over the weekend and tossed some lipsticks because I don’t really need the same baby pink shade in 10 different brands. (At least I am consistent!) Next I want to go through all my jewelry, which will take a while.
When I am done with that, though, why stop there?
There are more kinds of clutter than just what accumulates in a house. I would like to really take stock of some habits, thought processes, and behaviors that I should consider clutter and junk too. Why keep it? I need to hold those to the same standard: if it’s not serving a useful and healthy purpose, then throw it away!
