It’s no surprise that Spring Cleaning is on everyone’s mind. With shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and instagram accounts like The Home Edit, I think it’s safe to say we’re all ready to get rid of the junk taking space in our homes and organize to our heart’s content. With that in mind, today we wanted to share some of our best tips for giving your life a little refresh this spring.
Go Through Your Closet
Marie Kondo said it best, you should only keep the things that “spark joy.” Anything that doesn’t bring an immediate smile to your face or feeling of excitement has served it’s time in your life and should go. This applies to everything in your home but especially your closet… The easiest way to feel and look great is to wear clothes that make you feel happy and confident. As you go through your closet, take everything (hanging items, items in drawers, accessories, shoes, etc.) out and divide it into four stacks—keep, donate, sell, and trash. It goes without saying that the things you love are the ones you keep. Items that are still in good condition, but no longer excite you should be donated or sold so that someone else can get some joy out of them, and items that show a little too much wear or have clearly served their time, should be thrown out.
Declutter Your Space
Once you’ve gone through your closet, don’t stop there. The key to really feeling clean and organized is to start going through the rest of your space. Random knick-knacks you’ve collected over the years, certain decor elements, and other miscellaneous items such as makeup, kitchenware, and linens may not serve you as much as they did when you first got them. Go through all of it and take an inventory of what you have. Again, things that no longer spark joy should be donated, sold or thrown out.
Create a Sustainable System
Now that you’ve gone through everything, it’s time to figure out a new way to keep your life organized that actually works. Sure, the idea of having everything color-coded may sound great in theory (and may look great in your Instagram), but it also may not be sustainable for you in the long run. Take some time to assess what your current habits are and what areas you realistically think you could improve in. Then, from there, come up with a system for organizing your clothing and other belongings that you think will work for you in the long run.
Put Everything Away
With your new system figured out, now you get to put everything away. This should be the easy part, just make sure you take your time and stick to your plan in order to lay the groundwork for your future success in keeping an organized and decluttered life. Pro Tip: Before you put your items back, make sure to dust/clean the surface first. After all, when’s the next time you’ll have everything moved out of the way to get those hard to reach corners?
Stick to Your Plan
If you noticed throughout the post, we emphasized creating a system that is sustainable. After all, what’s the point in spending hours organizing your life if you’re just going to turn around and mess it all up in a matter of minutes. It’s easy to do but also easy to prevent! A couple ways to make this job easier are to a) always put things back where they belong when you’re done using them b) spend a few minutes each night tidying up and putting things away before bed and c) dedicate one hour a week to cleaning and getting your life in order at the end of the week (we prefer Sunday afternoons so we start our week on the right foot).
That doesn’t sound too bad right? If it does seem a little daunting, we promise you will feel so good when it’s all done and everything feels fresh.
Happy cleaning everyone!
Xx Team GM
Header: Elizabeth Chambers, Closet: Lemonstripes, and Living Room: A Dash of Details