Spring Cleaning!

I got the message below as an email and thought it was pretty neat.
I wish I would have done a lot more of this before this weekend...lol
Graduation party time this Sunday with over 75 people invited. Wish me luck!

Along with Spring comes thoughts of crisp, fresh air, budding
flowers, singing birds and a sense of renewal. Getting organized and
doing spring cleaning helps to bring that wonderful fresh feeling into your home.


Ten Spring Cleaning and Organizing Tips
by Maria Gracia


1. ASSIGN YOURSELF A DIFFERENT TASK FOR EACH DAY.
Make yourself a schedule that is comprised of one hour and one task
each day. Your schedule may look something like this:

Monday: Decluttering
Tuesday: Dusting
Wednesday: Vacuuming
Thursday: Scrubbing
Friday: Organizing and Rearranging
Saturday: Laundering
Sunday: Decorating

Then, spend one hour each day doing your assigned task for each room,
throughout your house. You'll be amazed at the difference you can
make in your home by following this simple system.

2. USE THE PROPER TOOLS.
When cleaning and organizing, it's important to use tools that help
you get the job done as quickly as possible.

For instance, there are now dusting clothes that allow you to dust
quickly and easily, without any additional sprays. Just dust and be
done with it.

Rubber gloves will help you deep clean, without drying out your
hands, exposing them to harsh chemicals, or burning them in hot water.

Racks can hold mops, brooms and other cleaning supplies in one
organized place, rather then storing them loose and having them
constantly tip over.

An apron with lots of pockets, can help you transport cleaning
products from room to room easily, so you don't have to keep running
back and forth to get what you need.

3. BE RUTHLESS WHEN IT COMES TO DECLUTTERING.
If you don't love it, and/or you don't use it, it's clutter. It's the
perfect time to embrace the Feng Shui art of uncluttered living. Feng
Shui teaches that if energy can easily flow through a room, your life
will be more harmonious and happy--and clutter is an obstacle to
reaching this relaxed and calm state.

Make it a quest of yours to be ruthless when it comes to your
decluttering efforts. You'll have less to dust, less clutter to look
it, an easier time finding the things you do use and less stress in
your life.

4. DONATE OR SELL THE THINGS YOU DON'T USE.
If you have items that you don't use, but are in good condition, they
are prime candidates to sell or donate. Gather all of these items
together in boxes or plastic bags.

Then, decide whether you would prefer to donate them or sell them.

If you choose to donate, consider giving them to your local Salvation
Army, or perhaps even a shelter in town. Many of these
organizations will even pick up your donations for you.

If you choose to sell, you might set a date for a yard sale. Or, take
some photos of these items with your digital camera, and put them up
for sale at an online auction Web site.

5. MAKE YOUR SPRING CLEANING AND ORGANIZING FUN.
Don't think of it as a chore. Instead, think of it as a 'feel good'
exercise--one that will really help you to feel good about yourself
and your clean and organized environment.

Play some lively, fun, upbeat music. Dance your way through your home
or office with your dust rag or vacuum.

Get the family involved. Give everyone a task, and then do something
relaxing afterwards, like watching a movie together or going to the
park for a walk.

Set timers and play 'beat the clock.' Give yourself time limits for
completing small tasks, and try to complete those tasks before the
timer goes off.

Ask a friend to help, or do a swap. You clean her living room if
she'll clean your kitchen.

6. ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS.
Turn off the TV while you're cleaning and organizing, and let your
answering machine field your calls.

If a friend stops by while you're working, simply tell him/her that
you've scheduled this time for spring cleaning. He or she is free to
stay, as long as you could continue working. Perhaps, you might even
get some help. If not, tell your friend you'll stop by his or her
house later on when you're done.

If you have kids, give them their own jobs to do, or at minimum, be
sure they're occupied with something else.

The quickest and best jobs are accomplished when there are no
distractions.

7. MAKE YOURSELF A CHECKLIST.
Make a checklist of all springtime jobs that you only do once or
twice a year.

Perhaps you might bring your large comforters to the laundromat,
bring your drapes, and winter coats to the dry cleaners, store your
winter clothes and bring your warm-weather clothes out of hiding or
check the smoke detectors.

If all of these odd jobs are on a list, you won't forget to do them.
Then, try to do at least one or two of these odd jobs per week,
throughout spring.

8. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE INSIDES.
It's important to clean and organize things that are in sight all of
the time. But, it's also important to remember those items that are
out of sight.

Spring is a great season to organize your closets, cabinets, drawers,
bins, boxes, pantry and other inside storage areas.

Give yourself that spring feeling, both inside and out!

9. ENJOY THE WEATHER WHILE YOU'RE WORKING.
Do some outside organizing and yard work, so you can be accomplishing
something, but also enjoying the nice weather at the same time.

Gather your gardening and planting supplies in one place. Replace old
and broken tools. Perhaps you might even get a gardening caddie to
store your good gardening tools.

Clean the garage and keep the garage door open so that you can enjoy the nice weather.

10. OPEN YOUR WINDOWS.
There's nothing like taking in a breath of fresh air. As you're
cleaning, open the windows. You'll be removing musty winter odors,
protecting yourself from inhaling harsh fumes from cleaning products
and the fresh air will keep you going.

While you're at it, let the sun shine in. Open curtains and drapes to
give yourself plenty of light, for an energy boost.