Ivy says:
Now’s a good time to get your spring cleaning started, particularly if you have minions children on spring break. I’m extra lucky, I have my mother here helping me clean my house over spring break. There’s nothing like having your mom standing on your porch at 8 AM with a bucket in hand to encourage you to stop lollygagging and get to work.
Since I can’t send my mom over to your houses for cleaning encouragement, I’ll have to do my best here. There’s something very spiritual and emotional with a good, all-over cleaning and decluttering. As much as I profess to hate clutter, I have to admit that mine’s gotten piled up a bit and sometimes it’s hard to purge.
So, we have to go back to my dear Auntie’s motto: Look one way and pitch the other. If it doesn’t have a place, it has to go. And by go, I mean go RIGHT AWAY. Once I’m finished cleaning for the day, I take myself down to the Convenience Center and trash and/or Goodwill stuff immediately. If you set it out in your garage or basement or whatever to “have a yard sale” or something, you might never get rid of it.
Clutter does have an extremely high reproduction rate, so do not let it get a foothold in your house! If it already has a foothold, make your mom come over and tell her to bring a bucket. Even if you already have a bucket, it’ll get things in gear. I happen to have two buckets, but my mom’s bucket is far better. It’s the bucket of authority or something. If you can’t get your mom to come over, make a friend come sit in and order you around.
It’s funny that I clean my house myself on a regular basis, yet when someone’s there cleaning with me, it’s far more satisfying and it gets done tons faster. Once you and your cleaning buddy are done with your house, go to their house and return the favor. It’s interesting to see what kind of junk your friends are piling up, anyway.
[...] Friendly Spring Cleaning Encouragement from Home Ec 101. [...]