It’s Spring! The time when we open the windows and let the fragrant breezes and warm sunshine in! Here’s 3 quick tips to clearing out the clutter and letting the space fill with nothing but sweetness.
- Open the windows and clear out all the musty smell from winter and feel the breeze.
- Make a checklist
- Tackle One Room per weekend.
Create some space for the breeze to pass through and bring in the brightness of Spring.
Kitchen
- Open up the cabinets and clear out all those pots and pans that need to be replaced. You know, the ones that got burned when cooking rice or the ones that can not be thoroughly cleaned. Then clear out everything else in there and clean away. It’s good to get a thorough cleaning in and outside the cabinets.
- Do the same for the refrigerator. Clear it all out and give it a good washing inside and out. Check for stuff to be thrown out.
- Check out the pantry and see if there is any organizing to be done in there. Clear out any items you think may not get used and organize the pantry for summer use keeping the lemonade pitcher and barbecue sauce handy.
Living Room
- Take down all the curtains and wash them.
- Remove all the clutter from winter that needs to have a different home for Spring or Summer.
- Sort through the books, dvds and magazines. Throw out or give away any that no longer suit you.
- Get rid of all those items that gather dust that you do not love.
Shed or Garage
- Work through the stuff that clutters the garage and give it away.
- Keep the items you use the most right inside the door for handy access
- Clear the space near windows so you can open them up in the Spring and Sumer to air it out.
- Fill the lawnmower with gas and check the oil.
- Create a space for working with garden supplies, seeds and plants.
- Straighten out the hoses and get them organized for when you need them.
When you’re done getting your house in order for the new seasons, Spring clean your brain. De-clutter negative thoughts, chose the good ones. Make a realistic list of the things you would like to do this summer. Now, take a hot bath with essential oils, light a few candles and RELAX.
When preparing your home for sale, consider these five steps to make your home really seen and unforgetable to the home buyer.
- Hire A Professional Cleaner – This is probably the most important task when selling your home. Unless you are an exceptional cleaner, hire a professional. I can not stress this enough. Everyone’s idea of clean is different. Get the job done by someone who has excellent cleaning standards and takes care of all the nitty gritty tasks of taking the curtains down and cleaning them, cleaning behind the stove, dusting and cleaning inside the closets, to washing the garage floor. It is so important to have the house look its best.
- Clear Clutter – remove all items that would distract the buyers when they come to look at the house. That includes an excess of magazines, photos, toys, anything that is personal. The fewer the items, the better. The prospective owners want to feel like they can move right in to the house and make it their own. If there are a lot of photos of the current owners, the prospective buyers may not think of the house as potentially theirs. Leave instead a floral bouquet on the dining room table or kitchen counter. Fresh flowers are a great welcome to dreary house hunting.
- Paint – Any area that needs it should get a fresh coat of white or off white paint. Paint makes everything look new. What better image for the prospective buyer to see.
- First Impressions – make the front door sparkle. You only have one chance to make a first impression. If the front door needs a paint job, be sure to give it a fresh coat. Pick a color that is appropriate for the outside and inside of the house. When you leave the door open to the living room, that color should work there as well. If there is space, add some potted plants at the front door. The front door and entryway should be fresh and clean looking.
- Curb Appeal – There’s no question about it, the approach to the house it very important. In addition to making the front door “sparkle”, make sure the lawn is in good shape, the mailbox gets a fresh coat of paint, the shrubs are trimmed. Anything you can do to help the prospective buyer feel comfortable and excited about the home helps to keep your asking price stable.
Extra Tip: Bake some brownies shortly before the showing. Leave them out for the prospective buyers. It shows them you care about your home and the home has a warm cozy, home cooking kind of feel to it.
“Joy, has no cost.” – Marianne Williamson
When I work with clients, I ask a lot of questions. One time I worked with a man who really did not know where to begin with his clutter. He had clutter in his office – lots of it and in the office storage area. So much so that we had to crawl into the space to see it all. There was a pressing need to use that space to sit down and look at drawings and storage for office supplies. It was currently being used for storage after a move. Moving from one house to another without clutter clearing first can be problematic. In this case, he had already been living part-time in this space and had all the necessary household items.
It takes time, but of course it is far better to get rid of what you do not need before you move. Fewer boxes for the moving company to move can save you lots of money and time. But the big benefit is to arrive at the new place with so much less to deal with. How many of us take the time to put everything in place the first two weeks we arrive at our new home? Usually, we do not take enough time to “move in”. So many times, I am called in to help people organize, set up systems and areas after a move.
When the boxes have been sitting there for months, we can clearly see what we need and do not need. I’m never going to tell anyone what they need to “throw out”. What I will ask is: “Do you love this item? Do you use it regularly? Can you live with out? I can usually tell what is important to them by the way they answer.
My client with the cluttered office got the de-clutter bug right away. Sometimes, we just need a little help to get started. After a slow 2-3 hour process, with questions such as, “what about this, I should keep it right?” I responded, “it looks old, out of shape and dated…” “I could run it through the dishwasher and paint it?” “Will you?” “No.” I could see it was sinking all in. It was important for him to decide not to keep the item and why. At that moment, everything changed. He started picking up item after item and showing me that he was throwing it away. “Look, I’m throwing this away.” Not everyone can pick up the clutter fun so quickly, but wouldn’t be fun to try? See if you can be that detached and or ruthless with the clutter in your space?
Have fun with it. Enjoy carefree, detached clutter fun!
