Saturday, March 30, 2013

Spring Cleaning Guide



Well, gals, spring has FINALLY arrived!  The sun is out and is staying out on our commutes home from work.  I’m ready to embrace this as much as any Bostonian, but before you open your windows to let the fresh air in, you need to conquer the clutter on the inside!  Of course, you should start with a digital clean-up, so you’re truly working from the inside > out.

There is no right way to go about this, so searching online for a “spring cleaning guide” is a great start.  This will help you tackle surfaces you may often forget about (e.g., dust on TV screen, crown moldings, shelving between books).  One of my all-time favorite sources for inspiration and instruction is the magazine Real Simple (thanks to my Secret Santa this year, I was gifted a subscription for 2013!), who breaks tasks down by their estimated time.  That way, you have NO excuse for leaving your space to look anything but an oasis.



One of my personal goals is to buy less.  Close friends of mine may laugh at this, but I have actually curbed my former shopaholic tendencies since college.  I really want to live with less and want what I have in my home to be meaningful and stay with me over time.  This is admittedly a slow process, and I will therefore be taking my own advice in the coming weeks as I pair down things in my city apartment during my annual spring cleaning purge.

I don’t follow a specific regimen, but I've noticed I've developed the following (successful) pattern for my spring cleaning:
  1. Minimize all of the STUFF (you no longer need used college notebooks or collection of candles you never use)
  2. Move everything off of the surface (place in different room and purge more if possible!)
  3. Use your guide for “how-to’s" on cleaning said surface (The Glitter Guide and Real Simple are my faves!)
  4. Put items back in the same vicinity, but in a new way that is visually appealing (Pinterest offers endless inspirational examples)

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You may be wondering about what to do with your seasonal clothes.  Truth be told, a gal’s closet is a completely separate beast.  More on that in the coming weeks!  Now that your place is spic and span, get more out of your day while the sun is out.  Be sure to share your tips, we’d love to know what works for you!

- Meredith

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