With the clocks set back and the birds singing in the warm air, that can only mean one thing: Spring has arrived! And the second piece to spring arriving is also taking a look around your house and deeming it time for a decluttering session. If the answer is a resounding yes, then follow some of these tips and tricks to help get the family involved and get cleaning!
Start Small
For most, cleaning and decluttering can feel like a massive chore. Even if there isn’t much stuff to go through, it seems like a monumental task, especially if you have younger children or teens who are reluctant to start. But making it fun and starting small can make a huge difference in giving them that push to begin. Starting them out with a very small section of their room can help them focus and not get overwhelmed easily. If they have a toy chest or simply a section of a closet, it’ll feel much more manageable to them and faster to get over with. And most of the time after they complete that small section, they’re already moving onto the next! This style of decluttering can apply to you and your spouse, too. If you’ve been putting off organizing and decluttering because of time, then tackle one drawer, one cabinet, or one section of a closet to begin with.
Keep It Fun
Remember that decluttering, cleaning and organizing doesn’t have to be boring for anyone in the house! Turn on some music, get some fun snacks, and tackle a room at a time with your family. Taking on a whole room together can also lighten the load per person, leaving everyone pumped up to continue working into another room. And of course, having frequent breaks to dance and boogie doesn’t hurt either! The whole process can be as long or short as you want, too. Don’t feel like you have to declutter the entire house all in one weekend. Even doing one bedroom or room of the house each week can make a difference, and before you know it, the whole house will be clutter free. You can break up all the spring cleaning into sections as well to keep you and your family focused. Just focus on decluttering room by room first, getting rid of the stuff you hardly or never use and donate for others. Then circle back to the first rooms you started with and determine if any of the rooms could benefit from reorganizing. Maybe they would benefit from an added cabinet here or there, or extra dresser to keep everything more organized or structured. Once that’s all done, then you can circle back again to thoroughly clean every room if need be.
Stay Focused
No matter how you decide to spring clean this year, remember to keep it fun and to get the whole family involved. They’ll feel good getting rid of stuff they no longer need while also keeping their room organized and clean.
Katie Kyzivat