Sweeping away the old and bringing in the new
Gives some top tips on how to enjoy yourself while getting your house in order and to make the most of spring cleaning
As the days become lighter for longer and the gloom of winter lifts, our thoughts instinctively turn to spring cleaning.
But, however motivated you feel, it can easily become a daunting task if you allow it to, especially if the majority of the task falls upon one person’s shoulders.
The average household devotes approximately eleven hours to spring cleaning and de-cluttering every year – that’s over and above how much time we spend on general day-to-day cleaning!
As is the case with ordinary housework, women are likely to spend more time on spring cleaning than men. On average, women spend 132 minutes a day doing housework, almost twice as much as men, who only manage 75 minutes. Here are some top tips on how to get your house in order.
Stuff has a way of accumulating and, if not kept in check, it can soon pile up, resulting in the need for a good old sort out. Whether organising and de-cluttering your home relieves stress or frees up extra storage space, it is essential to make a specific plan to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Firstly, break everything down into manageable chunks. Decide which room requires attention first and begin by clearing surfaces such as coffee tables, (eg recycle magazines and newspapers that have been read and store current copies in a magazine rack; put books back on the bookshelf ), then tackle one cupboard or drawer at a time.
Identify what is clutter. Work out what is important to you and what adds value to your life in some way, not just getting rid of stuff for the sake of it
Allocate small periods of time to de-cluttering. It takes a lot of energy, effort and concentration to de-clutter so, instead of devoting hours to the task, work in small increments of time such as 15-30 minutes.
Have some background music on. Upbeat songs with a bouncy rhythm are best as they help set your pace and make you feel good.
Get everyone involved. To prevent your motivation levels from waning, enlist the whole household – if they have helped create the clutter, why shouldn’t they help to remove it? More hands means more progress and you reduce the chance of being accused of getting rid of something that was trash to you but treasure to another
member
of the household. Commit to getting rid. Once you have sorted your clutter, decide where it is going to go (eg recycle, donate to charity, list on a selling site or store in the loft/garage). Give yourself a reward. Incentives always improve progress so treat yourself for your hard work. It doesn’t have to be much – a piece of cake with your next cup of coffee, a take-away and a glass of wine, or a nice long soak in a bubble bath to soothe those aching limbs. But, no matter what you do, don’t buy more clutter! Once clutter-free, stay clutter-free! Possessions will build up again over time, so it is important to keep things in check. Clutter tends to invade our homes daily – junk mail through the letter box, unwanted gifts etc – be prepared to deal with these things as they arrive.