Google “spring cleaning list” and you will find a number of downloadable PDFs. Most are quite helpful and insightful. Yet list following can play on the same issues that created the clutter in your home.

Confused?

When clutter builds up, it can create a sense of helplessness. You feel like no matter what you do the clutter will still exist.

Consequently, you give up/give in rather than fighting through it. Many of the clients I have worked with over the years reach that point.

Don’t get me wrong. These spring cleaning lists are very well intentioned and offer suggestions of things to clean that you might not otherwise. The problem is many of these lists and guidelines set you up to fail or, worse, feel like you have failed.

One spring cleaning list drafted a schedule of things to clean over a 30-day period. A spring cleaning challenge if you will. The challenge, however, is not as much checking off every item on the list but finding the time to do it. Many of the items—e.g., cleaning the garage, washing walls, deep-cleaning the fridge—are day-long projects. So, how will you feel on that weekday when you get home from work, make dinner from the family and then don’t get around to the day’s challenge?

We all know the answer to that one.

That type of thinking is why I’m not really a big fan of the term spring cleaning. It implies one-and-done. The fact remains keeping your home clean and decluttered is a year-round thing. And that’s how you don’t slip back into habits that attract clutter.

There are many projects that are better suited to taking place during the spring. Cleaning out the garage is one. Starting the nicer weather season with a clean garage is a morale booster and is something you probably wouldn’t do every week, never mind every day. That’s why the better list to create features items that you would only do that one time a year.

So, a spring cleaning challenge could be devoting one weekend afternoon or morning, your choice, to an annual activity. Then 5-10 minutes a day cleaning or organizing one part of that room.

For example, if Saturday was deep clean the refrigerator day, you could spend a few minutes over the next week sorting through each kitchen drawer or cabinet. Some things will take less time than others. You may not spend as much time on the silverware drawer as the drawer with all the odds and ends and other misplaced things. The point is slow and steady progress, literally one thing at a time, will make as much of an impact on your household as stressing out to meet the demands of a cleaning challenge.

Another option is to give me a call to help get you started on your spring cleaning and a system that will work for you throughout the year.

If you need help with determining how much you really need, please give me a call at 508-246-6120 or drop a line.