Cleaning House and Decluttering

[Quintessence]

Hey guys,

It's that time of year for many of us when the weather gets warmer and we decide to clean out our homes. Even those of us who are messy housekeepers or pack rats can get pulled into the spring time cleaning routine. I like to do a deep clean of my living space once a year - as in pulling furniture away from walls to vacuum and dust the places that I miss the rest of the year. Sometimes the cleaning becomes less about sweeping the dust and more about getting rid of things that are cluttering up my living space.

What kind of housekeeping activities are you engaged in this time of year? Any tips or process improvements you'd like to share?

Although I post this topic up in the non-religious section of the forums, for me, doing this kind of cleaning is a religious activity - a purification as it were. One thing I do when I finish cleaning a room is burn some incense; this really sets in the "this space has been cleansed now" energy, and plus it smells nicer than those strange-smelling room fresheners they sell in the big box stores around here.

 

[Sunstone]

I prefer to keep things as simple as I can, so I give any stuff I no longer have a need for to charity -- or I throw it out if a charity won't take it. I find that suites me much better than hording it.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm get'n rid of unwanted stuff, & reorganizing.
It takes forever! (I have a lot of stuff.)

 

[Quintessence]

It does take a while.

But in my case, it is probably because I'm a fussy nitpicker and everything has to be "just so" or I'm not satisfied with my cleaning job. >_>

 

[Revoltingest]

It does take a while.

But in my case, it is probably because I'm a fussy nitpicker and everything has to be "just so" or I'm not satisfied with my cleaning job. >_>

No kid'n. I got that gene too.

 

[Drolefille]

Trying to declutter, sell or donate or just plain throw out stuff that I don't need, and limit bringing new stuff into the house.

It's time to pull out the clothes and do some honest assessment of whether they'll be wearable or not. I have a problem getting rid of "perfectly good things" and now I don't wear them out like I used to when I was younger, so things just hang around forever.

 

[Vinayaka]

If it was just me, you would not believe how ridiculously simple I could live. But it's also Boss, and the culmination of 5 kids. We need to chuck a ton of stuff, but since I'm just a squatter, it won't happen. My motto is if you haven't used it in a year and it costs less than a hundred bucks, chuck it.

 

[Drolefille]

OK, tackling the closet tonight. Bring it.

 

[Treks]

I like to do the same as you; clean places that don't usually get cleaned. Since I rent, and the agent is strict on quarterly inspections, my house gets cleaned extra well every three months anyway. And husband and I are quite minimalistic, so there isn't much furniture to move around.