I’ve found that cleaning and organizing things can be a good stress reliever. It helps me when it is one of those days where I’m sad and missing my family becomes overwhelming. For some reason I thought it was odd, but I found this article recently about it! I’m glad to know I’m not the only person that finds relief from cleaning! Even though cleaning and decluttering can help relieve stress, it can also cause more stress if I make a huge mess. I wanted to share what I learned last year when I relocated across the country.
The biggest hurdle was to find my balance of keeping, selling and donating items. To simplify the process I broke it down to specific categories. This really helped, and I’ve found the best way to tackle this (sometimes overwhelming) task was to start with one category at a time. Since it’s Spring time, it’s the perfect time to purge and organize the house again. Here’s the top two categories to take on first.
Clothing and Shoes
Go through your closet and ask:
- When’s the last time this was worn? If it hasn’t been worn in over 12 months, it automatically goes.
- Do I feel good when I wear it? Feeling confident is the key.
- Does it fit correctly? Keeping items that don’t fit or need repair should be kept to a bare minimum (5 items or less).
- If I saw it in the store today, would I buy it? Make sure your closet is only filled with classic pieces and current trends.
Here’s some other helpful information about cleaning out your closet from The EveryGirl blog.
Kitchen
Go through your cabinets and drawers to identify items that:
- Don’t work or are broken
- Haven’t been used in the last year
- Do not have the matching pieces (e.g. lids)
This article is a good reference on organizing a kitchen.
As you go through the process of purging, put items in 3 boxes – Trash, Sell and Donate. Don’t forget that donating is a tax write off, so be sure to save that receipt!