So it’s finally here…spring. And you know what that means, don’t you? It’s time for some major decluttering!
I’ve always loved this time of year. The cherry trees will soon be in bloom, as well as the Bradford pears, magnolias, and dogwoods. The whole world seems fresh, new, and beautiful—and I want my home to be just as lovely!
After my major declutter for our UK move, I have significantly less to do this year. Instead of tackling a three bedroom house with a basement, attic, and garage, I’ll only be dealing with a two bedroom flat. Surprisingly enough, though—as minimally as we live—there’s still some work to be done.
Here’s my to-do list:
* Try on everything in my closet. Eliminate anything that’s worn out, doesn’t fit, or I’ve just grown tired of.
* Go through all the paperwork that’s accumulated in the last several months. Scan what needs to be scanned, shred what needs to be shredded, file what needs to be kept.
* Clean out the bathroom cabinet. Dispose of cold medications from winter, and any products that aren’t being used or are past their prime.
* Take everything out of the kitchen cupboards. Scrub down the cabinets, and put back only the food that we intend to eat (I say this because I know there are still two Christmas puddings in there! FYI to American readers: these are not what you think of as “pudding,” but rather small, highly-preserved cakes).
* Purge any books we’ve accumulated since our move. (These consist mainly of travel guides for countries we’ve already visited, and a few novels purchased for long train and plane rides.)
* Clean, clean, clean! I’m usually not particularly domestic, but springtime brings out the household diva in me. After everything’s sparkling, I’ll reward myself with a bouquet of fresh flowers for the windowsill.
Since I don’t have an attic, basement, or garage to work on this year, it’ll be a piece of cake—leaving me plenty of time to spend outdoors, watching the world come into bloom. If anyone can tell me where the best hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spots are in London, I’d be very appreciative!
Anyone else in the mood for some spring decluttering? What’s on your list?
I go through the kitchen and bathroom cupboards once a month to wipe them down and get rid of empties, expired things or stuff that should just be elsewhere. . . it’s a good way to keep the clutter from building up in the first place.
Great tip, Simple in France!
Oh..sign me up!! I am recovering from knee surgery but I was able to still fill a huge trash bag full of stuff. Right now, we get into use it up mode. As we go along, I clean…DEEP clean..and it feels so good. It’s wonderful to open the windows and let Spring in. I am going to go work on my closet this week. : )
Glad to have you on board, Heather, and best wishes for your recovery. :-)
Thank you. The warmer weather is helping a lot. : )
That’s a good list. I’m actually about to go through some clothes to pick out which to keep and which to donate.
Hi Jersey Mom! Have fun with the closet decluttering!
I’m going through my fabric stash and thinning it out. I have stuff I bought on impulse two years ago and never made up, so I’m eiher going to use it or get rid of it this year.
That sounds like a good plan, Aurora. Do you sew your own clothes?
I eat healthy so my clothes still fit.I buy strong thick jeans which I repair with needle and thread.I only have two pairs of trousers and they last years.I buy quality clothing not throwaway fashion.I don’t use medications from drug stores I’d rather eat a vegtable soup if sick.I haven’t had a cold in seven years since I became a vegan because dairy products create mucus which I don’t create.The only thing in my bathroom cabinet is a bar of soap and a toothbrush.I don’t buy deodorant because I eat a wholesome diet and drink plenty of water so do not smell, also I am not throwing loads of skin creams and other product packaging in the bin which don’t really work and pollute the water with chemicals.It just gives bored people something to do.There is nothing to scrub down in my kitchen cupboard.One plate, one bowl,spork,knife and food for week.I have no books to purge because I use the library so saving trees.If I go abroad I ask directions or use satellite navigation on my phone.My place is so minimalist there is nothing to clean.I never buy flowers I prefer to sit in a field and see them living rather than plucked from the ground and covered in cellophane.Bought flowers are the most ridiculous example of the commodification of the natural world.No paperwork because I use my brain to remember things or laptop.No envelopes or paperclips cause I use e-mail.The only thing I need to do is open the window and listen to the birds.
P.S Mother Teresa owned two Saris and a bucket.Growing tired of your clothing?It sounds like your still trapped in consumerism.Maybe you are not satisfied with life?Why would you throw your clothing out unless it is falling apart?Even if you give it to a clothing bank it still takes land to grow cotton and hard work by people to work doubly hard to satisfy peoples desire for new clothing when they get bored of something.The more you buy the faster they must work in India or China to feed western habits for terrible wages, robbing them of their own lives.If you give it to goodwill you are just dumping your cast offs on people.Be grateful for what you have and live with it.The land wasted for people who want new clothes every season can be used for feeding the hungry.
P.S If you possess so much that you can just keep filling trash bags ever year with your cast offs that is very sad.Don’t throw anything away.Keep it as a reminder of your consumerism.Put it in a big glass cube in your living room and every time you think of buying something new think of your house filled with those cubes of your whims.Don’t buy travel books if you will only dump them on someone else later or at least buy them second hand at a charity store.You can also get travel books at the local library.
Jason, love your idealist philosophy! You make a lot of good points. Unfortunately, my flat doesn’t stay perfectly clean by itself, I’m not able to sit in a field of flowers as often as I’d like, and the British Embassy wouldn’t be too pleased if I told them my visa paperwork was “in my brain.” ;-) When it comes to minimalism, I’m trying to find the best balance I can.
superb reply!
Humour is definitely the best defence;)
Nice job handling the reply. Everyone is trying to do their best.
I plan to start my spring cleaning today. For me it’s really about opening up the windows and letting the house breathe. Cleaning a little deeper into corners, that sort of stuff. And yes, fresh flowers. But I always try to have fresh flowers in the house! Shoot me!
~janet
p.s. I wonder if Jason is married?
janet, I agree, there’s nothing better than opening those windows wide each spring! :-)
I was just thinking about this yesterday as I did my taxes.
My bathroom could definitely use some further de-cluttering, and of course my closet as well.
Aspiring Minimalist, the other great part about spring is having those tax returns behind us!
Hello Janet,
I’m not married but I have a few girlfriends and If I want to share flowers with them I take them to a beautiful field in France with a picnic surrounded by flowers.I’m not so cheap as to buy crappy flowers from a store wrapped in cellophane.I live for the moment.Imagine sitting in a lovely field having a picnic and all the cellophane from your past purchases blows into the field from the landfill.How romantic.I appreciate flowers thats why I don’t yank them out of the ground.Let them die when they are good and ready.You can’t put a price on everything.We don’t kidnap people and keep them alive temporarily so we can gawp at them until the die after a few days.What a vain world.You can’t own or possess beauty.A field of living flowers is beautiful.They vibrate with colour.Plucked flowers look dead and miserable.Maybe you have never truly looked at a flower which is alive.It glows with living energy.
Jason, we all bring beauty into our lives in different ways. And flowers from your own garden don’t come in cellophane. :-) Furthermore, I think Janet was just suggesting that when you have another member in the household, it’s not always as easy to keep things perfectly minimalist — which is very true.
Dear Miss Minimalist,
Good point it is true another member can slow you down.Particularly if they aren’t very bright as most modern men are in the 21st century.They are a bunch of wimps who spend there time choosing the correct scin cream to moisten their pores after shaving.
Okay, just a friendly reminder that I would like my blog to be a place of community, happiness, and peace. While I welcome comments expressing all points of view, anything that personally attacks another member will not be accepted for publication. Today was the first time I’ve ever had to delete a comment, and I’d prefer not to do so in the future.
I value everyone’s opinions, and want you all to feel welcome here. So let’s keep the discussion light, respectful, and insightful! :-)
My two cents:
Jason, you sound like you are really enlightened and have a view of the world that many of us are working toward. However, your wording makes me feel like you are scolding me or condemning me for not being at your level. We may not all be at your level, but it sounds like you could really be a role model, like Miss Minimalist, to get to that place. It also sounds like you hold Mother Theresa in high regards, and she held no anger or disgust for others, just love and hope. Perhaps we should all try to minimalize those negative feelings out of our life and live more like her in spirit and mind, and hope that our view of possessions follow.
I agree it is good to be light.Though sometimes one must communicate with passion to wake people up.Beauty doesn’t come into life by killing things and displaying them.
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” Found this on a Bruce Lee biography website. : ) I think it applies here.
Great quote, Heather!
We don’t have spring in the Philippines, but I always love the refreshing smell of a clean house… Good luck with spring cleaning!
Thanks, Miss Guimba!
I’m afraid things do creep into my house that were useful at the time but now are no longer so. This leads me to my new definition of a minimalist: someone who goes out with a full bag (of stuff to donate) and comes back with an empty one (not having bought anything)! What do others think? I have done this several times lately and it amused me. I love living in a clean place and having been able to have floorboards rather than carpet for the first time I find how easy it is keep clean. And I have the windows open all day, every day, if weather permits. Lovely cold fresh air blowing through the place! Means I sleep better too. Roll on Spring! Miss M: I am not sure which parks have cherry trees but I used to like to wander through the Central London parks – they each have their own characteristics. Also Richmond Park and Windsor Great Park are both lovely places for a day out. LOL!
I like your definition, Frances. :-) Thanks for the park recommendations!
I tell you what I’d like to downsize the most. My house! I just feel its too large. Fortunately we are only renting so after the kids are out of the house we’ll be able to downsize to something more suitable.
In the meantime I’ll look through everyone else’s meds to see what’s outdated. I have some fabrics and linens to go through to see what can be donated. There are some cross stitch supplies I’ll sell off. In truth, I went through a MAJOR purge in the last 8 months and have very little left to go through. I’ve also been very careful what I let back into the house. I think its time I sent my aquarium on to a new home though. Its become more of a chore than a labor of love. That tends to be my yardstick. Is caring for a thing a labor of love or a chore? If a chore, out it goes. I was shocked at just how much did NOT make the cut.
There isn’t much to clean. I do deep cleanings on a regular basis but I’m glad about being able to throw open the windows and air the house out despite the horrendous amounts of pollen in the air. (sigh)
Where I am gaining is gardening. :) My husband and I have made some MAJOR changes to our diet in the last several months. We’ve read one too many articles, seen one too many documentaries and endured one too many food recalls. So, now we’re getting into raising as much of our own food, organically of course, as we can. I’m fighting City Council for the right to be allowed to keep a few hens in the backyard for the eggs. But you know what I’ve discovered, we really CAN afford to purchase fresh fruits and veggies, a bit of meat and commodities if we cut out processed foods. Amazing huh? :)
Jenna Ann, I like your “labor of love or a chore” criteria. And I’m looking forward to reading about your gardening efforts on your blog. :-)
P.S. I’m not sorry to say I’ve not gone as extreme as Jason. If that is the life he chooses then I am happy he has found it. I choose a life based on the comforts of home but I can still do that while being more productive than consumerist. Life, by default, causes us to be consumers. Let’s call it an “occupational hazard”. However, we can, and should, offset that as much as possible. Live simply, healthy and naturally and it’ll all work out. JMO (goes back to enjoying a cup of organic ginger tea while reading articles online)
Sping cleaning is great because every new season is great. Spring means new veggies and new fruit, longer sunny days and time to meet friends outside. So I do enjoy spring cleaning and opening windows.
As for minimalism, I am on my own way towards it, I enjoy being on the way, I am not sure I can reach the core of minimalism but I don’t mind :-)
You’re right, nicole 86, “every new season is great.” I feel a similar joy at the start of summer, fall, and even winter.
even I threw out a bagful of clothes, I seriously thought I had very little. Some of those were already on the hold, packed away, because they were not perfect. A hat was too dead, a pair of pants had a hole.
I now have 6 t-shirts, out of wich only one is short-sleeved and also something like 2 years old. I guess i can afford to get a couple new ones at some point… before the weather gets too hot.
It’s surprising, Kai, isn’t it: even when we think we have little, we STILL have more than enough!
I just discovered this exchange. I am wearing an 11 year old shirt. I know because it has the date printed on it and my husband got it for free and then wouldn’t wear it because it is pale purple. We wear things out, if they are stained they are worn under something else. We replace buttons, mend tears, etc. Some things get dyed navy blue or black to hide wear. You can get books at the library on remaking clothes into other kinds of clothes, like adult clothes into children’s clothes. I have made clothes for dolls and “action figures” who wear out their capes out of rags.
When my children were young, many of their gifts were second hand. A favorite was books from the used book sale at the library. Spring reminds me of rummage sales and garage sales. My daughter got her Barbies because a neighbor was throwing them out. I made clothes out of our old clothes and bits of yarn. Darth Vader got a new cape out of a piece of black fabric. I once put new pockets in a coat my older son got second hand.
We just passed around more clothes. My older son gave some sport coats to my daughter’s boyfriend who needed a few. I got 2 nice long sleeved shirts and my mother will get 2 short sleeved shirts and a sweater passed from me. Then I will try to get her to give away a few stained items she is holding onto at the nursing home. I did get a pair of pants that didn’t fit away from her already. I am trying to fill a bag for textile recycling after I read about yarn made from old clothes.
I have a flannel shirt with holes in the sleeves and pretty worn through. I just got a new one in the same colors for $1. The old one will be cut into long strips to make craft projects, because it has buttons to be reused.