Spring Cleaning!!
Bikini season, right around the corner for wait, not you…your abode. That’s right our homes need to train for beach body weather too. Lighten your load and take a day or two to freshen up your space. I promise you will feel accomplished AF like the Power Rangers do after a day of fighting putty men, morphing into dinosaurs, AND battling the stress of high school. And you thought YOU were busy?
I recently read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo. I highly recommend you read it and do everything this woman says. Everything! However, if you aren’t up to a massive clean overhaul, here are my takeaways and favorite spring cleaning tips. (But really read the book).
First and foremost, Marie talks in the book about how we all just have too much shit in our homes. Unless you live in a zen palace, this is probably true of all of us. The number one rule to remember when cleaning out your stuff is “DOES THIS BRING ME JOY?” If it does not truly spark joy in you….buh bye! In the art of tidying, if an item does not spark joy, then you hold it and thank it for its time. All of our things served a purpose whether great or small in our lives and it is so weird but incredibly comforting to let something go after thanking it for serving you well. We are incredible beings who change and move and think in different ways as we grow and therefore not everything is needed in our lives all the time. Keep the items that bring you joy NOW and nothing else. More joyful things will find their way into your life.
What else can I do if this joy thing seems like Julia smoked too much and read a minimalist book and is now running around her apartment hugging and kissing things?!?!?
GET RID OF….
- Things you have multiples of that are not meant to be multiples. Ex. Socks be cool. You need multiple socks. The shirt you bought in three different colors? You probably only wear one out of the set most of the time. Bye gurl bye.
- Anything too small or too big. No one looks good in either option so choose to look good all the time baby!!
- Worn out underwear, socks, bras, etc… You know the ones. Put them in the garbage.
- Books that you won’t read again or will ever read. As a flaming bibliophile, my book hoarding tendencies are strong. However, once I cleaned my shelves to only the books that brought me joy, now all I see are my favorite books. Me happy bibliophile.
- Favorite clothes, decorations, items, etc…that no longer play a leading lady role in your life. We all change and while you may have worn that velvet Madonna inspired jacket every day two years ago, it’s collecting dust at the back of your closet. Let go. They served a beautiful role when you loved them and now it’s time to focus on the things that you love NOW.
- Anything you said you would repair but still haven’t. You’re not going to. If you don’t do it within the week, say goodbye to the project. As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “One day you’re in, and the next you’re out!”
- Take everything in the same category (clothes, kitchen, etc..) out all at once so you can really see how much crap you have. If you go room to room you will never see the massive scale in items you have accumulated. We humans are more like raccoons than you realize. We love to store the same thing in multiple rooms and hiding spaces just in case we may need it. Combine all of your chapsticks. Feel the shame. Keep the best two and keep them in the same place so you know where they are.
- Once putting things back, organize so you can see everything in your drawer or closet at once. Hiding things never works. You forget and you never wear it so you might as well lighten your load. Also, it helps you find things fast and figure out your fabulous outfit options.
- Take this time to wash out things you never clean like your STANK ASS GARBAGE CANS! Or all the dust and human dander in your drawers. Its disgusting. You are disgusting. CLEAN ALL THE THINGS!!!
Happy tidying peeps. Surround yourself with the things that bring you joy and get rid of the rest. You deserve a space of happy when you are at home.
Stuffy from the dust but happy I can see all my shoes,
Julia