Your mission: DECLUTTER-CLEAN-REORGANIZE
With warming temperatures calling us outdoors, one thing is for certain- spring cleaning must be done before any fun in the sun. A good once-over of your house will not only help the quality of life within your home, but it will also boost your mood knowing the dirt, dust, and grime accumulated over the winter months has been removed. Maybe you’ll start a pact to make one chore more routine, or maybe it’s a promise to commit going more green…whatever it is, make this years spring cleaning count.
HAVE A GAME PLAN and SET REASONABLE GOALS:
Mark down areas of your home that you need to clean and come up with a plan. Seeing your goals written down in list-form makes you more apt to want to cross it off. Scheduling time to complete these Cinderella tasks will help to alleviate distractions. And take one area at a time. It’s incredibly helpful and less overwhelming to work on one room/fixture at a time.
DESIGNATE DIFFERENT BINS:
Instead of sky high piles on the floor that will easily get knocked over by you, the kids, or the dog, use plastic bins like these to help separate. ie: garage sale items, things to donate, return to others.
DON’T FORGET THE CEILING:
Dust the fan or light fixture and remove those nasty cobwebs from the crown molding in the corners
BATHROOMS:
-Get rid of old soaps, lotions, un-used gift sets. Keeping products for “future use” or to “re-gift” is not a good idea. Just bite the bullet!
-Throw away old medicines and prescriptions that are past their expiration date. Not only do they take up space but they can be ineffective or even dangerous to your health.
-Remove any random items from under the sink that may collect bacteria: old sponges, dust rags, mop heads, etc.
CLOSETS:
-Keep, Donate, Toss….3 piles! Keep the 3 F’s in mind. Does it fit, does it flatter, is it fashionable?
-Don’t keep clothes because you might fit into them again or because you swear it will come back into fashion.
-Put items you wear often within easy reach ie: work clothes. Casual and lounge wear can go in shelves and drawers.
FORGET MOTHBALLS:
The moths don’t like the smell of them, and neither do us humans! If you’ve ever stored your clothes in mothballs you know how hard it is to remove the scent, and not only are they unkind to your senses but they also contain pesticides as reported by the EPA (naphthalene and/or paradichlorobenzene ). Much safer alternatives are: cedar, cloves, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, cinnamon sticks, or bay leaves. Place those scents in bags and stick in clothing pockets or dangle them from hangers.
REFRIDGERATORS:
One chore that should be done on a regular basis is cleaning out and cleaning IN your fridge. Think about it- it’s where we store what our bodies consume! Do you ever feel like you’ve completely reorganized your fridge only to find it back to that same cluttered mess is was a week ago? Tupperware containers of leftovers scattered, opened water bottles and kid’s soda cans on every shelf, year and a half old salad dressings…. Well here is a great site for managing the big task 10 minutes a day!
LAUNDRY (Go Green):
-Turn your dial to a cold-water setting for most loads. With most loads of laundry you really don't need hot water to get a good cleaning. 90% of the energy used by your machine goes into heating the water it uses. High temperature settings gobble up your electricity, not to mention, the green in your wallet.
-If you are in the market to replace your old, non-energy efficient washer, consider a front-load model. Front-loading models use a third less water, heat energy, and detergent than standard top-loading designs.
-Go green with detergent! Green Alternatives in Norfolk, highly recommends Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder. It packs all the cleaning power you’ll need from a detergent. A 3 lbs. bag of Charlie’s can do up to 80 full wash loads, and you’ll need only 1 Tablespoon per large load. That's it!
Below is a list of a few stores in our area that carry earth friendly laundry detergents and/or the ingredients you will need to make your own.
Green Alternatives
801 Boush Street, Suite C
Norfolk, VA 23510
757.622.1444
The Heritage Store
314 Laskin Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
757.428.0500
Organic Food Depot
1912 Granby St.
Norfolk, VA 23517-2329
757.623.8999
Plus locations in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth
MAKE THIS SPRING COUNT:
Spring cleaning can mean everything from cleaning out your closets, pocketbooks, garages, and junk food but the most important cleaning you need to do is a “mental spring cleaning “. YES. Changing your mind set changes everything. Imagine cleaned out closets and homes, a clean diet and exercise routine, removal of toxic relationships and a new attitude towards work. Make this spring yours and enjoy what this new season of rebirth has to offer.
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