As sick as it sounds, I really do enjoy the process of Spring cleaning.  I like my home neat, tidy and organized.  If you’ve known me for some time, you’ll know that I have a process that I follow all year long.

Each month, I go through a different room in my house.  I empty the drawers and/or cabinets and closets.  Before I put everything away, I examine each item to determine if I want to keep it.

These are the questions I ask myself:
Do I use this?
Do I want this?
Do I like this?
Do I love this?

I’m a big fan of Marie Kondo who wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy.  She’s also the star of her ever popular Netflix show.  Maybe you've seen it.  She believes that every item has energy.  She teaches her students to pick up each item and hold it to see if it sparks joy.  She advises to keep those items that spark joy and discard items that don’t.

"The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past." - Marie Kondo

I love the idea of surrounding myself with things that only spark joy.  It’s a great barometer for determining if I want to keep something.  It’s particularly difficult for me to part with items that are still useful even if I don’t use them and if paid good money for them.  (It must be old programming from growing up.)  For those items that are too good to toss, I have a shelf in the garage where I temporarily put those things until I can sell or donate.

If you have a hard time getting rid of things, just go for the low hanging fruit to get started.  Here are some examples:

Old Silk plants - I had some that were more than a decade old.  I loved them when I first purchased them.  By the time I said goodbye, they looked like they were attacked by a cat and all dusty in places that I just couldn’t get clean.

Dry-cleaning hangers - Did you know you can return these to the dry cleaners?

Shopping bags - You know the ones that you think, “This is a great bag.  I’m gonna save it."  How many of you have an old Adrienne Clarisse Intimate Boutique bag laying around?  (I don’t blame you.  They were super cute!)

Outdated anything - Food, medicine, make up.  Anything that’s past it’s date.  Be sure to dispose of medications properly.  Contact your local pharmacy and ask how.

Old shredded towels - Keep a few in your laundry room.  However, if you’re like me and amassed enough to clean up a small flood, toss the worst of the bunch.

Empty boxes - You know the ones.  You’ve kept “just in case”.  Put those in the recycling pile!

Old cleaning products that you’re never going to use - I just got rid of a bottle of marble cleaner that I’ve been carrying around since 2002.  No joke.

If the idea of Kon Marie'ing your entire house at once is overwhelming.  Try doing what I do and pick a room each month.  In a years time, you’ll get through your entire house.  If you keep it up, each year gets easier and easier.

Give away, donate, sell or pitch all the items you don’t use or that don’t spark joy.

How about you?  Do you have a Spring cleaning routine?

Spring cleaning is sexy.
Adrienne