Recently, I took on the mammoth task of spring cleaning my kitchen. It’s incredible how, over the space of a year, the kitchen junk drawer multiples and spreads to include a junk press, a littered space above the fridge, and a few other random drawers that consume every creased napkin, takeaway menu and used battery.
Drawers and presses lost their purpose, and the once empty corner of the countertop became a wasteland for bank statements, school reports, and random drawings brought home from preschool. From the kitchen, I moved to the playroom, the bathroom and spring-cleaned the whole house!
My failed attempt to keep on top of the random clutter that comes with living is not unusual. We’ve all been there, oblivious to the mounting piles of mess and chaos. A good spring clean shows us how unnecessary this clutter is but where do we start? With the music, of course!
1: Turn On Some Tunes
A spring clean can be a big monotonous job. Keep yourself motivated by playing your favourite music and singing along as you root through presses with worn cups from which you haven’t sipped tea in five years!
2: Grab Your Supplies
Spring cleaning is a messy job, so have everything you need to hand before you crack on with tearing up the kitchen. Bin bags, cloths, kitchen cleaner, and a mop! If you plan to sort everything into better storage, have your storage containers to hand too. There may be no need to rush out and buy anything new so avoid the temptation to pay a visit to Ikea until you know what you need.
3: Break It Into Zones
Focusing on one room at a time is a must. Even one corner of a room! Otherwise, it can be pretty overwhelming. So break your space into zones and work through one section before moving on to the next.
4: Be Ruthless
If something has lingered at the bottom of the drawer for longer than a year, think about whether you need it. I found takeaway menus from restaurants we’ve never ordered from, notes that made no sense, and napkin rings still in the box, never used, and unlikely to be used in the future. Anything that did not have a purpose was given a silent salute and separated in the varying piles of “Bin In”, “Recycle It”, “Donate It”, and “Sell It".
5: Clean And Tidy As You Go
While not necessary, cleaning and tidying as you go along is something I am passionate about; excessive mess can trigger anxiety of the highest order making me down tools! When you clear out one drawer, organise it and clear away anything you are no longer keeping. This way, you give yourself the space to tackle the next drawer, and by the end, you’re not left with the mountainous job of a full room clean.
