Spring Cleaning

     It's that time of year. That sudden urge to purge. That itch to throw everything away. The desire to start new. Maybe you start on a whim like I do, or perhaps you have to pencil it in on your calender.

     Spring cleaning has hit me early, like it does every year. I'm noticing that our apartment gets much dirtier than our previous homes, so deep cleaning is 
kind of a must to keep my sanity. I am definitely what one could call a messy person. Cluttered. But not disorganized. But I am on the clean freak side of things. A crumb on the counter? Gotta get that bad boy. A drip of coffee on the floor? Better wipe that up now or it will haunt me forever. Makeup powder dusting the white sink? Better scrub that mess away. That is probably why I spent six hours when I moved in scrubbing every inch of wall space. I might be a little obsessive. Don't judge.
  

     One way I de-clutter (this is a frequent passtime) is to empty out all the cupboards and down size my collection of dishes. "But, I might need 10 pretty plates for that party I might have someday!" Logical. 
     

      I usually go through every single piece of paper I have in my possession. Some going back to when I was a kid. Yeah, I'm a little sentimental. Thankfully, every time I open the box, there is something that has lost it's emotional attachment. Even if it's just one tiny piece of paper. That's a step forward, right?
     
     Downsizing our movie collection is also a must. Although, there tends to be less downsizing in the recent past and more organizing the never ending pile.

      I tend to get rid of furniture, dishes, shoes, makeup, accessories, and of course clothes. Thank goodness for my favorite local consignment store, Lilly's. If you're ever in Glenwood, make sure you stop by and say hello to Kelly. She has an ever-rotating array of clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. Sometimes she gets some really great, high-end brand names coming through too. I've made quite a bit of money by taking my clothes and shoes here to sell over the past... however many years. I don't know what I would do without her! 

     When going through my clothes and shoes, I'm one of those people that pulls everything out of the closet and has to try it all on in front of the mirror. If my first reaction is "this looks great!" I keep it. If my first reaction is nothing or just "meh", it goes. Honestly, I don't see how I can have any clothes left, I do this so often. 

     Ahh. Do you have that one piece of clothing, that you put on just to stand in front of the mirror and feel good about yourself? When I was in California, I fell in love with a gorgeous, summery dress at TJ Maxx and I had to own it. Come on ladies, you know how that is. I had zero occasion in mind, no idea when I could possibly wear it, but I walked out of the store with the dress in hand. Meet my Lil Beauty. My husband might have to take me on a mandatory summer dinner date just so can wear this out in public.

     My main thing is cleaning. I mean, really cleaning. With dark carpets, every single little speck of anything shows up, and me with that obsessive mind, will literally walk around and pick up anything I can see. Every time I see something. Yes, I know that dark carpet is supposed to hide all the mess, but there are way more light colored specks than dark colored specks. 

     The good and bad thing (for my sanity) is that I don't have a lot of stuff at our apartment. I keep thinking how great it feels to have hardly anything and how freeing it is. And then, I open our storage unit. And of course, there are things in there I can't even remember; things that I definitely don't need, but as soon as I lay eyes on it I come up with an excuse to keep it! What is wrong with me? Ay yi yi.

     I also have piles going at my house. Am I the only one who does this? Donate. Friends. Consignment. Return.

     The good news is that after living in California and having close to none of my possessions, I know that I can live that way still. So here's to downsizing, de-cluttering, deep cleaning, and keeping my sanity. 

     What's your Spring Cleaning "must do"?