Spring Cleaning Storage Solutions

Because frankly, all that clutter and stuff is stressful! It's stressful to not be able to find things and it's stressful to have to step over the stuff you have laying on the floor because you have no room for it.

Besides adding stress, clutter is unhealthy. It collects dust, and it can become a home to critters that we don't want around! If your home is cluttered, it's possible that it isn't as clean as it could be. Cleaner homes are healthier. They don't have a lot of dust and allergens floating around and they don't have areas that harbor lots of unfriendly germs.

And on top of all this, a clean and clutter-free house just makes you feel better. Clutter produces a closed-in feeling. Clutter-free spaces produce a relaxed feeling. Clutter, dirt and smells make you and your family and guests feel uncomfortable. A neat home that doesn't smell like anything at all makes you, your family and guests feel better. And when your home is neat and clutter-free, you feel more in control of your life (it's true)!

Why not start with the Six Month Rule. The six-month rule is this - you put your excess stuff in boxes and store them away. If you haven't used those items in six months, you don't need them - it's time to let them go. Now it's true that your holiday decorations are only going to be used once every twelve months, and there are other things where this rule won't apply, but the six-month rule is great for deciding whether or not to keep something that you aren't sure about.

When you're starting your six-month rule program, don't be shy about what you put away - you'll know if you miss it and want to use it. The idea is to take everything that you don't currently use and that you don't know for certain that you will use again, and everything that you don't like any longer, and everything that is creating a mess in your home and put it away. Be ruthless about this - you can get it back out if you want it.

Now wait six months and then get the boxes you stored it all away in back out and begin to sort through things. If you find things that you haven't missed, needed or thought about in the six months, get rid of them. Don't throw things in the trash. Donate them to charity or give them to someone who can use it. One great place to give things away is Freecycle. If an item is something that you can sell and bring a bit of extra cash into your home, the sell it on Craigslist or at a garage sale.

While you're waiting for the six-month rule to work, you can do other things that will help get your home neat and tidy. If storage of clothing and soft goods like pillows is a problem, use the large storage bags that you use your vacuum to suck the air out of, thus compressing your clothes, sheets, pillows, etc. into tidy units that fit better into closets or under the bed storage areas.

Instead of tossing things into flimsy cardboard boxes to store, invest in some sturdy plastic resealable boxes. These work well for storing anything from holiday decorations to important papers or keepsakes. They are stackable and can be easily labeled, plus they keep things clean and dry.

The kitchen and bathroom are notorious places for both clutter and dirt. Go through what you've got shoved in your drawers and cabinets and remove those things that you don't use. Freecycle or Craigslist them or in the case of old cosmetics, throw them away. You can find drawer and cabinet organizers that help to keep things neat and tidy - use them!

Once you've worked through your clutter, it's time to give every part of your home a thorough cleaning. Even if you cannot get the entire house done in one day, you can schedule time over a period of days to tackle one room or one task at a time. This is the time to make everything sparkle.

When your spring-cleaning program is done, it's up to you to keep your home clutter and dirt free once and for all.

The hard part is over!

All you need to do now is keep a consistent program of cleaning and getting rid of clutter when it begins to accumulate again.