Mommy Moments
Strolling into Spring Cleaning
By Shakira Muneswar
We all have them, as much as we are in denial and reluctant to acknowledge. It’s the monster in the house that’s never mentioned. What is it? It’s known as the catch all, the place that should be cordoned off as a crime scene and where the ‘I don’t know what to do with this’ items go to retire; also known as the spare room. These seemingly uncontrollable beasts have spawned a slew of reality based television shows where a crew of experts come into the unorganized home and transforms a room or even the entire house back to a livable space. Evidence that it’s not just you who has been seduced by the excessive consumerism that seems to be an off-shoot of an affluent society. It’s created a whole new industry where organization is the new hobby and in some cases, a profession.
In my efforts to tame my unruly monster, which I’ve taken to calling ‘Bedlam’, I’ve set myself the task of once and for all purging my spare room of all the paraphernalia that’s been stored there over the years. The intention is to be better off than when I started because I’m at a point where it’s not an option for it to grow ever bigger and more unruly. And what better time to get started than the time of year that signifies renewal and reawakening – Spring{!
How to approach Bedlam? Very carefully, albeit with courage and determination. And the reward? Hopefully, a habitable, functioning space and the relief and satisfaction of having tamed Bedlam into one you can live with as a healthy contributor to your home rather than as a source of disquiet and stress.
I had intend to chronicle my daily monster training activities for two weeks but decided that would be as tedious to read as it may be to write. Instead, I’ve summarized some of the observations made and lessons learned as I went through this process.
Before I started my purge project, I determined what I wanted to use the spare room for and designated areas for specific uses. I had a corner where the computer would stay and built my home office area there. I also wanted a crafting area which would primarily be set up as storage and a work surface. I also needed a space for ironing clothes and it had to have an unobstructed view of the television. Ironing is not very entertaining. Some people use the extra space as a guest room or play room. This really helped to organize the room and I was able to plan for the storage I would need once I knew where everything belonged.
My approach was to divide and conquer. This is possibly the only way to keep from feeling overwhelmed. Well, denial works too, but there comes a time when Bedlam can’t be denied any longer. Breaking down the entire project into manageable tasks was really important to my success since the feeling of being overwhelmed was the one thing that had kept Bedlam well-fed to the extent where it could not be contained any longer.
The first part of this process was to set aside a small amount of time every day that I could commit to the task. Between fifteen and thirty minutes each day is usually all it takes. A timer can be helpful to keep you on track. Of course if you go a little over because you’ve hit a stride or can’t quite make the fifteen minutes because you haven’t got it in you that day, it’s all okay. The important thing is to devote some time to Bedlam every day.
It’s also helpful to minimize the potential for distractions by choosing a time of day where you’re sure to not be interrupted. Being called away because your two-year-old wondered how far he could shove a raisin up his nose warrants immediate attention and will effectively squelch attention to Bedlam for that day.
The next step I took in dividing and conquering was to sort my items into appropriate groups. These can be specific to an ultimate goal, but generally fall into a few categories: Keep, Toss, Give Away or Sell. Between keep and toss, the rule of thumb I adopted is anything I had not used in one to two years was a good candidate for the toss pile. Some common sense applies here as there are some exceptions such as documents used to prepare tax returns and of course important identification documents and papers. When disposing of sensitive documents such as pay stubs or credit card statements, be preventative and shred them before recycling.
Once I had decided between keep and toss, I had to decide where to toss: Sell, Donate or Garbage. The condition of items usually determines in which bin they will be placed.
One thing I learned is that re-organization is not the same as organization. Moving one pile from one place to another or breaking it down to smaller piles did not prove to be a very effective way of eliminating Bedlam. By the third day, when Bedlam was not looking any smaller than when I started, I decided some tough love was in order. My solution became “If I held it, I had to immediately and definitively put it in the category it belonged – no questions asked and no looking back. If it was a keep, it would immediately be put in its place. An item that was ‘toss’, ‘sell’ or ‘give away’ was put in a bin outside the room. This included the book on home organization that had been buried under a stack of other books I had intended to read. There is no place for sentimentality when purging. This includes everything from the kids’ schoolwork to chintzy memorabilia and baby clothes. My compromise with myself was to allow myself to keep one or two significant items for each category and let the rest go. Because really, do you think your daughter is going to remember (or even want to keep) all those test papers and daily assignments above the Math project for which she interviewed you and everyone she could tackle? I couldn’t even list half of what I got rid of – that’s how much it meant to me!
Upkeep is an essential key to preventing Bedlam from moving back into your home. I routinely sort the incoming mail right at the recycle bin in the garage before bringing it into the house rather than putting it in a pile to deal with later. I will also think twice before making a new purchase asking myself if it is a want or a need. Honesty is crucial here. The old adage, ‘A place for everything and everything in its place,’ can go a long way to helping stay organized. None of these habits are very time consuming, but go a long way towards saving you a lot of time and unnecessary headaches. Remember the keys you’re always looking for? I’ve found a simple solution is to have a key hook placed at the door you use most often when entering and leaving your home.
As I came to the end of my experiment, I can say that I was very satisfied with my efforts. My Bedlam is going to take a little more time and attention, but it’s not nearly as overwhelming as it was when I started. If I, who is a self-proclaimed master procrastinator can do this, then really and truly, anyone can.
While embarking on this project there are some helpful tips I came across that may serve as motivation. Women, being social beings are more prone to success when a task is attempted en masse. As with diets and attempts to exercise, success for de-cluttering may be more achievable with a buddy. Not only are you now accountable to someone else, you are in a race to accomplish your task before your de-clutter buddy which is a great incentive to keep you on track. You can also share ideas and tips you have learned through your own experiences. Perhaps you can take turns with each other’s monster where you both can tackle the beast together, keeping in mind the object is to pare down the amount of ‘stuff’ and to not add to your own. So that pretty floral basket encrusted in ribbons and dust should stay in the toss pile and not in your ‘found’ pile.
Participate in Spring Cleaning events that may be held at your child’s school, in your community or at church, or plan one yourself. The same rule applies here as with the buddy system: the object is to give, not receive. There are many places where there is need and if you have something you’re not using that may benefit someone else, the sooner it’s donated, the better.
Now that I have the wisdom of my experience, what’s next? Well, there’s a certain closet under the stairs that’s making some strange noises. I wonder what it could be?
Places to recycle old equipment including old computers and peripherals:
1) Best Buy will accept most of your old equipment including ‘TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, audio and video cables, cell phones, and more’; visit www.bestbuy.com for more details
2) Office Depot Tech Recycling Services
Available for purchase are a small, medium or large box that you can fill with old phones, computers, printers, cords, etc. and drop off at your local Office Depot; for more details, visit www.officedepot.com
3) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has some good information and links to places where you can recycle or donate your old electronics.
Go to: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm
4) Eco-officiency.com. This web site has a comprehensive list of almost all items people want to donate or recycle and the places that accept them.
http://www.eco-officiency.com/resources_recycling.html
Shakira is Mom to two vibrant children who have taught me as much as I hope to have taught them. I love to keep active biking or playing sports with my kids and also enjoy knitting or reading when I get the chance to. I’ve always loved to write as a hobby and am relishing the opportunity to contribute to AroundWellington.com.