Let's Begin Spring Cleaning

I know what you are thinking. I've lost my marbles right? Maybe so, but maybe there is a system to my madness. I mean it's December 26th and Spring is still 3 months away right. Why start now? Simple, done a little bit at a time, when Spring gets here, you can get outside and enjoy it and not have to try to figure out how to cram all of your Spring cleaning into time you don't have because you are shuffling the younguns to all types of school events and then there is Spring Break and who wants to spend it cleaning. The solution is to start now and do it a little bit at a time. Where do we start first....the kitchen of course.

As I've said, we are going to begin today with a little bit to do each week. Every Monday I will put up a new area we are going to tackle. Most items will take you an hour or less. Some a little more, if you make yourself stick with this, by the time Spring is here your house will be organized and you will have a lot of time on your hands to do the things you enjoy.

Today like most people, you are probably putting away all of the china or platters or serving bowls, etc. that you used for your holiday meals from yesterday. So why not start in the kitchen. Don't panic, we are starting small. Today we are only talking the drawers.

Go through every drawer in your kitchen and clean it out and reorganize it. You'll be surprised with what you find. The potato peeler you couldn't find, FOUND IT! And while you are going through everything, take stock in what you have. Do you really need that much? How many measuring spoons do you really need or potato peelers, etc?

We are creatures of habit. When something is not working the way we want, we purchase another one but most times forget to get rid of the old one. Now's your chance. Take a good look at what you have and be honest with yourself. Look at every item you take out and ask yourself when was the last time you used it. The 6 month rule applies. If you haven't used it in 6 months and it's not because it's seasonal, out it goes.

Do one drawer at a time and clean out the drawer with a warm slightly soapy wash rag. Be sure to dry the drawer before you put anything back into it.

Once you have cleaned it out, don't just throw everything back in. Organize it a bit so your drawers look nice and neat. When my father passed away one of the things I took from his home was his silverware set he purchased in China for my grandmother. This set has 12 salad forks and 12 dinner forks and there is just my husband and myself at home. I'm not going to get rid of any of the forks because they made the set and it has been in my family for years and when we do have holiday get together, all of those forks will be used. There are only so many slots in the silverware holder so the forks we don't use and the teaspoons (8 of them) are all stacked nice with rubber bands around them to keep them for falling over. Obviously if this was real silver I wouldn't use rubber bands but in this case rubber bands work just fine.

Don't forget about the dish rag and hand towel drawer. Do you have several rags that are getting rough around the edges so to speak. Or maybe you received some new ones for the holidays. Don't just pitch them. They may be rough but they can still be used for cleaning your vehicles or the windows outside. Gather them all up and put them with your items for outside use. I have an old ice cream plastic tub under the sink and that is where mine are going. I always know where they are and they are tucked away nice and neat.

Remember, when I say out it goes, that doesn't mean everything goes into the trash can to end up in a land fill. Can it be donated? Whether it's to Goodwill or the new young couple who moved in on the block that is just starting out, try to find somewhere to get rid of it to keep it from ending up in a landfill. If it's not good enough to give away or donate, then recycle, recycle, recycle. All those little plastic forks and knives and spoons that ended up in your junk drawer or the catch all drawer......put them in the recycling bin. All of the mismatched silverware.....donate it to a charity or a food bank or a homeless shelter or take it to Goodwill or whatever agency is in your area. But keep everything you can out of the landfill.

This should take you less than an hour and your drawers will be neat and clutter free and you've just begun your Spring Cleaning. A task a week for an hour or less. That's the goal.

Next week.....kitchen cabinets!!!!