“Spring Cleaning Time Is Almost Here – A Time To Focus On The Stuff We Have”

It won’t be long until we get to engage in that annual event known as spring cleaning. Of course, it doesn’t have to be limited just to once a year, but we seem to enjoy opening up the house, straightening things up, and tossing out a few things that we no longer need. This has been an annual tradition for a long time.
Over the winter, we may have identified things that we have been holding onto that we don’t need to keep. Things seem to have a way of attaching themselves to our homes, and we find it very difficult to get rid of much of it. As a result, we end up with a whole lot more in our homes than what we are using on a frequent basis.
In fact, many of us have a lot of mostly unwanted and unnecessary stuff that finding a home for it (if we really do intend to continue keeping it) is a constant challenge. Many people have outgrown the traditional storage places in their homes of closets, dressers, cabinets, attics, garages, basements (for those who have them), and even shed in the yard. Largely unknown a few years ago, warehouse storage units have begun dotting the landscape for us to place all of those items that don’t fit into our homes anymore.
Springtime gives us the opportunity to focus on just how much extra stuff we have accumulated over the years. When people need help organizing or dispensing with some of their extra stuff that might be interfering with their quality of life in their homes or the way they get around inside their homes, we can help them.
Some people can immediately toss mail, catalogs, flyers, and other items they know they don’t want or won’t use. They don’t need to stack them up and then go through them at a later time to determine then that they don’t need them. They can make a decision now to keep some order in what they retain. They are able to do the same thing with old or outdated clothes and fashions, expired foodstuffs, old toys, or broken items (or ones with missing parts).
Some people tend to hang onto most everything – at least temporarily. They know they likely won’t want or need all of it, but it’s easier to hang onto it in the short-term than to make the decision to get rid of it. Sometimes that temporary status gets erased and those items become long-term members of the family. Meanwhile, even if many of those items eventually are discarded, they add to the amount of accumulating clutter in the home while they are present.
Then, there are people who seem to hang onto everything – just in case. There is the feeling that one never knows when they might need something that was left over from assembling a toy or piece of furniture. When a small appliance breaks or stops working – or it’s replaced by a newer version – that item is kept for parts, power cords, or the possibility that it can be returned to running order at some future date. Typically, that never happens, and the parts from older models never seem to fit the newer ones anyway.
Regardless of how much or how little a person hangs onto, many people recognize that they need some order in their lives and in their homes. Springtime is a convenient and customary time for this to occur. A fairly common practice, therefore, is creating folders or envelopes for paper storage, with boxes, bins, and plastic containers for larger or bulkier items.
Organization of stuff in our homes is more than just the acquisition of storage devices and then accumulating more and more of them to hold all of the stuff that we have. There has to be a way to know what is stored, which container it is in, and how to locate and access that particular container when the item is needed again. Otherwise, those containers only serve to add to the clutter issue.
Of course, cutting back in a significant way on what we allow to remain in our homes that are not serious keepsakes or mementos or items that we are using (now or when the seasons change), is the way to enjoy our homes more and make sure there is room for us in addition to what we choose to keep.
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