Spring Cleaning! 10 tips to spick + span!

I mean, Duh... #shamelessplug, right? But seriously! Behind your "Plans" tab, we have created a "Schedule It Out" list of many of those easily-forgotten tasks: quarterly, bi-annual, and annual chores that nobody really loves (or remembers) to do, but must be done! This is a great place to START and it will likely spur ideas of more things that you are wanting to accomplish.

Grab your coffee and your Master Plan Notepad, turn to the "Schedule It Out" section of your planner and let the lists begin! Get everything that you want to accomplish on paper so that you can visualize it as a whole! (Don't get overwhelmed! We're going to help you break it down!

When making a list, we find it helpful to break it out into rooms for organizational purposes!  I like to split this even further into things I can do quickly (Ie. Cleaning the toilet, shower, etc) and then things that need additional action steps to finish (Ie. re-caulking the toilet - need to purchase caulk. Replace light bulbs - Need to purchase light bulbs) 

Start and finish a room before you move on to the next, this will help the feeling of overwhelm and also helps with that feeling of gratification when you can walk away and check an entire room off your list!

If you don't have a big chunk of time to dedicate to cleaning, its OK! knocking off one shorter thing each day will still get you clean and you will feel great about making progress! 

Go down your list and assign each chore an amount of time that you estimate it will take. Turn off the distractions, crank up the tunes (I made you a cleaning playlist HERE! xo!), and get your clean on! If you only have an hour, look at your list and pick a few things that you can knock out in an hour. If you know you will only have 30 minutes tomorrow, assign one or two things to tomorrow that you can get done in that time frame! 

Are you the queen of procrastinating? Or maybe it's hard to get the fam to pitch in? Make it a game... With the kids: Whoever cleans and sorts their toys first gets to pick dinner! With yourself? Get it done in X amount of time, and you get to treat yourself to a soak in the squeaky clean tub... or a pedicure, or glass of wine! (or ALL three!)

Are there parts of your house that always seem to be the eyesore or the catch all? Recognizing these areas and putting systems in place so that they stay organized can help you from losing your cool when the kids leave their shoes on the stairs AGAIN! A perfect example for me was this little table in our kitchen. Everyone used it for a Catch-all for Keys wallets, Mail, etc, and it drove me nuts because it's in our kitchen and made it feel messy... SO my solution was to put some wall-mount hangers & files on the way up the stairs from the garage so that it was out of sight but they still had an easy place to drop everything. This has been a great solution for everyone! 

There is NO shame in getting help... Yes, yes, as women, we all feel the need to do "it all," but if you don't have time or your time is better spent in other areas of your life, then find yourself a good housekeeper, lawn service, etc. Having it done and off your mind will feel so much better than that nagging "I have to get it done" feeling! 

We have all heard it. We all KNOW it (thanks, Marie Kondo), but when it actually comes down to it, it is sometimes easier said than done! Sometimes it's for sentimental reasons, sometimes we are "trying" to be practical (but c'mon, do any of us REALLY need 873 black ballpoint pens, or 924 books of matches!?) And sometimes it's just because "the pile" is too overwhelming...If you haven't used it, if you don't love it, if you are holding onto it out of guilt, If it's part of something that has been broken for over a year... GET RID OF IT! I like to make bins when I am cleaning a room. One bin for garbage, one bin for donating, one bin for stuff that "needs a home" (ie. it got thrown in a pile, but it needs to get filed, pictures need to go in the picture box, tools that got brought up from the garage and never made their way back down there, etc) This bin can easily be carried from room to room and things put away in their proper homes then. 

We ALL have that one friend who's favorite past-time is visiting the Container Store and carries a label maker around in her purse. If you are struggling... call her! It's been my experience that organized people LOVE to help other people get organized, they are really good about being brutally honest about what you should keep and what you should toss, and they might even take it next level and help you figure out systems to KEEP it organized and clean too! (If you don't have a friend like this that you can call, there are professional organizers who can help! Sometimes it's amazing what a seecond set of eyes can see as far as solutions!)