Over the past couple of weeks we have been busy doing some of the physical spring cleaning that needs to be done. Last year when we thought we would be moving I started packing up boxes of items that we wanted to keep but didn't need for home staging. Now it's a year later, we're not going anywhere and we have had to decide what we're going to do with these packed treasures.To get myself in the mood I watched part of the "Hoarders" marathon last weekend--it's that show that tells the stories of people who have serious collecting issues, to the point that their children will be taken away or they'll be evicted from their homes. My family hates when I watch these shows because they know that as soon as its over I go into "Super Susan" cleaning mode; I throw things out and simplify anything my eye lights on and that usually means that I want them to go through their spaces too. Fortunately, the spring cleaning bug has hit them too because they actually watched several shows with me and didn't roll their eyes when I said that we needed to get busy!
After the shows we turned our attention to the myriad of boxes that have been sitting for the better part of a year. Now it is true that some of the things that have sentimental value I have missed, but to tell the truth, probably 80% of what I thought was important was not. If I can live without seeing something for a year chances are it wasn't that valuable in the first place. Ten years ago I read about this technique for people who have trouble getting rid of things and they use it on Hoarders too--you place items into a box, tape it shut and put a date six months in the future. If you haven't gone into the box to retrieve something during that time and the date arrives, you take the box, lock, stock and barrel to charity. I have practiced this in the past but had gotten out of the habit because I thought I was good at getting rid of things. Wrong. The number of boxes of "stuff" that I packed was much bigger than I thought and now that I've been going through them it's surprising that there is so little that really means anything to me. Over the weekend we filled several large boxes and bags with items that someone else should be able to use. We quite obviously will not miss them.What's been most interesting about this process however is the type of items that I found I really do treasure. There is the odd trinket from someone special or that I picked up in a special place; what I missed the most was my books. Getting back my Cadfael series, a number of self-help books that made an impact over the years on my life and favorite novels was like having a visit with long-lost friends. These are the books that I have and will read over and over again.
The second part of this yearly springtime ritual has been facing some of the storage issues we didn't deal with when we renovated with a view to selling the house. Everything was a quick fix and the reality of getting it ready for show versus living in it means we are reviewing the space we have and making it more practical and useful for our needs. We have taken stock of our boxes of books, culled whatever was not that necessary and have now created an entire library for our spiritual resources in the basement. We also put a bookshelf in our guest room to house less-read but favorite books and its our hope visitors will thank us for having something to read. Near future plans include increasing shelving in our office space for business items but I'm most looking forward to another upcoming project on our list. We're going to start by painting and installing more shelving in our boudoir/closet area and then it will be searching for that just-right, comfy lounge chair. Having my dream of a luxurious and private reading nook where we can curl up and devour our literary treasures come true, is probably going to be one of the best end products of spring cleaning that I'll ever receive!
Salynne©2010
Happy spring cleaning!
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