January and February are gone and this year has flown by so quickly! The time to clean up winter’s grime and seriously clean inside our home will soon be here. I’ll be the first to admit that cleaning isn’t kickass and fun. There are plenty of other things I’d like to do during my days off! Definitely, the last thing I plan to do when home from work! So Spring cleanup is a good way to catch up on the neglected chores of yesterday.
In ten years I’ve moved around a couple of times. Through moving our things it’s true there is a natural selection process. I’ve found physically picking up things and moving them makes me want to purge.
The Cleaning Guru
The process is daunting for some because it takes time to figure out what should be thrown away, given away, and what stays. The stats from the OCD Foundation estimate that one in every 50 people struggle with severe hoarding. These people don’t throw away or give away anything. Even if it’s outdated or no longer serves a purpose they instead just keep it. This tendency would help solve the throwaway mentality!! This same mentality which has caused the garbage pollution on Land and Sea.
People are turning to the tidying guru named Marie Kondo. A petite Japanese woman who fills each room with giggles, smiles, and expertise. She has created quite a buzz with her cleaning techniques on Netflix. Her task? To take on households that don’t believe in Spring cleanup!
She helps borderline hoarders with their personal belongings as they’ve piled up haphazardly in corners of rooms. Their rooms look like hallways and hallways look more like closets. Marie will go through each room sharing her knowledge with people. Sorting through their collections and making them happier. Adults are shown how to sort than organize their things, cutting back and then storing what is left into neat little boxes.
Clutter and Clothing
In the long run, the clutter will cause anxiety and anger between family members. According to Marie Kondo, she tackles clothing by dumping every piece into a pile in the center of the room. It’s the best way to tackle too many clothes in your closet. Without too many distractions go through every item and think about the last time you wore it. Ask yourself does this shirt flatter my body type and will it make me happy?
The clothes made from polyester are not biodegradable because it contains a synthetic polymer made of purified terephthalic acid (plastic). Once the selection process is complete make sure the clothing made from polyester lives on!! If it didn’t make the cut, offer it to friends or family. Anything leftover should be sent to the
Repurpose for future
In 2020 we should be re-inventing an earth-friendly way to our Spring cleanup. We eliminate unnecessary clutter by putting it on the curb for the garbage man to pick up. But, it’s time to think of our things as part of the circular material flow in life… Re-gift, reuse or recycle.
Try putting away the self-limiting belief that you can’t be creative enough to change the purpose of an item. Find ways to repurpose an item such as using tin cans for planters, glass containers for lighting. Muffin tins can store odds and ends such as elastics, thumb pins, and paper clips. Get crafty and use knives to create a coat hook. I understand it takes time to do these things but it could also give you a second income stream!!
The beauty of repurposed items? You can gift these items for friends and family, sell them online,
Children should help with the next Spring Clean Up
Have Children help clean up and sort through their toys on a yearly basis. Doing this together gives them a purpose, time together and parental guidance. Our understanding of the world can show them how excessive consumption can negatively impact our environment. Show them the images on social media and use the cleanup as a learning experience. Make time to repeat the exercise and the lesson will be learned. Children become advocates for what they’re taught and will begin to keep us in line when we forget. Plus an added bonus! They might actually stop asking us to buy them toys!!
After they’ve learned the idea behind a cleanup try and make it a game for kids to cooperate! Marie Kondo suggests we use baskets for sorting our things which helps make clean up a cinch for kids. Make it fun and have them throw their toys in a seagrass basket. E
For many, watching Marie Kondo on t.v. is a good way to procrastinate on our own Spring cleanup. We find it fascinating to watch people struggle with control and letting their things go. Everyone likes buying new stuff and we collect many things over time. It’s fun and exciting! However, the line is blurred between what is right for our planet and what is right for us. People purge to escape clutter for the sake of their health and sanity. So the next time you buy frivolous or cheap purchases remember it has a short life cycle. It has a negative
