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4 Areas to Spring Clean Now

Time for a good Spring Cleaning

I love the Anne Frank quote, “No one has ever become poor by giving”. It rings so true to my own belief system. The tighter we hold on to things the more we lose out on our freedom and the blessings that come with a generosity of spirit. The more we give, the more we grow, change, and receive a multitude of blessings. Because of this, I like to incorporate giving into Spring Cleaning. It adds another layer of motivation, which is often needed to tackle a good Spring Clean.

Quote- Anne Frank

It’s Spring and it is time to do a good Spring Cleaning. I, of course, am looking forward to attacking cobwebs and giving the house a good cleaning…have I mentioned my love of all things cleaning products??? But today I am going to talk more about getting rid of the things that hold us back. There are many things that seem like a good idea to hold on to at the time. For instance, old books, extra clothes, too many dishes, and old thoughts. We may feel safe holding on to these things. But, holding on can cost of our time, energy, and wasted space. Removing them from our lives opens up space, room, and freedom.

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Dusting Off the Old Books

We are a family of book lovers. For instance, I started reading to my granddaughter when she was only a few months old. She is now at only 4 wanting to read to me. There is never a birthday or Christmas in our home where books are not gifted. We love books. And we love reading. And we love talking about what we’ve read! With so much reading and so many books, our bookshelves can get a little out of hand. I have always wished that we had a home with an old English Library. Filled floor to ceiling with books!

Bookshelf in need of a good declutter!

But we don’t! In fact, we have 14 overstuffed bookshelves, a few piles of books here and there, and then boxes and bins of books…everywhere. It has been a while since our last book purge. We don’t often like to have a book purge, because we so very much love books. So much so, that we often re-read them many times over. But, it is time to reduce the collection by at least 1/8^th. That will leave us with many books to keep, but also many to give away.

What to do with books?

There are quite a few ways to donate books. You can donate them to the Goodwill or Salvation Army, as well as local Thrift Stores. Many donation sites will also give you a donation receipt to use on your taxes the following year. You can also donate books to the Library aide society, book donation depositories, or programs that send books to soldiers or inmates.

This year, we are having a yard sale to help my daughter fund her committed donation to Speed the Light which is a missions organization through our church. This will help us move through the items we are removing from our home, and also give needed money to this wonderful missions organization. After the yard sale, all remaining items will be given to a local thrift store. There are many great thrift stores out there that are non-profit but fund amazing programs. Within our community, we have thrift stores that fund missions, churches, homeless programs, special needs programs, and veterans. It is always a win-win situation, you remove unwanted items from your home, and local social programs are funded.

4 Areas to Spring Clean Now

Cleaning out the Cupboards

Another area of our home that we are clearing out this Spring is our kitchen! We have items from several family members who have moved in and out, leaving behind a few kitchen wares and dish sets. Our cupboards are overflowing, and it makes putting away dishes and finding a simple cup or bowl a huge task. So, we are going to go through and cull our collections!

Our family has grown to 14 people, and will probably grow more in the next few years. For a long time, I tried to keep multiple sets of matching glasses, and dish sets that would accommodate this size family gathering. This meant a huge amount of dishes and glasses. I have changed, and now as long as we can combine to make the needed amount of dishes, we are good. We will also be going through our service ware which is only used for holidays and church potlucks. We don’t need everything that we have. If it can’t fit in the cupboard, it is leaving.

Where will our dishes go? The first round we will try to sell them to fund my daughter’s donation. Anything left over will go to a couple of different places. First, churches are usually in need of serving platters and large serving bowls to use at special events. This is a good starting place for donations. Second, thrift stores can make a nice income from China and serving items.

Yard Sale

Culling the Clothing

Finally, we will be going through all of our clothes. We are fortunate that our cupboards are overflowing with clothes, but at the same time, it makes deciding on an outfit a hassle. Less is more. We have so much, and there are so many who have too little.

I read the book Sink Reflections, more than a decade ago, and love her process for decluttering. She gets three boxes, Throw Away, Give Away, and Put Away. As you are going through your closet or dresser you can simply throw away items that no one would want, including you! Place items for the thrift store in the Give Away box, and then the third box is for items that you want, but don’t really belong in the room that you are in. You can place them in this box so that you don’t get distracted running from room to room.

Which Clothes Should Go?

It is generally a good rule of thumb with clothes to donate any items that don’t fit, are completely out of fashion, or don’t make you feel beautiful. Clothes that are stained, torn, or simply threadbare, should be thrown out. If you have not worn the clothes in a year, and have no plan to in the next few weeks, donate them. They could be so beneficial to someone in need.

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From time to time our church members have brought clothes and left them in the fellowship hall. First come first serve for anyone to look through and take. Most thrift stores will accept good usable clothing, as will clothes donation boxes in major cities. There are also programs that assist the homeless, women’s shelters, and pregnancy shelters that appreciate and distribute clothing donations. Even if an item is out of date, but in good condition, consider donating it to a thrift store. Many thrift stores have partnerships where clothes that would not be able to be sold in the US are taken to third world countries and distributed to the poorest of the poor. This is a wonderful opportunity to get clothing out of your closet, and into the hands of someone desperately in need.

Closet- Well Organized

Clearing Out Old Thoughts

You might be thinking, why is she writing about old thoughts in a Spring Cleaning Blog Post. Well, Old Thoughts need to be cleaned out, just as much as old clothes and other clutter. You see, they clutter up our mind, take away needed space for other thoughts, and often steal our joy.

So really, I am not saying to dust off these old thoughts and leave them. I am saying dust them off, evaluate whether you need to take action, and if they don’t deserve a place in your heart or mind, throw them in the rubbish bin. Don’t take the time and energy to organize them into the bins in your mind, planning to save them and bring them out over and over again. If an apology is necessary, make it. If forgiveness is required, forgive. Or, if you need to abandon a thought, throw it in the trash.

4 Areas to Spring Clean Now

Solve it, and throw it away and remember it no more! Then you are free for other, better thoughts. Thoughts that will bless and grow you as well as blessing others.

So, what will you be getting rid of this Spring? How will you clean out your closets, cupboards, bookshelves, and mind? Share in the comments below. And if you need more inspiration? Check out this post.