Reuse, Reduce… Declutter! {Green in 365: Spring}

 

This is Day 63 of the Green in 365 series!

When Spring is in the air there’s something that seems to follow right along after it: the strong urge to clean out and declutter after a long winter spent indoors!

Spring Cleaning is definitely not my favorite thing to do, but I always feel so much better when I’ve done it! Usually, I seem to wait until April, when the weather is starting to get really nice out, to get that urge to clean out and declutter. But, I’ve always disliked spending time inside cleaning when the weather is so beautiful outside.

So, this year I’ve decided to do my spring cleaning in March, while the weather is still chilly and yucky, so that I can be done and free to enjoy the good weather when it finally comes around!

I believe decluttering is an important part of green and natural living for two reasons:

• Reuse: It helps us to see what we already have, and when our stuff is organized we can make the best use of the things we have, finding new uses for them, instead of running out and buying new things we might think we need.
• Reduce: It helps us to simplify our stuff, leaving us with less stuff to have to organize and keep clean, which means more time to spend doing things we really love.

I have chosen a room, or two, for each week of the month and I’ve made a list of the decluttering and cleaning that I need to do in each of them. I’ll be tackling just a few items on my list each day, and planning to be done with my spring cleaning by the end of the month!

Here’s my Spring Cleaning schedule: 
• Week of March 4th: Kitchen
• Week of March 11th: Bathroom
• Week of March 18th: Bedrooms (Ours and the kids)
• Week of March 25th: Living/Dining Room

I’ll be updating my progress on Facebook, if you’d like to follow along with me there!

I made my list in order from hardest/most work to easiest/least work in case my motivation wanes as the month goes on. Also, I assume the the weather will be getting better by the end of the month (hopefully!), so I want to get the more time intensive rooms out of the way first, so I can spend time outside!

I have some blogging friends who are also doing Spring Cleaning challenges if you’d like to follow along with them.

• Christine at Spring Clean 365 has her own 365 challenge with a Spring Cleaning job every day for the year! You can follow along with her at Spring Clean 365.
• Mandi at Life Your Way is doing Spring Cleaning Made Easy with 31 mini-tasks to a clean home from March 18th – April 17th.

Do you get the urge to spring cleaning and decluttering around your home? How are you planning to spring clean this year? 

Find all the Green in 365 posts.

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