KATHY’S HOME & GARDEN TIPS – SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER
Last week in
Chicago we got a taste of spring weather. So now the time is here for spring
cleaning. Before tackling the big
jobs it will be easier if we get rid of as much clutter and junk as we can. We
all accumulate so much stuff that we need to purge once in a while.
1. Start now!
Set a schedule, give yourself a time limit. The job will seem less daunting if
you know you only have an hour to work.
2. Each room
should have a plan. An office is mainly paper organizing and purging. The
basement is more involved with larger junk to get rid of.
3. As I said
before start small. Don’t try to do an entire room in one day. This will cause
less frustration. That is why we need to start early.
4. The best rule
of thumb for categorizing
clutter is to ask yourself if you have used the item in the last year? If not toss it, recycle it or donate it! Many
charities will pick up donations at your house.
5. Store and
sort winter
clothes and furnishings. Wash or dry clean all clothing before storing.
6. This is a
good time to go through your shoe collection. There are many great storage
solutions available for shoes. Clear plastic shoe boxes stack neatly in your
closet. Under bed storage uses previously unused space.
7. Go through
the kitchen, refrigerator and medicine
cabinet. Get rid of any out of date or expired items.
So start
small and tackle that junk now so when the weather finally does get warm we
will be done with our inside cleaning. Then we will tackle the outside of the
house, yard and garden!
KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH & DEAN’S TEAM
CHICAGO
