The Dreaded Spring Clean
After cleverly managing to avoid actually spring cleaning my house, and instead attempting (and failing) to clear out my handbag last year, I have realised that I can no longer afford to avoid the clear out any longer. I am notoriously bad at both organising my stuff, and at letting go of useless bits and bobs, so this should be fun!
I began in the living room, but as an all-or-nothing person, this is where I made my first mistake. Instead of doing the sensible thing and working on one section at a time, I decided to empty all the shelves and cupboards at once, put everything together, and organise from there. As I’ve said, this was a big mistake; I ended up surrounded by a huge pile of photos, books, souvenirs and other random clutter with absolutely no idea what to do with it all!
After a good few hours, (I wish this was an exaggeration), I had sifted through and decided to part with a measly four items, and then simply returned everything to its original position, having given up on a room revamp. The changes I made were hardly noticeable, but I felt a strong sense of achievement after a whole morning’s work.
I then ventured into the bedroom, where again I made the same mistake by emptying my whole wardrobe onto the bed and immediately regretting it. I realised it was too late to do this in an orderly fashion, and so began rifling through my clothes, making a ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ pile. It may be no surprise to you that the largest pile was ‘maybe’, and the smallest, ‘no’. After a lot of trying on and ‘when will I actually wear this?’, I managed to say goodbye to some long forgotten pieces and even rediscover some old stuff! The wardrobe’s clear out was definitely more successful than the living room’s, though I did keep way more handbags than I should have!
I thought that I was bad at throwing away things I no longer use, but I had nothing on my two boys. Within ten minutes of sorting through Herbie’s toys, most of the things I had thought we could lose had been returned to the cupboard; as soon as a toy that hasn’t been played with in months is threatened, it becomes their favourite! Although I managed to sneak out some of the odd socks and the occasional soft toy, unfortunately most of the clutter in the boys’ bedroom stayed.
So that was my (arguably) successful attempt to clear out the house. I think next year I might just stick to cleaning out my handbags as it’s a lot less hassle! I did however, feel strangely proud of what I had managed to get rid of, and so I rewarded myself with a brand new leather saddle bag which is the perfect size to store all the bits and bobs I carry with me constantly.
Enjoy your Spring Clean!
