The 15-Minutes-A-Day Solution to Decluttering was written by Laura Thompson and originally published in The National Post.
What do domestic gods and goddesses do to spruce up their surrounding in spring-time? Reporter Laura Thompson asked a few.
Linda Chu Organizing consultant and president of Vancouver-based Out of Chaos. She started the BC chapter of Professional Organizers in Canada.
“In a practical sense, more day-light means you can see the dust in your home now, so you’ve got to do something. The most common question that people have for me is, ‘I just don’t know where to begin.’ I always talk about a 15 minute start, a 15-second tough. Every piece of paper that you handle, you touch for 15 seconds and determine what pile it belongs to. That’s the objective, to keep you moving forward.
Add a reward to that and you will go a long way. Everyone has at least 15 minutes to do something. So whether you pick out a rawer, pick up an armful of clothes, a basket or just one little corner, it’s a good start. One month from today, you’ll be five hours closer to the seven hours you never thought you had.”
Hellen Buttigieg Host of HGTV’s Neat; professional organizer and founder of We Organize U.
Closets are a really good place to start. Anything you didn’t wear this past season you won’t wear next time that season comes around. So get rid of it. You should only have clothes in the closet that you wear, that fit and make you feel good. Especially in the summer, because you don’t want to wear things that don’t make you feel comfortable. Anytime you put something on that doesn’t feel good or doesn’t look good, toss it into a basket. Once the basket is full, bag it and take it to charity.”
Dr. Arlene Oak Assistant professor of material culture in the department of human ecology (formerly known as home economics) at the University of Alberta.
“You could see spring cleaning as a ritual that marks a certain change in season, an acknowledgement that the year is a cycle that’s passing. It also has a psychological aspect in that it’s a king of personal ritual of cleansing one’s immediate environment. You can have a home that’s quite messy, but it’s not going to kill you. It’s not really a hygiene issue. It’s a social custom issue – what you actually do with this apparent messiness or dirtiness.”
Marina Hildebrand Regina-based host of HGTV’s Kitchen Crimes, which helps rehabilitate bad kitchens across the country. She’s the principal of Marina Hildebrand Design.
“I think spring cleaning is an archaic practice. My house is a house and not a museum. I think I incorporate more seasonal maintenance into weekly and monthly activities. It’s not a s traditional as when my grandmother would turn up the whole house and wash the walls. I could never figure out why we were washing the walls in the first place. I try to keep it up more on a weekly basis so it’s not overwhelming at all. It’s more important to be out there enjoying life than cleaning my house.”
Margie Doyle White Partner in Dixon Doyle Design, A Toronto interior design company. She also lends her decorating sense to the W Network’s Take This House and Sell It.
“I get rid of all the stuff that has accumulated because I find I get a little lazier and tend to nest more in the winter. I declutter, edit and bring out my lighter colour things, change me pillows, lift up my area rugs and either change to lighter ones or take them up completely.
To me, it’s all about shedding, even your physical image. You’ve been holed up inside all winter and you’ve been eating a lot of steak and red wine and yummy food. And then comes spring. You have to put those smaller clothes on. The first thing that people think about is get in shape, clean up your house.”
Katherine Gibson Victoria-based life-management expert. She’s the author of Unclutter Your Life’ Transforming Your Physical, Mental and Emotional Space.
“When we do this spring-cleaning thing, psychically we’re getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. And it really does cleanse more than just our home. It gets rid of all the stagnant stuff we feel inside as well. There’s a real connection between what goes on in our physical environment and what goes on in our mental and emotional environment. I’ll go through my closet and I fell like I’ve lost 10 pounds. It’s wonderful. Things that look tired an worn and just aren’t fun any more – out the go.”
Maia Gibb Victoria-based :”cleaning diva” who, in 2003, founded Dusting Divas, which produces a range of natural, fresh-smelling cleaning products that wont harm your health.
“Mould in Victoria is a really big issue, so oftentimes that’s what gets dealt with in the spring. We use clove, tea tree and lavender oil. That takes mould off really nicely and it doesn’t damage your lungs or your hands. I always think about spring as the start of my new year. I start thinking abut all the things I want to happen over the next few months. I clean with that in mind. It’s more about creating a space that invites those sorts of things into my life.”
If you need more than a 15 minutes a day solution to decluttering, contact Out Of Chaos by email at info@outofchaos.ca or by phone at 604-813-8189.
