The First Step To Home Improvement Is To Clean And Declutter
You know that feeling that you get after you finish your "spring cleaning," the feeling of being accomplished and proud of how great everything looks? That is the same feeling you get after you complete the first step of home improvement- the cleaning and decluttering step. As daunting as that task may be, there are actually a few tips and tricks to make it a little bit easier for you to feel motivated.
Most of us do not have a whole week off of work to tackle a good, thorough, deep cleaning and organization of the house. So for people like that, the best way to get started is to look at the calender and decide when you have a few spare hours. Then, decide what is the more cluttered or used area and start there. You may figure that you have three hours available today- so take that time to systematically go through the room and sort your things into five piles.
The five piles that you can sort things into are things to keep for this room, things to move into another room, things to throw away, things to donate, and a pile for things you are unsure of. This is a great start to your decluttering! The items that you aren't sure you have a place for- set a two week time frame to decide and at the end, get rid of that pile.
The easy part was sorting through everything. Now try to think of some ways to keep that room looking neat and tidy: Do you need little storage bins? Would the remotes fit in the end table drawer out of sight? Can you get filing baskets to help you sort and organize your mail? Once everything is in it's place, help show your family the new system so that they are on board as well.
This is a great time to freshen up the paint on the walls. After that, you will feel so good about how your house looks that you will be excited to start the deeper cleaning: polishing the furniture, cleaning the floors, washing the rugs, dusting off the blinds. With you home looking and smelling great, all you need are a couple strategically placed flowers or candles and you will think you have moved into a new place.
In conclusion, if you are feeling that your house is starting to look like a scene out of Hoarders, than maybe you should consider taking the first baby steps to home improvements. There are so many little things that you can do that truly will go a long way. Just simply by decluttering the rooms in your house and going back through and applying a fresh coat of paint and cleaning, and you will notice a world of difference. So stop putting off these thoughts until it is time for "spring cleaning" and start making the changes now that can make you enjoy your life even more.
