Category: Simple Home

Spring into Simplicity with this Decluttering Method

Nearly every time I mention to someone that I write about simplicity, I’m greeted with a long sigh, a sheepish look or a desperate story about wanting to get rid of clutter but not knowing how to get started. My own search for simplicity began more than forty years ago with a massive declutter of my messy dorm room during finals week. As soon as my physical space was cleared, so was my mind, and I was able to focus on my studies.

Since then, whether living alone in an efficiency apartment or with a busy family in a three-bedroom house, I’ve kept my home clutter-free. Hands-down, the easiest way to get started, especially if you don’t have much time, is this three-box method. You’ll need three boxes (or bags) and as little as half an hour. Here’s the simple process:

  1. Take the first box and walk through your entire house quickly picking up all the trash. This includes garbage, paper, magazines and anything that is broken or otherwise unsuitable for donating. Don’t forget those half-used bottles of products you aren’t going to use up. Immediately take the box and dump it in the trash or recycling. This step declutters the most obvious layer of junk from your home and gives you a little momentum.
  2. Take the second box and walk through your entire house picking up everything that belongs someplace else. Immediately put each item where it belongs. If an item doesn’t have a home, leave it in the box until you can decide where it should go. In this step you are likely to find you have more stuff than space. If, for example, you don’t have enough space for all your coffee mugs, you’ll know you need to get rid of some.
  3. Take the third box and walk through your entire house picking up anything that isn’t being used and is suitable for donating. This might include toys, clothing, books, lamps, knick-knacks, kitchenware, art and office supplies and furniture. I recommend being ruthless and immediately taking the box to the donation center. This step often reveals some big-ticket items you might be able to sell. If you can’t make a plan to sell it within the week, cut your losses and donate it. It might hurt a little, but I promise the space you free up will be worth it.

Depending on the amount of clutter you have, you may need to repeat this process several times over several days. The trick is to stay laser-focused on each step. When you’re searching for trash, don’t get distracted by a pile of laundry. When you’re looking for things to donate, don’t get overwhelmed by unorganized office files. Start the process by going through the whole house addressing only what is out in the open. Then, room-by-room, apply the same method to every cabinet, drawer, shelf and closet in your house.

The three-box method isn’t the only way to declutter your home, but it is a good way to spring into action and put a spring in your step. Going through this declutter process quickly will immediately energize your home and your life. As home organizer Peter Walsh wrote, “Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”

Spring cleaning gives us a fresh start

The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and I am happily cleaning every nook and cranny of our home. I know, some of you might be more like my clever mom who said, “If I ever get the urge to clean, I lie down until the feeling passes!” Regardless of where the urge comes from or how long it lasts, spring cleaning can give us a fresh start.

Historically, spring cleaning can be traced back at least 3,000 years to a Persian tradition still practiced in some homes called Khāne Tekānī. The phrase literally means “shaking the house.” In Jewish tradition, not a crumb of leavened food is allowed in the house during Passover, so homes are carefully cleaned. Some consider these traditions to be the origin of spring cleaning, though many cultures have practices that include elements of spring cleaning.

Most experts in the field of human science believe there are biological reasons for spring cleaning. During the short, dark days of winter, our bodies produce more melatonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy. As days get longer, we receive a boost of energy from longer hours of daylight and produce less melatonin. So it may be a natural instinct to emerge from winter’s hibernation ready to clean and organize our environments.

There are also some very practical reasons that led to spring cleaning. Prior to the invention of the vacuum cleaner, spring was the best time for dusting because it was warm enough to open windows and doors, but not warm enough for bugs to be a big problem. In the days of coal furnaces, everything in the home got covered in a layer of black soot. Once winter was over, it was time to clean up the mess. Even with today’s improved home heating, ventilation and appliances, it makes sense to wait to do deep cleaning until it is nice enough to throw open the windows and doors.

Iconic comedienne Phyllis Diller joked, “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?” The truth is, spring cleaning offers proven health benefits. An uncluttered home is safer than a cluttered one. Fires and falls are common causes of injury and death. Not only can clutter cause people to trip and fall, it can rapidly spread a fire and block doors and windows, reducing ability to escape or be rescued. Even if our clutter isn’t at a dangerous level (yet), addressing it at least once a year keeps us from gaining hoarder status.

A clean home can protect us from sickness. Dust, mildew, mold and pet dander are pollutants that tend to gather during winter months and can trigger our immune systems. We can also get sick from germs. One thing we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic was the importance of keeping surfaces clean, especially in bathrooms and kitchens.

Spring cleaning provides exercise and can reduce stress and help us sleep better. Doing household chores is a low-intensity exercise that burns calories and increases heart rate. The mindless repetitive tasks can turn off our our brains for a while and help us de-stress. Research shows sleeping in a clean, tranquil room can help us sleep more deeply and restfully.

Finally, tackling spring cleaning projects can boost our mood and give us a fresh start. Not only can cleaning leave us with a satisfying sense of accomplishment, it is proven to release endorphins in the brain which can improve our mood and energy level. Several studies show cleaning our home can motivate us to clean up other areas of our lives including diet, finances and relationships.

Dusting baseboards, washing windows and organizing closets might not seem that important but, like spring itself, it can inspire a new beginning. Professional organizer Peter Walsh said this about spring cleaning, “What I know for sure is that when you clean-up anything – whether it’s your home, your head or your heart – it is astounding what will flow into that space that will enrich you, your life and your family.

Swedish Death Cleaning Brings Peace

The Swedish have an extremely pragmatic term known as döstädning. Translated, the term means death cleaning, as dö means death and städning means cleaning. It is the common practice of leaving one’s physical possessions and personal effects in good order to make things easier for loved ones upon our death. From my own experience, the process actually brings great simplicity and serenity.

I recently read The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson to help me face a houseful of things that belonged to my late father, mother, and grandmother. Although I generally have little attachment or sentimentality toward material objects, I found it painfully difficult to part with things that belonged to people I love.

When my father died six years ago, it fell to me to deal with his possessions. With the exception of his clothing, my mom wanted us to keep nearly everything else of my dad’s, including a wooden duck lamp he made in high school. Suffice it to say it’s an ugly duckling. That poor thing lived more than sixty years in a box that has moved from my grandmother’s house, to my parents’ house, to my mom’s condo, to my attic. It’s the poster child for Swedish death cleaning, yet no one could let it go.

After my mom passed away I knew I had to deal with her things, my dad’s things, and all of my grandmother’s things Mom had kept for more than twenty-five years. A few treasures found good homes, but a huge stash of furniture, books, knick-knacks, decor and memorabilia weighed heavy on my mind and on our attic floor.

Not only did Swedish death cleaning help me sort through my family’s belongings, it gave me a reverent opportunity to revisit and honor them. I was finally able to keep the memories and say goodbye to the objects. It also made me more aware of my own limited time and space on this planet. I’ve whittled down my possessions to what I need and what truly sparks joy, as Marie Kondo advises. My affairs are now in order to make things easier for my survivors, giving me enormous peace of mind.

The process left me with an unexpected sense of serenity, happiness and increased appreciation for what really matters in life. I’m grateful to be in good health, and I plan to live the rest of my days unburdened by excessive material objects. I do have a secret desire that my dad’s lamp is bringing joy to someone who finds it just ducky. §

“The process left me with an unexpected sense of serenity, happiness and increased appreciation for what really matters in life.” 

(Finally!) Organizing Our Family Photos

Copy of Copy of Add a heading (1)Did you hear that deep sigh of relief? It was just me, basking in the satisfaction of finally organizing heaps and heaps of family photographs into labeled storage boxes that fit perfectly in a single living room cabinet. I’m feeling as light as a feather and breathing deeper than I have in a long time.

I like to keep a home that is fairly minimal and well-organized, but our messy stash of family photos became my dirty little secret, much like Monica’s closet on Friends. I think what pushed me to finally deal with them was a book on Swedish death cleansing. Don’t worry, it’s not as morose as it sounds. The idea left me totally inspired to get all of my personal things in order. (Look for an upcoming post on the topic.)

I did make cute scrapbooks for my children as they went from birth through their high school graduation, but that barely made a dent in our photo collection, and another decade has now come and gone. I’ve tried to tackle the ever-growing heap, but I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the photos and the emotions that inevitably come along with a trip down memory lane.

After our last move, all the photos ended up hidden away in six deep drawers of a large bedroom dresser. We’ve since randomly tossed in more and more photos, greeting cards, notes, and special memories.

But wait, it gets worse.  When my mother moved in with us, she brought along a big cedar chest filled to the brim with thousands of loose photographs spanning more than 100 years. Stick your hand in the chest and it might come out with a picture of my grandfather as a baby, my parents’ wedding, my first loose tooth, my sister’s prom date, a pet from 1972, my daughter’s college graduation, or someone nobody knows.

If you can relate and could use some inspiration, let me share my process. It’s certainly not the only way, but it got the job done.

Sort Photos:
This took me a full week. I dumped manageable-sized heaps of photos on the floor where I sat sorting into piles around me. Me…my daughter…my stepson…my husband…my mom… my sister…my grandmother…my niece…my son… my step-daughter…my dad…with a cadaver! (Seriously, he was in dental school.) Everybody’s family is different, so just start making piles and see how they start to shape up. Take a break when your head or back starts to hurt or you feel emotionally drained. It can be an exhausting process even without pictures of cadavers.

Purge Photos:
While you go through each and every picture, have a criteria for what to keep. I decided to immediately toss photos that are:
*duplicates of the same event/people
* blurry, dark, or unclear
* unflattering of the person in the photo
* shots of nature or tourist sights
* of people you barely know
*of cadavers

Give Photos Away:
I don’t think we are obliged to run around giving people photographs we come across during our sorting. However, since I was doing this project on behalf of my family, I was more than happy to box up and ship hundreds of photos to my two sisters who live in other states. I told them the photos were coming and to feel free to do with them whatever they wished.

Organize Photos: 
There are lots of ways to organize photos. After careful consideration, I think I did the simplest thing. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought all of the large-size photo storage boxes they had. It turned out fourteen boxes worked perfectly for us. In case it might help, here’s how they’re labeled:
*Alicia – childhood photos & personal pursuits
*Mike – childhood photos & personal pursuits
*Woodward – family photos
*Fry – family photos
*Alicia & Mike – our photos together
*One box for each of our children and grandchild
*One box for each of our daughter’s weddings
*Alicia’s Keep – special cards, notes, and letters
*Mike’s Keep – special cards, notes, and letters

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My Thoughts On Digitizing Old Photos:
I know a lot of people recommend scanning and digitizing old photos to get rid of the physical clutter. In fact, that’s what I was going to do, but I decided against it for several reasons.
*Services like Legacy Box are expensive.
*We have photos from 1900 that still look fine, so I’m not particularly worried about our photos aging.
*I love the idea of pulling out a box and looking through the photos.
*I suspect any digital format available will eventually become obsolete.
*I like the ease of having the physical photos and not having to log on to a computer to find the photo I’m looking for.
*We can easily add to the boxes or add more boxes, if needed.
*Finally, I like knowing that upon my passing from this realm, our children can easily take the boxes they are interested in.

If your family photos are in order, I applaud you. I know it’s a huge job. If it’s something you’ve yet to do, I hope this encourages you. It really does feel great to have it done, and I was surprised by something unexpected. I truly feel I’ve honored the people in those photographs, especially the ones who are no longer with us, by making it easy to open a box and see their smiling faces again. §

“…but our messy stash of photos became my dirty little secret, much like Monica’s closet on Friends.”