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One Small Step for You, One Large Step for Your Home

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Are you tired of everyone harping about cleaning up your space at this time of year? Well, applaud yourself for last year’s organization and begin again with a smile on your face. I am not asking you to bring in the mega-ton dumpster, but focus on small spaces, the unforgotten or little problem areas that you never think worthy of your attention.

Yes, little by little you can make a difference, and small pieces of the pie do add up to the whole enchilada. By doing areas bit by bit, the dreaded task of cleaning and clearing your clutter does not seem that daunting.

Anything you do to create a bit of renewed beauty and calmness for your home frees up your mind to move on into this new decade without the agitation of inconvenient past solutions or just plain dust to stop you.

So beat the spring cleaning rush and take only 15 minutes at a time to improvement your home. Here are a couple of baby steps that will start you walking with organized clarity:

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Dust the back of your computer. Dust the cords and wipe off your mouse and that is it. If you still have the momentum, dust the back of your television and clean the screens with a non-alcohol screen cleaner.

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Clear off one surface of something…your coffee table, the top of your dresser, your bathroom counter… any one surface. Even if you put everything back in the same position, at least it will be dusted. If you clear off one surface, your whole place will look better instantly. If someone is coming over for a surprise visit, just clear off one surface and your home will look organized and clean.

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You might have run into a magazine or two laying around your house. This is the time to toss them to the recycle bin. Any magazine that is over two months old, is out. I know this seems harsh, but if you want to save a magazine for something, just rip out the pages you need, tuck them in a folder, and toss that dog-eared magazine.

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Open your junk drawer and just stare at it. Do not touch it. That is what it is for. Now wasn’t that fun? Maybe change out its knob to a novelty pull, like one in the shape of a leaf or an elephant.

Clean just the back wall of your stove. Yuck. It is only that little back part so it is not too labor-intensive. Check your tea kettle at this time. It could be a good time to clean it. It gets greasy too.

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Other small suggestions:

One shelf only in your refrigerator.

One drawer anywhere… your bedroom, bathroom or kitchen area.

Clean out old files in your computer. Time yourself, 15 minutes.

Pare down the pile of sacks you have been saving to only three. If you diligently use a re-usable grocery bag, the pile o’ sacks will automatically be reduced.

Clean your washer and dryer. Wipe them down and make them sparkle too.

Dust all the pictures on your wall, at least the top of the frame

So dive in and clean or clear your home space one small puddle at a time. You won’t get overwhelmed and you will see results instantly. Everyone loves instant gratification, even your home, your car, your office, your tool shed, your purse…

sally-marbySally Marbry is the owner of Superior Interiors. For the past year, Sally has been the host and writer of “Home Zone,” weekly on KLXR. Send Sally your design questions. She will answer them online in an upcoming edition of Home Zone. Send questions to Earth2Sal@charter.net.

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