It seems like everyone I'm speaking to lately is talking about de-cluttering, spring cleaning, purging or living with less. Simple living has been on trend for a while but I do think this time of year motivates people even more. (It may not feel like Spring yet but the calendar says it is.)
Do you have plans to do anything around the house this month?
In the Real Estate world, we all know that staged homes sell faster and for more money. It's why junk removal and staging are a part of our selling services. However, I can't tell you how many people say to us after we've staged their house, "why didn't I live like this before. I love my home now."
It's so common it got me thinking, I should stage my own house, for living, not selling. Have you read "the life changing magic of tidying up"? I read it a long time ago and although I wanted to be all in I found it overwhelming. I did pull a few good nuggets / suggestions from it, but knew I'd never be successful at it.
Even the "40 bags in 40 days" challenge going around social media had me stumped. Will I actually follow through and do it? Can I commit to it? Last January, my New Years resolution was to de-clutter a room each month and by the end of the year I'd have a simple / tidy /clean house. Seemed manageable. Didn't happen.
Without a hard deadline of selling my house and having strangers walk through it, how am I going to motivate myself to do this? I've decided to set some small monthly goals, to solve whatever issues are bothering me at the time and that are also recommendations we make to people when staging. I will check back in and let you know how I did, what worked and what I wish I'd done differently. Here's what I have lined up for this month:
keep the outside of the fridge cleared off - I want to move the family command centre somewhere else, like the inside of a pantry cupboard.
clear the counter-top : all is right in my world when my island is free of clutter. The only thing I want to see on there for the next month is tulips.
empty the fridge and pantry of all expired, stale, unwanted items (unopened dry/canned goods can be dropped off for donation at the grocery store)
closet
make the kids try on all spring summer jackets and shoes - donate whatever doesn't fit - and it's probably most of it after their growthspurts this year
donate at least 10 items from my own closet (not pressuring myself to a complete wardrobe overhaul, just opening up some visual spacein there)
get a better storage system for our master bedroom - the next time Ikea has a PAX event, I want to do a wall-to-wall cabinet and get rid ofour dressers
bathroom
take a bag in to each bathroom of my house - throw out all expired, gross, not used toiletries
re-caulk around both bathtubs
outdoors
as we clear out the garden shed and bring out our seasonal items (patio furniture, toys, gardeningitems etc) I will purge / donate any broken toys, bikes that are too small and anything else we didn't use last summer
Living in the lovely west-end of Toronto, most of us do sacrifice outdoor storage, large closets and mud-rooms. But maybe, I can love the house I'm in with tackling a few simple to-do lists. If becoming a minimalist will help me love this house more, I'm in.