Spring Clean Frenzy

I haven't done a good old clean of my house since I was "nesting" at the end of my pregnancy with Ewan. Lately, every time I go to a cupboard, I'm annoyed by the disorganisation, dirt and clutter I've acquired in the last 16 months. Feeling that it was time to do something about it, I've been "spring cleaning" some of the areas of my house and feeling a great sense of Feng Shui satisfaction from doing it!

First the pantry. I already had a pretty good system going from last time I cleaned it up. I'd previously purchased a fair few Sistema containers to help with the organisation so it was really as simple as going through shelf by shelf, wiping them and throwing out anything that was out of date. The great thing about keeping the bulk of your supplies in containers is that they are easy to locate and you don't have half bags of pasta, rice etc in all corners of your shelves. These containers are not terribly expensive and once a month or so at Coles, they are on special for half price. If I need some new ones, I wait until then and buy them cheaper.

The other thing which I invested in 16 months ago was a label maker and I don't know if I could ever live without it now!

It might seem a bit anal retentive to label everything but I have found that it keeps the hubby in check (so he puts things back in the same place he found them) and it makes things easier to find. Total time to clean out pantry today = 20 minutes. Tip: Clean before you are due to do the vacuuming because as you wipe the shelves off, lots of bits and pieces drop onto the floor below and you'll need to vacuum after any way.

Next I hit the stationary cupboard. This one had got waaaaaayyyy outta control.

I started by pulling everything out, putting all the boxes back in first and then arranging everything around that.

I tipped out the old pen box and threw away lots of old dry or broken pens etc that we never use any way and kept only a handful which I have now placed in a old spaghetti can at the front of the cupboard for easy access. Cheap idea but very effective and now I know where everything is again instead of having to do a crazy rummage every time I need to find some scissors! Time taken to clean stationary cupboard = 15 minutes.

Ewan's favourite place in the bathroom is my cosmetics drawer and consequently it has looked like this for the last several months. I can never find anything and everything I pull out is covered in bronzer which he has so thoughtfully tipped all through the bottom of the drawer.

Again, I have different trays for different items eg, a tray for hair stuff, one for make up etc. I pulled it all out, cleaned the drawer and started to put everything back in. Total time take to complete this job = 10 minutes. Tip: Take a shopping list in with you and write down what things you need to replace as you go. I threw out a lot of out of date make up (and the remaining bronzer) and I threw out my old facial sunscreen. It's about time I got replacements for these products, I don't want any nasty rashes!

Lastly, I went through my clothes and sorted out what I don't wear any more and what I can put away for next winter. After my sisters have picked through the clothes I don't want, I take the remaining to a local op shop. Total time taken: 30 minutes.

So as you can see, it didn't take very long to attack these jobs and you don't have to spend a whole day doing it, you can do one job a night after work if you want. Main thing tho, turn up your music really loud and have a bop along as you do the work, it makes it so much more enjoyable!