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Here are five ways to freshen up your home for spring:

Bedding-blitz  As you prepare to leave colder days behind, get ready to pull out lighter blankets and sheets. Refresh blankets that come out of storage by fluffing them in the dryer with a dryer sheet. Remove heavy blankets and flannels from beds to clean and store. This is also a good time to wash the mattress covers and give the mattresses a flip. Lighter, brighter spring-fresh bedding is sure to brighten everyone’s mood!

Counter-attack  Throw open the kitchen and bathroom windows and take a look at your counters. The fresh air will help energize you while you remove all items and give the counters a good wipe-down. Throw out any trash or items you don’t need and put away anything that has wandered out of its appropriate home. Return to the counter only those things that you absolutely must have out or that make you happy.

Pantry purge  During our winter hibernation we tend to stockpile supplies. Cupboards can become stuffed with soups, cocoas and comfort-snacks. As this happens, other food items get pushed out of sight. Set aside an hour on a nice spring morning to empty out a shelf or two at a time, wipe them down, discard outdated or unwanted food items and reorganize what’s left back onto the shelves.

Sew or go  Do you keep a sewing or ironing pile? If you do, make sure that what is in your pile has not been there longer than 6 months. If it has, it is likely that it may not fit, will be out of style, or will no longer be something that you think would be worth the effort. Now’s the time to sew or go! Pick an evening and an interesting TV show and get the ironing and sewing done. If you’re not going to do it – let it go. It will only sit there and make you feel guilty if you don’t. And, no one wants to feel bad on a sunny day!

Shoe-review  The warmer days of spring and summer will mean a change of shoe style. Take time to gather any and all of your shoes together. Separate cold-weather shoes from warm. Before storing shoes you won’t wear again until fall, try them on. If they don’t fit comfortably or you don’t like them, this is the time to donate or toss them. If any need cleaning or repair, get it done now, before storing. Next, look at their sunny day counterparts and go through the same process. If you find that your favorite sandals are broken or that those cute open toe shoes you bought last summer don’t really fit right, get rid of them. Take note of any shoes you may need to add to your shopping list for replacement to complete your wardrobe. Finally, make sure each member of your household has adequate shoe storage.

Happy Spring!

Whether you follow basketball or not, college ball is an exciting sport and March Madness is the be-all, end-all competition among collegiate teams. I am always inspired by the players’ drive, athleticism, and winning attitude. Borrow this enthusiasm and plan your own decluttering plays for a Spring-ready closet.

March Madness has become an annual springboard for me to declutter. I love the NCAA’s single-elimination process as a framework for purging my wardrobe.

The tournament always starts in March and concludes in April — as we warm up to Spring. I appreciate the build-up to the ultimate winner; each week there are winners (and losers). Borrow this approach and discover the winners and banish the losers in your closet.
• winners – clothes that are versatile, stylish, and flattering
• losers – anything stained, ill-fitting, or in need of repair

If you like following play-lists, here’s some quantifiable advice to help you keep score on your efforts:

• Trim 16 (Sweet Sixteen) bulky sweaters and jackets from your closet to make room for Spring styles. Scarves are typical accessories that you can rotate each season. Footwear is another category that deserves attention: pack up your heavy, weatherproof boots.

• Remove at least 8 items from your hanging space to create room for bolder colors and lighter-weight outfits. What you remove may end up in off-season storage, or may need to find a new home. Can you find an Elite Eight to donate, thrift, or E-bay?

• Final Four Here’s where the tournament makes its biggest splash and reminds me to focus on the basics. Make sure you have what you need to enter Spring, well dressed in the appropriate clothes that suit your life and lifestyle. This may mean creating a short shopping list for your foundation pieces, or a to-do list for the winners before they go on court.
• shine your shoes to clean and preserve their leather
• alter any investment pieces so you continue to enjoy them
• dry-clean items that you have enjoyed all season but are packing away until next year

The hardest lesson March Madness teaches is one-and-done. The Final Four teams play two games over three days to determine a national champion. Culling collections down to a single winner is unrealistic (I couldn’t survive with only one pair of black slacks!) Selecting winners — of a reasonable quantity — based on proven criteria is a good play.

Did you know that February, aside from being one month closer to Spring (hooray!), is “Pull Your Sofa off the Wall” month? This is the ideal time to shake things up a bit in your living room, especially since this is the time of year when people hibernate in their homes. This time of year is also known for the winter blues, no doubt in part from taking down cheery holiday lights and decorations.

So…what can you do? Aside from becoming a snowbird and heading to Florida, you can add some inexpensive and space saving items to brighten up your space, awaken your senses, and put a smile on your face. Take a look at my own living room to see how I have incorporated some of the following items:

Welcome Mat – For an instant mood booster, find a bright and cheery welcome mat to come home to after a long day at work. Look for inexpensive options at Target or Kohl’s. Also, consider lighting up the pathway to your welcome mat with solar lights that will soak up any sun that may have been out during the day.

Full Spectrum Light Bulbs – I wholeheartedly recommend sun lamps that are used to mimic the natural light from the sun, which is often in short supply in the winter. I have one next to my sofa that I use while I eat breakfast. Another inexpensive approach is to switch out the bulbs in your main reading lights for full spectrum bulbs, which can give off the same effect as sun lamps.

Mirrors – When the sun does appear, take note of where the sunlight streams onto the wall and if feasible, put a mirror there. Note the mirror art above my sofa, which is directly across from a window. This will reflect the sun and naturally make it seem like more sunlight is in the room. Plus, mirrors give off the feeling of a roomier space.

Candles – Find a signature scent that makes you feel calm and relaxed and light it every time you come to stay in the room for a while. Personally, I love the Cashmere Woods scent by Glade. It has a nice and light musky/woodsy smell, perfect for this time of year. Mine is centered in the room on my coffee table to let the scent spread evenly throughout the room.

Pillow Covers – Find decorative throw pillow covers to update and transform your atmosphere. I purposefully chose a neutral sofa and chair for that reason. Pillow covers are also much easier to store than several accent pillows from each season, and they can be freshened in the laundry. Try Bed, Bath and Beyond for a large selection and don’t forget your 20% off coupons! As you can see, I have chosen a turquoise theme; however, if I ever decide to change my accent color, it would be fairly easy.

Throw Blankets – Find throws that are comfy, soft and most importantly, will keep you warm on a cold winter’s night! When not in use, fold them up and place them on the back of your sofa.

Artwork – New prints on the wall along with a few knick knacks on your mantle will give your room a fresh perspective. Incorporate your accent color, as I have done here in turquoise.

I hope these ideas will give you something to think about while you are curled up on your sofa…and by the way, you don’t need to pull it off of the wall if you don’t want to.

Here’s to a warm, cozy and colorful season!

One of the barriers to getting organized is too much CRAP (Clutter that Robs Anyone of Pleasure). It’s work for your brain to filter out distractions in order to get organized, so less clutter— less distractions! To celebrate my 9^th year in business, here are Ten More Myths for Not Unloading CRAP for people who truly want to rightsize their belongings. Let’s break it down:

1. “You can never have too many <your item here>.”

This only applies to blessings. Bending over a huge pile of shoes to dig through every day is no way to choose the pair you want, especially if you end up wearing the same five pair.

2. “I have a terrible memory, so I keep my stuff to remind me.”

Memories aren’t in things. And if your memories are packed away in the attic, that’s not honoring them. Also, are your old memories taking up space for new memories?

3. “My <your item here> is going to be worth a lot of money someday.”

Things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. The word ‘collectible’ has been overused to the point of preposterous. Look on ebay to see if your item is for sale and at what price. More importantly, has anyone sold an item like yours?

4. “I can’t trust my judgment so I’m afraid to get rid of anything.”

If your knee jerk reaction is to keep something because it’s easier, trust your instincts. If you are 40 years or older, you can trust your instincts about whether you will need something or not.

5. “I’m going to fix that someday.”

Just because you can fix something, doesn’t mean you’ll have time. If a project has been laying around for two years or more, let it go, or pay someone else to fix it!

6. “I can’t trust an auctioneer to pay me what my item is worth.”

There are plenty of reputable auctioneers in our region. On the other hand, you can’t expect to get back what you paid for an item. Call an auctioneer so you can sell many items at once, but don’t expect to get rich.

7. “I have a friend I want to give that to.”

Call that friend to see if he or she wants or needs it before you give it to them. How do you feel when someone drops their stuff on your door step without asking first?

8. “I want to read that someday.”

Set a time limit for reading magazines, clippings and newspapers. Cancel subscriptions if you don’t have the time to read magazines and recycle back issues.

9. “I’m keeping that to sell at a yard sale.”

If you’ve kept items for over two years and haven’t had a yard sale, donate the items. When summer ends, donate any unsold yard sale items and begin collecting for next year’s sale.

10. “My husband won’t get rid of his stuff, so why should I?”

I work with many couples who don’t agree on how and when to let go of clutter. You can only control your belongings so get started! When the CRAP starts to fall away and your spouse sees your relief, he or she may get on board.

Clutter Quote: “Not everything that can be counted, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted.” -Albert Einstein

Everyone has a different threshold for what it takes to go from manageable to maniacally crazed. In honor of National Clean Out Your Computer Day, celebrated the second Monday in February, I offer advice on four hot spots for digital clutter:

1. email
2. your desktop
3. photos
4. documents

My advice: focus your efforts on one of the four electronic clutter hot spots OR do a little purging in each category to get yourself calm and collected — literally. 

When you approach winnowing your documents, photos, desktop or email, get ready for a trip down memory lane. You will be reminded of things you’ve completely forgotten — and some should remain forever forgotten, but some should be resurrected…or completed. It’s helpful to have a notepad next to you to jot down the name of a particular file that you want to compare to others and select the best version. You may want to start a to-do list for future decluttering projects. Clearing out your computer can get addictive…

EMAIL: Without getting into specifics about which apps work best on which platforms, the principles of email management are consistent:

• notice what’s important
• respond in a timely fashion to actionable requests
• remove obsolete info, either from your field of vision, or permanently

YOUR DESKTOP: Go for Zen on your desktop and completely clear it! Apart from straining your computer to refresh icons continually, desktops are there to provide the calm visual space your brain craves while processing data. While your desktop may seem like an infinite holding basket for what’s important at the moment, or a safe place to store what might get lost, left unchecked it will become a graveyard of expired photos, files, and reminders. A final caution: desktop items are typically not included in routine back-ups.

PHOTO MANAGEMENT: When there is no monetary cost involved in taking photos there is little motivation to weed out bad shots and duplicates: except photos take up a LOT of memory. So rather than pay for upgrades, take a look at your stockpile of digital pics and decide on your keepers. Trash the rest. Do not attempt to manage your photos in a day; a few hours a week is a good goal until you have controlled your collection to date, and then a half-hour a week to maintain going forward. If that seems too daunting…just deal with the photos from January 1, 2015 and tackle your larger collection with a pro.

DOCUMENTS: The two biggest categories to tackle are:

• multiple or draft versions of the same project
• OLD files…irrelevant info that you have no reason to save, and no reason to refer back to. They have lived-out their usefulness and now need to be deleted.

YOU have to decide what maintenance schedule will work for your lifestyle…but National Clean Out Your Computer Day aside, once a year is not enough.