Spring Cleaning

The weather is finally warming up here in the Northeast, and I'm getting that itch to dig out from under the clutter that has accumulated over the Winter. Little piles of mail here and there. Catalogs I've been meaning to look through. Magazines that I haven't quite had the time to read.

Before you know it, you wind up on Oprah in one of those "desperate hoarders" shows.

So, I've spent the morning trying to dig out from under. This time, though, I recruited the kids to help (gotta love that free child labor).

Today, I introduced them to the 27 Fling Boogie from FlyLady. It makes a huge difference in de-cluttering a room quickly, without getting overwhelmed. I had forgotten how helpful that website is.

The "27-Fling Boogie" is where you set a time limit (usually 15 minutes) and go through a cluttered room, gathering up 27 things that can be thrown out. It sounds a little nuts but it really works. It forces you to really assess things that are in the room, and ask yourself, "Do I really need to hold onto this, or can I pitch it?" My 11-year-old just did the "boogie" in her room, and good lord, you can actually start to see her desk now. Progress!

Okay, break's over...time to tackle another mountain of disorganization.