Stop Spring Cleaning, Start Later Boxing
Dear K&K: Every year, I know I need to do Spring Cleaning to get more organized but I just don’t have the time. If I’m lucky, I switch my seasonal clothes out. Each year, I accumulate more clutter. Then I feel like a failure because of the clutter and I’m still not finishing household projects. What’s your best recommendation for making spring cleaning easier? Signed: Sprung out in Seattle
Dear Sprung Out: First of all, you’re ahead of most people by doing your seasonal clothes. Second, skip the Spring Cleaning this year and just start Later Boxing! It easier to get rid of clutter when it’s not some laborious day long project but a continuing process. Save spring cleaning for next year when you’ve done a slew of Later Boxing.
Grab a large box, hamper, or a black garbage bag and put it somewhere out of the way. In Kelly’s case, when she’s in Spring Later Boxing mode, she puts a large garbage bag in her guest bathroom’s shower hidden behind the curtain. Then as she finds the time — which is scarce these days — she throws clutter that’s been annoying her for the winter. Why the guest shower? It’s hidden but convenient and she has a continual built in deadline to empty the bag — hello, perfect for Organic Freedoms, Smart Freedoms & Funs. But for Organic Structures and Organic Freedoms who don’t want to get rid of things RIGHT away, we’d suggest placing the Later Box somewhere you have more time. Kelly keeps two ongoing Later Boxes. Her guest bath and her seasonal closet. The latter is for tougher items for her to let go.
Furthermore, she involves her kids in her Spring Later Boxing. Last week, she had the boys pick out five toys each that they wanted to give to charity because they didn’t play with them anymore. They had no problem finding the toys — ten dragons from their “How to Train Your Dragon” obsession phase. This weekend, she did the reverse. She aske
d them to pick out their favorite toys — no limit — from a bin they rarely touched. They each took maybe 3-4 things. Kelly got rid of essentially an entire full bin of toys, no tears.
Kelly’s busy Later Boxing the rest of the apartment every day when she has a moment to spare. It’ll continue until it’s summer. Try it this year. Happy Later Boxing, Katie & Kelly