Get your home ready for summer

May 28, 2010

By Hellen Buttigieg

Summer will be here before we know it (hurray!). If you can learn to stay on top of cleaning
and organizing your home, you’ll give yourself more time to enjoy the weather and your family and friends.

Welcome summer with a clean garage

Choose a dry day and pull everything out of the garage and onto the driveway or front lawn. Place all the similar items together and weed out the excess. Give the garage floor a thorough cleaning. When putting things back, store similar things together; this will be easy because you’ve already sorted them in categories. Use the vertical space to clear as much floor space as possible so you can park your car. A no-cost solution is to nail slats of scrap wood horizontally between the studs of an unfinished garage and store long-handled tools behind them. Place nails on the wall to hang other supplies. For bulky items, purchase heavy-duty storage shelf units from your local building supplies store (polypropylene is durable and won’t rust).

Change the setting
If you can’t seem to get started when it comes to sorting through your piles of paper, gather them up in a box and take them outside. Choose a beautiful day and sit in your backyard, on your balcony or front porch and go through them. Or take them to a friend’s house and keep each other company over a cup of tea as you each go over your paperwork. Changing the environment where you do your organizing may make it less of a chore.

Quick clean-up routine for the whole family
Provide a personalized bin for each member of the family for things that don’t belong in the common rooms. Determine a regular time to do a quick tidy-up daily (perhaps just after dinner or before bed). Each person is responsible for picking up their own things and
placing them in their bin. Once a week (or when the bin is full), each person empties his or her bin by returning things to their rightful home. When the job of keeping the house tidy is shared by all and spread throughout the week, it frees up family time on the weekend and everyone benefits.

Listen to some tunes
Listening to music makes tasks feel like less of a chore, relieving stress and increasing enjoyment. Put on your favourite high-energy tunes while you clean and organize. Some people even pay their bills while listening to music; they report it takes their mind off financial stress and makes the job less daunting. Challenge yourself to finish the task after a certain amount of songs to increase your efficiency and make it more fun.

Take a walk
Getting outside in nature can be extremely relaxing. Going for a walk with a friend makes it even more beneficial to both our emotional and physical health and well-being. Rather than going out for lunch, consider going for a walk together instead. You’ll be nurturing your friendship and relieving stress at the same time.

Freshen your wardrobe
Now is a great time to evaluate last season’s wardrobe. Were there any clothing items you didn’t wear? Why didn’t you wear them? If it was because they needed dry cleaning or repair, put them in your car right now and deliver them to the cleaners. If it was because they
didn’t fit, didn’t work with your lifestyle or felt uncomfortable, take them to charity today. If you didn’t wear them last year, chances are you won’t wear them this year either. Weeding out your wardrobe now will make you feel lighter and create some breathing space for your summer clothes.

Hellen Buttigieg, is a Certified Professional Organizer, life coach, TV Host and owner of We Organize U. She is the author of the best-seller, Organizing Outside The Box, now available on Amazon.com For tips on organizing your home, your office and your life, visit WeOrganizeU.com and sign up for Hellen’s free newsletter. To contact Hellen or for information on hiring a We Organize U organizing specialist, call 905-829-2219 or e-mail info@WeOrganizeU.com

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