Welp, looks déjà vu all over again: You humans — at least in Western Pennsylvania — have six more weeks of #winter to cope with. Take advantage of that #indoor time to #chuck some of that #stuff you don’t need like I would wood! I’m a minimalist — I often dig multiple chambers and only furnish and use one or two, but it keeps me and the forest above healthy. Try to limit the visible items in each room to the things you use there every day, and #store anything else out of sight. In the process, you can eliminate and #donate the things you don’t need or want to ClothingDonations.org. Many thanks to the Organizing Blog for letting me guest this week. Now it’s back to bed for another month or so — Punxsutawney Phil, signing off!
Tag: winter
Tackle Winter Cleaning Tasks Now
With the holidays over and lots of indoor time, now is a good time to complete #cleaning projects that help keep your space dirt- and allergen-free. Make a checklist, House Beautiful says, so you don’t miss any spots as you go room to room. Radiators and vents, windows and window treatments, bedding and upholstery, and rugs and carpets should be on the list since they are the biggest dust-catchers. And don’t forget to clean out the refrigerator, throwing out anything that’s expired or just unused. Do this ahead of your next trip to the grocery store, so you’ll have less to remove and replace. #WinterCleaning
Keep Snow, Ice and Mud Outside
It’s the season of snow, ice and mud in most of the country, and that means it’s more difficult to keep the home #clean. To keep the outside out, use two doormats with every exterior door — a bristly one for the outside and a more absorbent one inside. To keep floors completely clean of dirt and salt residues, establish a station just inside the door where family members and guests can take off their shoes and leave them off until they exit again. No matter how strict you make the rule, however, some dirt will find its way in, so put a deep cleaning of carpets and furniture on the agenda for the end of the season. #WinterCleaning
A Shoes-Off Policy Helps Keep the Home Clean
It’s a challenge to keep a home #clean when winter storms hits and people start to track in snow, ice, dirt and salt. To keep your floors pristine, institute a shoes-off policy inside the home an designate a basket to hold them when not in use, Real Simple suggests. Throw rugs, doormats and runners can help keep wetness and dirt confined to specific locations. If all else fails, create a makeshift mudroom by your home’s garage or backdoor entrance and equip it with hooks, bins, shelves and lockers for temporary clothing storage. The idea is to keep the #mess confined to an easily cleaned space.
Target the Fridge During Winter Cleaning
Winter is the perfect time to clean out the refrigerator, especially if you have rarely used specialty foodstuffs that didn’t get used up during the holidays. Before you go shopping for the week, empty the fridge out and wash the drawers, doors and shelves with warm, soapy water, says House Beautiful. Rinse and dry the interior, and sort the many bottles, boxes and jars to #purge the things you don’t use or need — starting with anything that is obviously spoiled or of suspect freshness. Once the interior is clean, put what you’ll be keeping back in an #organized manner.