Photo by Julie Vazquez
This month topic for the Green Mom’s carnival is Spring cleaning over at Jenn of Tiny Choices. With Spring right around the corner, here is your time to fall in love with your home again by removing the clutter that hides its inner beauty. The thought of removing all the mounds of papers, straightening up that spare bedroom which has become the junk room, or getting rid of what you haven’t used in decade can be a daunting task. So, tackle just a few rooms or areas that you know will not put you on overload. Here are some of my suggestions of the areas of your home that probably are the worse offenders: your closet, pantry, and bathrooms.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
Closets
Our closets are full of decade old clothes that we swear will come back in style. For years, I have held onto a Betsy Johnson off the shoulder dress with a ruffles around the middle. Remember Flash Dance? Jennifer Beals? Well, I would be her sister in this outfit. I love this outfit since it is black and hides my baby hips in a slimming fashion. (What girl would not love that?) Guess, what? Do you think this outfit will ever come back in style? Probably in some fashion but with a different twist or fabric.
Unless you are really handy with a needle and thread, so to speak, to remake the dress by either cutting off its top or make a Lyra skirt out of it, then this dress needs to go to a thrift shop where someone who is young enough can buy it who can carry off this retro look. (Wait, are Lycra skirts still in?)
So, tell me. What outfits do you have hiding in your closets? Joan Collins padded shoulders? Really, really short skirts that looked great on you five to ten years ago, or perhaps really slim pants that you have not worn in two years?
The worse part is having clothes that you have not worn in a couple of years since you gained weight. I am grappling with this problem too since I started Green Talk . Yes, I have gained weight since I am no longer as active because I sit at my desk for hours at a time. So, either I have to work harder this Spring to lose weight or resign myself to my new size. Are any of you battling with this as well?
So, what should you do with all of those old clothes?
- Consign your clothes if they are not too outdated.
- Give your old suits to Dress for Success to help promotes the economic independence of disadvantage women. Check with your nearest affiliate to inquire about their policies in accepting clothing.
- Swap, barter, and sell your clothes. See a dozen resources here. (Note, although the linked article is about getting rid of unwanted gifts, the resources still apply.)
- Remake your clothes if you are handy such as cutting off too short pants to make shorts or Capris. Perhaps, you can make a quilt or pillow case out of old shirts. The Repurposed Home uses old wool sweaters and ties to make pillows. Be creative!
The Kitchen
In the past, I have written about cleaning your pantry. Last time I did this, I found multiple empty boxes, stale food, and food that we would never eat. On top of it, I found multiple cans of the same food because my pantry was so full, I kept buying the same thing over and over again. What a waste of money. Whatever you don’t think you will eat or your children have turned their nose up at it, donate it to a food pantry.
Go through your freezer and see if you have any food item that has been frozen for over a year. If you can compost it, do; otherwise, throw it out. It probably has freezer burn on it. While you are at it, clean the freezer and as well as its coils so that it becomes more energy efficient.
While you are in the kitchen, check for leaks under the cabinet and observe whether your faucet drips. Sometimes we get immune to the sounds of a dripping facet. You could be literally throwing your money away from one little drip not to mention that it could be rotting your cabinets.
Toys and Kids’ Clothing
I dread giving away my children’s old clothing and toys. I feel like I am letting go of their past. I neatly pack away each size in containers and store them. Who am I kidding as I approach 50? The likelihood of me having another child is next to zero. (Not that I would have another one anyways.) I have saved special outfits in another container for my future grandchildren, but it is silly that I hold on to clothes that another child could use. The same goes with toys.
Is there any special toys or clothes that you have held onto?
With such places like Freecycle, Swap Mama, Craig List, and consignment shops, there really isn’t any need to hold onto items that just take up room. Day care facilities, after-school programs, and schools will gladly take your old games and toys.
Bathrooms
Go through your cabinets and check for outdated medicine. Carry a wastebasket with you, so you can take it downstairs and recycle what you can. See here for proper disposal of expired medicine to thwart any chance of drug abuse. Never throw outdated medicine down the toilet or sink. Chemicals can be released into our drinking water and be harmful to fish.
Consider reusing pill containers to collect coins, buttons, or other small items.
Reader Ideas?
Although I have barely scratched the surface of Spring Cleaning, add your own two cents.
- What other areas in your home do you find the hardest to Spring Clean?
- Do you have a favorite way to dispose of your unwanted, once loved treasures?
- Do you have a favorite system to remove those mounds of paper?
- Do you have any great re-use ideas to re-purpose items no longer working or past their prime?
Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish says
March 7, 2009 at 6:14 amOh Anna. Don’t make me clean out my closet. I just KNOW I’ll lose weight some day and get back into my old jeans. Really, I will. I promise!!! 😉
beth says
February 10, 2017 at 6:18 pmI can relate to this & a few yrs ago I did lose about 45 lbs. I felt so much better. This was after cervical fusion surgery & I started getting more active. I got rid of ( donated ) many of my clothes esp pants & jeans. A few things that I was attached to I kept for a few yrs but eventually got rid of them. I have put some of the weight back on ( of course I hate it ) but just have to accept that as we age we are less active. Beth in sterling va
mother earth aka karen hanrahan says
March 7, 2009 at 11:59 amI kept only the classic children’s toys, just one box for the grandma stash. I kept the lego’s too. Too much money spent. I regret getting rid of the batman figures – nostaglia sake mostly. Never collected nor would I have kept Barbie things. Interesting.
When I lost all my weight I had to replace quite a bit of clothing and have taken on a minimalist approach. When the glance in the closet is all of 2 feet wide it simplifies things tremendously! A pair of jeans and a pair of black pants. Simple.
I decided as part of my green efforts to strive for a virtual/paperless office – doing so has me a tad obsessed about paper – not 100% there yet, but know that it’s doable!! Certainly worth striving for. Doing this I have applied the brown grocery bag approach, filling and or shredding one bag at a time.
My pantry has always been stocked via he grocery list, so if I make a list I find I don’t duplicate things. Having a few of everything though is often handy! Especially when the weather is freezing!
For storage in the kitchen/fridge I prefer glass jars. I seemingly collect those. Especially if they are sortof unusual or cool. A friend gave me baby food jars and you would have thought she gave me money or something!
Nice resources listed here anna
Lynn from Organicmania.com says
March 9, 2009 at 11:43 amAnna, you crack me up with your FlashDance description. First off, I just saw you at the Shortys and even the famous MC Hammer thought you were a “sexy, hot green Mama” so don’t go pretending like you need to lose weight! You look great!
For me, it’s clothes from my single days in Paris. I have beautiful clothes I can’t bear to give away and it’s sad to admit they may never fit again…
I think we need to do a spring cleaning post every week to get inspired to clean!
BTW, you have so many cool posts down below…I need to catch up on my Green Talk reading…the Ford interview looks awesome, the giveaway of organic ts, everything…you rock!
And thanks again for your wonderful tribute to Green Moms. I’m going to put the video up today, hopefully!
Ciara says
March 9, 2009 at 3:52 pmGreat ideas for cleaning out the closet. I am just working on Disney to clean up their act!
After 3 years, child health advocates are still asking Disney World to eliminate hazardous cleaning chemicals and implement a complete green cleaning policy. On March 10 in Oakland, CA they will be asking directly outside the Disney World shareholder meeting demanding Disney to cross the finish line and finally implement a real policy that will protect the health of their guests and employees.
You can join advocates on March 10 by sending in your photo next to CHEJ’s speech bubbles. Check out the site to learn how:http://salsa.democracyinaction.....t_KEY=5344. You can also take a look at the photos people have already sent in on our flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/chej. Thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Ciara Trainor
Sommer Green & Clean Mom says
March 9, 2009 at 10:54 pmGreat post on organizing the closets. Mine are full of clutter and have piled up and completely need to be cleaned. I have jeans I dream to fit into but won’t and why I’m saving these – Lord only knows! Great tips Anna!
Condo Blues says
March 10, 2009 at 6:11 pmIt’s easy to declutter because I live in a small house. If I want to bring something new into the Condo I have to know how I’m going to use it/where it’s going to live because there won’t be room for it!
Diane MacEachern says
March 11, 2009 at 10:44 amWhat’s that expression, one person’s trash is another’s treasure? That’s how I feel about clutter! But in my case, my cluttery “trash” one year seems to be my treasure the next. I need to find a treasure hunter who doesn’t live in my house!
andy says
March 12, 2009 at 12:23 pmFREE LOUBOUTINS… WOOP WOOP!!!
http://www.Bigwardrobe.com is the Internet’s biggest clothes swapping website. More than 3,000 new items are added every week. There’s currently loads of fab stuff to swap… inc. a gorgeous pair of Louboutin peep toes, a Marc Jacobs trench coat and a Roberto Cavalli evening dress… all for FREE. Have a sneaky peek at: http://www.bigwardrobe.com.
Happy swapping xxx
p.s. Oh, and the site is free to use. Yey!
Mindful Momma says
March 14, 2009 at 10:42 amTalk about skeletans in your closet – it sounds like we all have scary clothes from the 80’s in ours! (or am I just dating myself?)
I have found there is an unintended consequense in my interest in reusing everything. Either I save it forever, thinking someday I will use it again (Yes, I’ve still got my skinny, red and black striped jeans from the 80’s!) or the job of organizating it all (separate bags for giving to friends, thrift, consignment and even for making crafts) is so daunting that I keep putting it off. It would be so much easier to just toss it all – but of course I would never do that. Decluttering is definitely at the top of my list for spring cleaning!
Becky says
March 15, 2009 at 2:05 amI had no idea that you shouldn’t flush old pills down the toilet due to the chemicals it can release into drinking water! I am so glad to know that now. Keeping the environment safe is one of my number 1 goals lately and am very interested in learning ways that I can accomplish this goal. Beth Greer’s latest book “Super Natural Home” that really got me thinking about the little things I can do just in my own home every day to make my home and the planet a lot safer (e.g. cleaning with alternative cleaning agents that do not contain toxic chemicals). I would recommend her book to anyone interested in reducing their exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Green Talk says
March 15, 2009 at 2:00 pmBecky, Beth’s book sound’s interesting and thanks for reccommending it. Do you have a favorite section? Anna
Wendy says
March 17, 2009 at 1:02 amSuch great advice!
My littlest is almost two and it’s been so hard to give away the clothes she grows out of! I know we won’t be having any more babies (barring a miracle) but when I give her clothes away it feels a little more final.
Mary Hunt says
March 22, 2009 at 12:24 amThanks for the reality check, I guess it is time to let go of my Minnesota wear now that I’ve been in SoCal for six years!
Green Talk says
March 22, 2009 at 8:48 pmMary, I find letting go of old clothes painful. They hold so many memories as well as what ifs I lose weight, maybe I will need this, or this fashion will return. I am guilty of all three.
Keep a few of those Minn clothes so when you come visit me in cold NJ!!! Anna
Becky says
March 22, 2009 at 11:20 pmTo GreenTalk:
It would be difficult to pick just out favorite section. I thought the entire book was very eye opening and beneficial- but found the sections on personal care products and cleaning products most useful to me.
Green Talk says
March 23, 2009 at 12:04 amBecky, thanks for your reply. You would love Stacey Malkin’s book, “It not a Pretty Face” about the beauty industry. See my review here. It is down right scary what you put on our bodies and skin. Anna
Suzanne says
April 8, 2012 at 5:26 pmI added a room onto my house, not knowing that my daughter and her two children would move in. No room for a closet so I bought an old English wardrobe. With four shelves and a small rod, it was all I had. Best thing I ever did. I re-thought how many jeans I really needed, how many shirts, how many shoes…. It all had to fit in a space 36 inches wide by 16 inches deep by 56 tall. It works.
Anna@Green Talk says
April 9, 2012 at 8:36 pmSuzanne, personally I think a wardrobe is a great idea! A great way to get rid of what you don’t need or wear. Anna
Regina Ryerson says
April 5, 2013 at 7:18 pmWhen clearing out clutter, clear out excess furniture and decorations. Here’s why.
A growing hazard is toxic house dust. I’m talking fire retardants, lead, etc.
Along with eliminating the sources of toxic dust, you’ll need to clean up the dust itself. That will mean plenty of deep dusting and vacuuming on a regular basis.
The only way to do this efficiently is to clear all our clutter, including excess furniture and decorations.
Anna@Green Talk says
April 5, 2013 at 11:06 pmRegina,
Absolutely. You bring up such a good point about toxins in dust bunnies. Another great reason to get rid of the clutter! Anna
Barbara says
May 28, 2015 at 6:10 pmI like to repurpose things. My grandma had an old set of tall speakers with a cute trim around the frame.I took out the speakers and turned them sideways , put shelves inside them and put plexiglass on the front of it. I use it to put my what nots in instead of all over the room.