Fall Clean Out

I usually take a whole week off in the fall or winter to purge and reorganize all the closets in the house. This year I did not want to take a whole week off so G and I took Friday off to tackle it all together. I started on the first floor in the kitchen. The pantry was in need of a good clean out. I had cans that expired in 2015, yikes! It felt good to organize and throw away expired items.

I had a whole cupboard of manuals. What a waste of precious space! I gathered all the manuals together and put them in a pretty box and stuck them in the front hall closet. I used this space for medicine, water bottles and Tupperware. Much better. I also tackled under the bathroom sink, kitchen sink and all the junk drawers. What a great feeling to get everything in order and keep it that way!

We went to Ikea later in the day to purchase containers to keep us organized so we don't have to do such a major clean out every year. Who am I?! It feels so good to be able to see my snacks and cereal and know they are sealed tightly.

Once all the closets and drawers on the first level were cleaned out I headed upstairs. G's DVD/CD/winter clothes closet was the first one to tackle. I organized it pretty well last year and it just took a few moments to straighten everything up.

Then I went to the linen closet and tackled that. It still looks a bit messy, but that is just because I'm not a great towel/linen folder. But trust! It looks way better than it did and everything has a purpose. There is a method to the madness now.

Next I tackled the office closet which was the BEAST. I had not cleaned this out in over a year and it was definitely the closet that was most neglected. I would just throw stuff in there and it stressed me out.

The after! Ahhhh it feels so good. I threw out so much junk! Folded up the sleeping bags. Organized gift bags. Separated my sweaters and sweatshirts. Put all the luggage together. It was great because G was in a purging mood as well so we got rid of so much junk I had no idea why we were saving. All while jamming to the Hamilton soundtrack.

While I was organizing all the closets G rearranged our whole bedroom. He washed and put on our brand new sheets. Cleaned the walls and the fan and washed the curtains. He cleaned out all of his closets and in the end we had 3 bags to donate and 6 bags of garbage. And a whole new bedroom!

Since he rearranged everything the room felt so much bigger. We even had room to purchase a full length mirror at Ikea for the bedroom. What a great feeling! It felt so good to do this. I have high hopes we will be able to keep it clean and I will not shove stuff in drawers/closets anymore. I'm turning over a new leaf because I'm loving the organization and everything having a place now.

I know most people do spring cleaning, but once the weather gets gorgeous I just want to be outside. When it's getting cooler and I'll be spending a lot more time indoors is the time I feel like deep cleaning and purging. Anyone else?