I love this time of year. After the snow of January and February, and the freaky storms in March, isn’t everyone ready to ditch the heavy coats, revel in the sunshine, and inhale the perfume of the blooming daffodils and hyacinths?
It starts with the crocuses. We have a fun time seeking them out in our yard after a landscaping job a few years ago redistributed all the bulbs to new locations, so it is a surprise when they pop up. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to see these spring harbingers in the middle of the lawn, but it still makes me smile.
Such disorganization in my yard I can handle, but inside my house it’s another story. I am desperately seeking order, even though it is impossible to maintain for more than a day with the crazy family that lives in there. The constant accumulation of stuff makes cleaning countertops, desktops, closets, bookshelves, and drawers an unending job. But spring brings a chance for renewal extending far beyond nature. Spring cleaning begins in earnest, and with it comes renewed hope for a clutter-free life.
I, for one, have been in a cleaning and organizing mode for weeks now, but unfortunately, with a toddler around, there isn’t much time for actual cleaning or organizing. So instead, I often feel dirty and unorganized as I try to work, play, dress, or eat amongst the many half-started projects scattered around the house. Bags of clothing are everywhere and I pray my toddler doesn’t decide to play her favorite game of “empty the bag” with them, because despite the appearance, they are actually sorted to some extent. Photos and empty frames pile up on tables in various combinations, and I make mental notes of those I need to have enlarged, but nothing is even close to being ready for hanging.
Though my efforts are sporadic, I am spurred on by two local annual traditions: the town cleanup and the Boy Scout tag sale (warning, unsolicited promotion coming). Every year I look forward to these events, which provide us the opportunity to clean house of both worthless and useful items. When something breaks, I enjoy the knowledge that though I will shove it in the basement for a while, there is actually a time when it will be removed from my home. When an item outlives its usefulness for us, I am glad that we can pass it on to another owner while also helping to fund a great organization.
Of course, these events also provide me with deadlines, which can be as stressful as they are helpful. No matter how much notice we have about the cleanup, it seems we always wait until the last minute to get our things out to the curb. Some of that is to avoid the inevitable rebounding of items back into the garage when our son sees them heading for the dump, but the rest is just procrastination. Even though we vow to prepare early, it’s always late on the night before pickup, after the kids are finally asleep, that my husband and I run down to the basement and frantically try to identify all those things we tossed down there over the prior year, including the three or four items we invariably forgot to put out last year. We lug and lift and drag and roll out whatever we can under cover of darkness, probably causing the neighbors to wonder what kind of animals have taken refuge in their yards. And never fail, after the truck passes, we find another three or four items that should have gone.
Getting my goods to the Scout cabin on the right day at the right time has been a challenge in the past too, but this year I’ve decided I will try to live by the Scout motto and “be prepared”. I’m putting things into the car as I find them, so that I can deliver them whenever I am in the neighborhood. This is turning out to be a good strategy for me in general. It seems I am much more likely to happen by somewhere than to actually plan to go there. So now when I have donations to make, borrowed items to return, checks to deposit, or coupons to redeem, I put them right in my car so they are ready when I am.
Besides, moving the mess to the car gives me the illusion of organization at home. At least for a moment.
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