Spring is nearly here. I always get a bit restless this time of year. After being indoors for most of the winter, I always feel the need to clear and clean everything when spring hits.
If you’re after some inspiration for spring cleaning, try some (or all) of these!
Fridge and freezer. Go through them both and see what is lurking at the back. Can’t identify it? Chuck it out. Realise you have 5 packets of mince in the freezer? Go through your favourite cookbooks and recipe websites for inspiration to use up ingredients. See if you can make a few meals to keep in the freezer for those nights when you’re bone tired and can’t be bothered to cook more than toast.
Linen cupboard. White sheets are looking sad and grey? Flannel sheets gone threadbare? If you can’t brighten them up in a wash, get rid of them. Reuse them as rags if you’re about to embark on home renovations (drop sheets for painting!). Make the most of new season sales and treat yourself to new sheets.
Cosmetics. Have a cupboard full of sample size products that you’ve never gotten around to using? See if a local charity can use them in hampers. Organisations like Share the Dignity run campaigns where they collect donations of pre-loved handbags and fill them with personal hygiene and beauty products for homeless and at risk women. Grab an old handbag you no longer use, grab some extra toiletries next time you’re at the shops, pop in those hotel shampoos and soap, and contact a local organisation to help out someone in need.
Underwear. No one feels attractive with saggy baggy granny knickers. Chuck them out. Buy new ones that make you feel like a Victoria Secret model, even though Victoria Secret models don’t have mummy tummies and would be horrified at the thought of not shaving their legs for a week…
Books and magazines. This one is always hard for me as we love books in our house. I’m a sucker for picking up bargain books at second hand book stalls, especially big annual book sales like the Lifeline Bookfair. If you have books you haven’t read in ages or didn’t really enjoy, think about donating them to a local organisation that could use them – local school, community library, shelter or op-shop.
Toys. Do your kids play with the same toys all the time and ignore the rest? Could you clear any of them out? Get rid of any broken toys, or toys that drive you bat shit crazy. Noise making toys with no off switch – obviously designed by a sadistic person with no children… Make some cash by selling toys that are in great condition, pass them on to a friend with younger kids or donate them to charity.
Household items. Have a burnt and gross saucepan that is still lurking at the back of the cupboard? Set up an outdoor play kitchen for the kids to play with or to use in a sandpit. Cheap entertainment for kids 🙂
Clothes. How about getting together with a group of friends and do a clothes swap? Anything that doesn’t get swapped and is unwanted can be donated to charity.
Do you spring clean each year?
Have you done a clothes swap with your friends?
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Linking up with Kylie for IBOT.
Life, kids and a glass of red 
Such awesome tips – I love the idea of a clothes swap with friends and thanks for the reminder about Share the Dignity. If you’re looking for ways to upcycle ingredients from the pantry or freezer, Yummly, has this really cool thing, where you can enter what ingredients you have and it will find recipes that match! How cool is that?!
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Underware is my killer. I hold on to the really bad ones for those days that I feel like crap. Only when I wear them they are now falling down – not a pretty sight for anyone #teamIBOT
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I do love a good Spring clean! Great tips!
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OMG! You’ve just reminded me how much crap I have to get rid of…in all categories!
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It builds up waaayyyy too quickly 🙂
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I’m in a constant state of declutter. But I never seem to get anywhere. I swear I don’t bring much new in, but as soon as I remove stuff, other stuff appears. Somehow…
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Great ideas, our dragon boat team ladies has had afew clothes swap days – good fun too.
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I need to declutter & clean badly but I’m so bad at it!! I need someone to come & clear out my cheap for me, but then again I’d be fighting with them because everything has sentimental value etc… Yes one day I just might appear on an episode of hoarders!!! 😉
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🙂 I have a “cooling off” pile for stuff I need to get rid of, but just can’t handle parting with them just yet. I put the pile, ie of clothes, out of sight, and if I don’t think about one of the items for a certain period of time, they get donated/thrown out!
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I think it’s always a good feeling to keep on top of the clutter and I have a particular dislike of built up cosmetics, bedding and paper – seriously how much people do we get or hoard? I must have another go because things are starting to build up and it’s good to start Spring all fresh.
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I love a good spring clean, even when it’s not spring!
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September is clean slate time in our house. I LOVE clearing out the clutter.
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I definitely need to go through the linen cupboard again and the kids toys. Decluttering is definitely on my list for Spring.
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I definitely have sagging, baggy underwear and we have reached an age with our youngest where a whole lot of toys will be binned or given away. We’re also doing some landscaping so it feels like a fresh start.
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Where to start?? I need to do all these things and with the possibility of a house move I REALLY REALLY need to do these things!!!! 🙈🙈🙈 X
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