Spring is finally in the air; I am so excited for longer and warmer days! This week has been totally crazy for us. I was off work because I am starting a new job on Monday! I am transitioning to a company that markets St. Louis to companies in an effort to get them to have a physical presence in our city (aka economic development). Change can be scary, but I am excited for a new challenge.
The timing actually ended up perfect because we have been in the process of buying a flooring company, County Flooring! After a very long process, we finally became the owners last Sunday! Before the sale was completed, I thought I would have most of the week to myself to get a lot of things done around the house, so I made an aggressive list. I ended up getting the majority of it done even though I have been scrambling to finish up the content for County Flooring’s website, Facebook, and Instagram pages. Check them out!
Now that you are all caught up on our crazy lives, I want to give you some spring decor and cleaning/organizing tips. Two of the most time-consuming items on my to-do list this week were putting away all of the winter decor, decorating for spring, and getting some spring cleaning done.
Spring Decor Tips
1. Keep things simple. I’ll be the first person to admit that I go overboard decorating in the winter and for Christmas. I think of spring as a simpler time of year, a time to start fresh. I just added a few items to the front porch, entryway, and mantle for Spring/Easter.
2. Incorporate Easter. Incorporating Easter decor is an easy way to decorate for spring. Plus, if you purchase items that aren’t “strictly Easter” (ex. bunny with eggs), you can use them after Easter is over. The yoga pose bunnies above can be used all spring. I purchased the bunnies on the mantle in a closeout sale and I will also be able to use them all spring versus needing to put them away after Easter.
3. Add in some green. I love adding artificial plants into our sunroom and other areas of the house. I would have real plants if I could actually keep any plant alive haha. I have a few plants on the end tables in the sunroom that will likely stay there all spring and summer long. I have a handful of topiaries and artificial plants that I use throughout the house during spring and summer. I found the topiaries below at an estate sale for just a few dollars and the others came from Home Goods.
Spring Cleaning Tips
We didn’t do any sort of spring cleaning last year because we moved into our house May 2018 and we were doing some construction, but man did we accumulate a lot of stuff over the past two years. Admittedly, we haven’t been the best with organization.
1. Start with an idea of what areas you want to tackle. If you have a short period of time to get things done like I did, don’t plan to clean and organize your entire house. Take it in chunks. Everything takes longer than you think. I focused on the kitchen and our bedrooms/closets.
2. Figure out what you can part with. I know I can’t be the only person that buys new items, but doesn’t give away or sell the old items. I’m especially bad about this with clothes and accessories. I have made a lot of trips to resale shops and charity drop offs this week. If you feel guilty parting with items, take them to a resale shop before donating. I made over $300 this week just selling clothes/accessories I wasn’t wearing or using anymore. Now I have a cleaner closet and money to spend on some of my decor projects.
3. Organize, organize, organize. It’s always helpful to be able to see what you have clearly. This goes for any area in your house. If you can’t glance in your pantry and see what you have, you will likely buy more of the same food that you already have. Same goes for your closet, if you don’t see it, you won’t remember you have it to wear it. I find it’s best to move things around so everything is visible. It helps me to put similar foods next to each other. It also helps me to have my closet organized in sections, sleeveless tops go in one area, short sleeves in another.
My goal is to keep everything clean and organized all year and to frequently clean out the old when I purchase something new. Happy spring decorating and cleaning!