Welcome to the top 5 organizing projects of February. From the 1st of the month there are only 48 days left until spring!!! I already have spring fever. Did you know that a 2013 survey showed that more than 72% of households in the US do some type of spring cleaning? The trend seems to increase progressively each year. Look, you are not alone.

If you’re like me you’re getting itching to get your hands in the dirt and start growing those precious flower, fruit and/or vegetable seedlings or maybe your dirt looks ready to clean out the garage or attic or maybe be ready. to make your to-do list for all the exciting possibilities Spring has in store. Let’s jump in here and get to our next top 5 organizing projects:

Our first item on the top 5 list is to focus on the rest of our closets starting in January and adding cabinets.

“Originally, the warehouse served primarily as a coal yard. Today it houses the boiler, idle suitcases, out-of-season sports equipment, and many sealed cardboard boxes that are rarely opened but are always carefully moved from one house to another. to another with every move with the belief that one day someone might want baby clothes that have been sitting in a box for twenty-five years.”
Bill Bryson, At Home: A Brief History of Private Life

I read the quote above one day and had to share it because my gosh I actually have those boxes of baby clothes in my attic. Honestly, I saved them for when my kids had kids so they could share their baby clothes, but now I only visit those boxes simply because I need to remember. Psst, I think it’s time for them to go to a better home. Now, I understand that cleaning all those cupboards and cabinets can be a daunting task, however, imagine how surprised and free you will feel every time you open any cupboard/cabinet. and see all the available space and how tidy everything is stacked, hung, in boxes and/or stored. I try to only work on at least one cabinet and one cupboard a day. That way I don’t feel overwhelmed.

This leads seamlessly to the second item on the organizing list: pots, pans, brooms, sheets, towels, or boxed items sitting in the back of the closet that you have no idea what’s in them. And let’s not forget the children’s closets. This is where the fun really begins because now we can separate it all into boxes marked to keep, discard and donate. Keep a blank pad of paper near you at all times so you can make your own list of what needs to be replaced or repaired. Last year I discovered there were some mechanical items that needed to be donated like the Roomba we never used and the fish cage for the BBQ and I was able to repurpose old kids t-shirts by collecting enough to make an “Everybody Wants to Save” quilt. Earth, no one wants to help mom wash the dishes.
PJ O’Rourke, All the Problems in the World

The third element is to specifically organize your shoes. I’m talking about ALL shoes. Girls, it’s important to leave room for new sandals and flip flops so cheer up!! I store my summer shoes in a large rectangular wicker basket during the winter and use an adjustable shoe rack on the floor of my closet for the current shoe season. Rotating my seasons keeps me focused on the present and allows me to pay close attention to which shoes will need repair and what they will need when that season is over. I have to admit, it’s a very exciting time for me when I alternate my shoes because it means I’m always looking forward to outfit possibilities. Lately I’ve been enjoying an Old Dominion song called “Shoe Shopping”. Check it out while you check your shoes. It’s quirky and fun.

“Above all, believe in true love and know that men are like shoes. A couple is like a left foot and a right foot, and the perfect fit is out there. Sometimes you need to change your style and shop around to find it. Sometimes you have to adapt styles, sometimes you feel like something is styleless but comfortable, and sometimes a style, as much as you want, just doesn’t fit and will never fit.”
Camilla Morton, How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything

The fourth item may not apply to everyone, especially if you filed your taxes in January, but in my house, most tax documents end up arriving in my mailbox at the end of January, so my husband is ready to start the sorting process. go out and prepare the information to be archived. If this is the case for you, maybe this is the year to start creating file folders or containers specifically for tax preparation. Create a filing system, clearly label files to collect receipts throughout the year, scan specific documents like pay stubs so you don’t have to keep each and every one of them. Staying on top of this mound of paperwork from the beginning of the year will be a blessing come tax season next year. Print this document to help you know what to keep and for how long.

The invention of the adolescent was a mistake. Once you identify a period of life where people can stay late but don’t have to pay taxes, naturally no one wants to live any other way.”
Judith Martin

And so, here we are at the fifth item on our organizing list for February. Article 5 is a fun article and relates to my own restless disposition regarding gardening. Sometime around February 15, and in some places even earlier, certain seedlings can be planted in a starter garden. If you have south-facing windows where sunlight streams in all day, that’s the ideal spot for your starter garden. If you’re like me and go crazy over seedlings, then you know that the indoor starter garden area runs out of usable space. In cases like these, where you just don’t have enough room for all the seedlings you’ll be starting, you can use special light sets that set up neatly and effectively to help those seedlings get the best possible care. The fun part of this project, aside from planting, is going to the store or ordering from a favorite catalog all the lovely flower seeds and food seeds you’d like to see growing in your garden this year. This is a great project for children to help. My kids loved watching their seedlings grow. It’s the next best thing to a pet.

I hope you enjoy the discoveries and the space you will find this month.

See you in March!

“It was a pleasure to sink your hands into the warm earth, to feel the possibilities of the new season at your fingertips.”
Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden