15 Minute Spring Cleaning + A Giveaway!

When I think of spring cleaning for some reason the picture that immediately comes to mind is that of Laura and Mary Ingalls (from the books, not the TV show), cleaning out the whole house while their mother was gone somewhere. How they changed the hay in the mattresses and cleaned all the  bedding and clothing and scrubbed the floors on their hands and knees. No wonder the idea of spring cleaning has always felt a little over whelming and tiresome. Ha!

Today is our local clean-up day. The day where we can take the bigger items that we no longer need or have use for (like old mattresses, broken furniture, etc.) out and the lovely garbage men will pick them up and haul them away along with our garbage for free. So it was inevitable that this past weekend I would have to tackle some form of spring cleaning.

Because a lot of my spring cleaning consisted of breaking down and then bundling up cardboard for the recycling, I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of pictures of that. Instead I want to share my three 15 minute spring cleaning projects that left me feeling pretty darn pleased. I find that while big jobs (like my cardboard grand canyon) can take some time and muscle to contend with, some of the ones that make me feel the most accomplished – really take virtually no time at all. Those 15 minute (or less) jobs really can make a big difference!

Like my up-cycled cabinet down in my laundry area. It had become a dumping ground for miscellaneous things, and while I wasn’t feeling up to tackling the job of repainting it just yet (that seems like more of a summer job 😉 ) organizing it was well past due, and something I was willing to tackle.

I started out by taking all my plants that have been sitting on top all winter outside. I’m too lazy to plant my calla lilies each year and dig them up in the fall so I just leave them in the pots and bring them inside each winter.

Why does the bottom part only have one door? I have no idea. But I don’t have the missing door so I grabbed a screw driver and removed the remaining door (and the hinges that were weirdly still attached on the other doorless side) to make it appear like purposeful open shelf space.

The top shelves were full of wooden coat hangers and a couple pairs of shoes. Coat hangers I haven’t in probably 3 years, and yet, here they sat taking up half of my cabinet. It was time for them to go. So I packed them, and all the stuff on the bottom shelves up, cleaned the shelves and sat back to figure out what would be the best use of the space.

I decided I needed to get some containers in there for organizational help so I grabbed my Snapware home storage containers to start organizing! I had 4-Smart Store 14”x6” Orange Containers, and 4-Smart Store 14”x9” Orange. These Snapware storage containers are perfect for areas like this because you can see what’s in them, they easily stack, and the covers literally SNAP on so you know when your belongings are sealed away from dirt and dust. I’m using the 14″ containers here, but they come in a variety of sizes to fit all shelves. Especially in an area like the basement where things often go missing, using clear storage containers can save a lot of time when you are out searching for that one particular thing!

I sorted out all the things I wanted to keep in the cabinet into the containers. Since I’m not running on any regular basis this year, I’ve stored my sneakers in one, my winter boots in another, and some miscellaneous sports and cleaning things in two others. Check out the before and after:

Can we talk about how much space I was wasting with those darn coat hangers? Geez.

On the bottom shelves, I’ve dedicated one whole shelf to basketballs (two of which are currently missing). Why do boys need so many basketballs? If I ask that, I’ll have to answer why girls need so many yoga mats…

And on the bottom shelf I’ve stored some plant pots and our “yard sneakers”. Another before and after:

All in all it took me less than 15 minutes to reorganize it, and I was as proud as a peacock about it, haha. As I mentioned above, I still need to repaint the unit, and I have shelf liner to put down, but as far as the cleaning end of the job goes, I’m pretty pleased. And finding things in the top of the cabinet without worrying about sending all those coat hangers flying is quite enjoyable.

Once done, I realized I still had two containers left (one 6″ and one 9″) so I took to my bathroom closet where I wrangled up all my cleaning cloths, etc. into one, and extra shower curtain and bathmat into another. Small things have been falling through the shelves for years, so it was again oddly satisfying to put everything in a container so I don’t have to go searching from one shelf to the other to find things now. And once again, since the containers are clear, I can easily see where things are stored – bonus!

And because I was on a roll, and three’s the charm, I headed to my bedroom to reorganize my closet. We have a small closet, so the shelves that hold all my jeans, T-shirts and “street clothes” (AKA not fitness clothes) easily get rumpled up. With a few minutes of work I tossed everything on my bed, refolded and put them away nicely. This also gave me the opportunity to look for things I no longer wear, or are stained/torn to toss out. When you’ve only got a small amount of space you have to be a bit more ruthless! No Snapware used here, just some good old fashioned folding (though it’s likely not up to the Ingall’s standard 😉 ).

In less than 1 hour I tackled three different areas of my house that were in need of a little TLC, and let me tell ya, that can really make a girl feel accomplished!

Giveaway

Snap Ware wants to help you with your spring cleaning and has offered to send one of my readers four Snapware  home storage containers like those I used in the post above:

• (2) Smart Store 14”x6” Orange [SRP $6.99] 
• (2) Smart Store 14”x9” Orange [SRP $7.99] 

Who is Snapware®?

Snapware is the modern & innovative brand of everyday storage that delivers easy organization solutions in order to embrace your life in motion.  Only Snapware home storage is:

• Innovative with sizes to fit any shelf depth
• Durable with reinforced corners built to last, resist splitting and chipping
• Solution focused by being designed for both storage and organization
• Functional with containers that snap and stack

Snapware home storage is:

• Modern and innovative: designed for today with clean lines, see-through vessels with vibrant and colorful lids.
• Simple and durable: well-designed products are easy to use and built to last.
• Real solutions: designed for everyday activities and optimized for storage and organization.
• A SNAP! The lids snap on with an audible “snap” that tells the user the lid is secure, and containers have a modular stackable design so they stack easily.
• Made in the USA with a lifetime warranty.

The 12”, 14” and 16” series containers include an easy-carry handle.

[Tweet “Make #SpringCleaning & organizing a breeze with @WorldKitchenLLC #Snapware Stoarge Containers”]

To enter please follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the USA. Giveaway ends on Friday, May 20th @ midnight!

Good luck!!!

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by World Kitchen/Snapware. World Kitchen/SnapwareFrom bakeware, dinnerware, kitchen and household tools to range-top cookware, storage and cutlery, World Kitchen, LLC., and its affiliates manufacture and market brands known and trusted around the world. World Kitchen brands include Corningware, Snapware, Pyrex, Baker’s Secret, Chicago Cutlery, Corelle, and more!