Spring....New beginnings

looking forward to Spring?.... for me it conjures up wonderful thoughts not just crafty ones, but ones of new beginnings. Baby animals being born, pretty flowers blooming, filling once again decorated containers in side and out, the smell of clean fresh air.

March to May is the beginning of the year for me.

Spring Clean..... for all that know me and my OCD this particular project will and does take military precision on my behalf, the planning actually starts January 1st and the lists are headed as such

DE-CLUTTER getting rid of all the accumulated stuff through out the house that cannot be recycled (crafting stock) the task is not just for paper & rubbish but also all the soft furnishings. 
ORGANISING sourcing & purchasing new containers from food storage - putting in the loft storage, again recycling is the key, I love Amazon, Ebay & of course Charity shops but I love making new storage as well from fabric covered boxes to crotchet baskets. 
CLEANING PRODUCTS I only use natural cleaning products and have been known to make my own, this obviously takes a bit longer than buying off the shelf but again I will start early so as to have a good selection. I also love to decant them into bottles with pretty labels. I have a Housekeeping basket which holds all my everyday cleaning stuff.

ROOM-ROOM areas to clean time allocated
GARDENS front & back

Once I have de-cluttered, have all my storage sorted and my cleaning products in place it's going to be March and itching to get going.

Believe me I don't live in a big house, but I do give myself realistic times, I have been doing this far too long to think if the planning takes 10 weeks it isn't going to be done in a week!! and what's the point in stressing over it, for it to be done properly it has to be enjoyed, if you have never seen it try and watch Ever Decreasing Circles the episode Ann goes in to hospital and Martin, Spring cleans the house it's hilarious.

In the past I tried to encourage my family to get involved but it ended in tears (theirs) I am the boss and I don't like to share my crown so its best to keep this one to myself.
A few of my personal tips to help

set a date to start the cleaning, let everyone know what your up to and make sure there are no interruptions (I have my food shopping delivered).
go to bed early for an early start, you will probably sleep like a baby after the 1st day especially if you have had all your windows opened.
eat a good breakfast and keep your energy up with healthy snacks and stop for lunch drink plenty of water.
wear comfy clothing & flat shoes.
I love to listen to Capital Gold it helps lol
once your finished treat yourself, you have worked hard!!!!

Every thing will be clean, smelling fresh because no chemicals were used, everything neatly packed away in their new storage homes, new soft furnishings and a few Spring flowers.

Once you have the house sorted give the gardens a spruce up, maybe a few new pots (painted terracotta pots), Windows on the outside clean.

I have a studio at the bottom of the garden and this will have a spring clean too It will need it as I would have been busy getting all my crafts finished.

When you have finished all that cleaning you may find that you want to update some pieces of furniture, replacing can be expensive all that may be needed is a lick of paint, I am a fan of Chalk Paint Annie Sloane has a great colour range of soft colours ideal for modern interiors.

I will over the next few days be posting all my lists, ideas for storage and re cycling and recipes for home made cleaners and hopefully lots more.

I would like to mention that I also do an autumn clean which gets us ready for Winter, but that will definitely have to wait .......

Thank you for visiting xx