Once again it is January! The start of a new year, and the opportunity for new beginnings! One of the top things that most people do to “start fresh” is to clean and unclutter their homes. The main thing to remember if you want to attempt this, is to not get overwhelmed by thinking you have to get everything done from top to bottom in one day! Start with ONE ROOM a day (or even a week if you haven’t tackled the mess in a while), and continue until all rooms are done. I have broken down 3 main areas and have provided some handy tips to get you going:
- Kitchen: Declutter this space by going through your cabinets, spice drawers, pantries and refrigerators and tossing everything that has an expired date on it. Sure, some things are still OK after they have expired, but if you still haven’t used it by then, chances are you won’t ever use it/eat it. Remove the remaining “good stuff”, set aside, then use a warm soapy cloth to wipe out these surfaces. Allow to dry, and put everything back with all labels facing forward. You will be amazed at how much more room you will have, and how organized you will feel after doing this simple thing.
- Bathroom: You should approach this room in very much the same way you did with your kitchen… go through your drawers, medicine cabinets, cupboards, linen closets and your shower stall shelves. Toss out any makeup that is more than a year old (most mascaras harbors bacteria, and should actually be thrown out after just 6 months of use); get rid of any expired prescriptions, OTC medicines and ointments (they may still “work”, but won’t be nearly as effective); and ditch any bottles of shampoo, cream rinse, body wash or lotion that you aren’t currently using, and that have less than ½ of the contents remaining. The reason that you still have it is because you didn’t like the results you got from using it in the first place, so you bought and opened a new product! Chances are you won’t go back to it…Again, remove the remaining “good stuff” and wipe out the surfaces, allow to dry, and put everything back where it was; only this time attempt to organize a bit by product use, size, etc.
- Closets: This one is easy. If you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it! Seriously! How many shirts or pants do you need to hang on to that don’t fit quite right, but you put back in your closet for “someday” when they will miraculously fit? Same with shoes and boots. If that “one pair of really cute orange flats- that you paid a lot for from Macy’s-but hurt your feet” are still in your closet unworn after a year, it’s time to let them go! I’m pretty sure your feet aren’t going to shrink by the next time you try them on. Use the same technique with your drawers; try on all of those jeans, t-shirts, shorts and sweaters… if they don’t fit, or you haven’t worn them in a year, dump ‘em, donate or sell. Last tip about clothes: if ANY garment has lost its elasticity (e.g. swimsuits, underwear, yoga pants, bras or socks), it needs to simply be thrown away…it’s not even good enough to donate!
Once you have done this (and approached each room in your house in a similar fashion), you should be feeling pretty good about your accomplishments! However, the icing on the cake is to then have a professional cleaning service come in and really do a deep clean now that a lot of your clutter is out of the way! BriarHills Maids, located right here in Castle Hills does an amazing job, and I would highly recommend their services! Owners, Paul and Cassandra Rodriguez are actually residents of Castle Hills, so they are even more committed to doing a superior job because this is the community where they live!
I had the chance to interview Paul, and he said that just a few short years ago they started their cleaning business out of their garage! They then opened their location in the Castle Hills Village Shops, and are now preparing to expand their business even more! They have several schedule options to choose from too! Anything from a “one time clean” to a monthly, bi-weekly or weekly is ok with them… they will simply provide you with an estimate based on the frequency (or infrequency for that matter!) of how often you want their maids to clean for you, the size of your home, and the level of service needed for your particular situation. One thing I really like as well, is that they will work with you to tweak your cleaning schedule for reasons such as vacations, or special occasion parties. I also use them for cleaning my rental properties in between tenant turnovers. No other company has done a better job, for such a good value than BriarHills Maids. I want to mention that they also have a “commercial division”, run by partner Shawn Whitaker. This division cleans for area builders; from start of build to finish, and then a complimentary “first clean” for new home owners.
So check them out, you won’t be disappointed! Now is the time to unclutter, clean, and get your house organized for the new year!
Visit the BriarHills Maids website for more details: http://briarhillsmaids.com/
