Tidy House CT | Best Spring Cleaning Tips

With all of these unexpected changes, many of us are stuck at home for the unforeseeable future. With spring finally here I am beginning to tackle my spring cleaning. Chances are, with all this extra time now at home, you might be too. Last week I had the honor of interviewing Sharon of Tidy House Connecticut (you can find her on Instagram here by clicking on @TidyHouseCT) for the kickstart of my annual Spring Cleaning Series. Sharon is a professional home organizer located in Fairfield County and I have been following her work the past few months. In this post, she shares her best advice to kickstart your own spring cleaning and even some great ideas to inspire your family while you’re all at home together.

All tidying photos in this post belong to Sharon of Tidy House CT.

What inspired you to become a professional organizer?

My friends and family constantly told me that I missed my calling in life.

Tell us a little about your role as a home improvement designer.

I have an ability to visualize how a space can be improved both decoratively and functionally. The functional part ties in with organizing in a way that we are maximizing your storage space without sacrificing living space. There are so many functional storage items in the market that a lot of people don’t know about or realize that they can have installed in their homes.

Why do you feel that home organizing is so important?

A clutter free home = a clutter free head. When you are living in an organized home your stress levels will decrease and you will look forward to coming home because you know that it is an area of your life that you don’t have to think about and you can just enjoy the space. Organized closets help you get ready faster in the mornings because you can see what you have to wear easily and thereby starting your day off with one less stressful situation!

When someone comes to you for help, what areas have you noticed that most people need help with?

It’s usually their closets. Once we complete that project they are motivated to do other areas which is just so fulfilling for me. Ideally I want to help clients get their entire home organized because I know how life changing it can be for them. I also know how daunting it can be to organize an entire home especially since 99% of the time you are probably doing it solo so to have me there with you to help you and guide you makes the entire task less daunting and more fun!

What are some of the home organizing traps that you see people most often struggle with?

Very often we have gathered too much stuff over the years and we haven’t gotten rid of most of it. Clutter creates Chaos, so once you declutter or purge any area, the stuff that you are left with becomes easier to organize. Once an area is organized, it is very easy to re-organize it when it gets messy – because let’s face it, we are all leading very busy lives these days.

When beginning a spring cleaning, where do you recommend that people start?

I always recommend to start in the bedroom. This is where we start our day and end our day so if it’s a mess then you are going to bed and waking up in a mess which will end up being stressful to you and you may not even realize it.  After the bedroom is done I would move into the next most used area which is typically the kitchen. Save the garage for warmer weather and a sunny day!!

What are your best tips for spring cleaning?

Purge what you are no longer using. If you really want to keep something then store it in a bin in the basement or attic and if you haven’t thought about it by the time the next Spring rolls around then give some serious thought to parting ways.

How can people involve other family members or people living in the home?

Everyone is different. I find that as soon as a high traffic area has been organized, family members tend to be self motivated to keep things tidy and to get involved in the process of organizing other areas in the home. Also if you are buying baskets for storage or other organization items you can ask the other family members their opinion so that they feel like they are part of the process.

What are the habits that help people maintain a tidy home?

Putting things away where they belong. Sometimes this means a few extra seconds of your time and pretty soon it just becomes a habit! Many of us dread doing laundry and more importantly packing away the clean laundry. In most cases, it really only takes a few minutes to put the laundry away so just do it! If I’m watching TV I like to get up during the lengthy commercial breaks and do something productive like finish packing the dishwasher so that it can be turned on or changing laundry from the washer to the dryer.