Despite the hot summer temps we’ve experienced here in NYC the last few days, it is actually still Spring and thus still completely okay for me to begin my Spring cleaning.  Scrubbing, sweeping, dusting and organizing my home allows me to focus more clearly on my personal and professional goals.  When my apartment is in disarray I feel like my life is in disarray, so around this time of year I like to regroup and de-clutter.

I once heard someone say (and it was probably some organizational guru on Oprah) that the key to organization is to “Have a place for everything and everything in its place.”  The minute I start to accumulate stuff I repeat that motto over and over in my head and it really does work.  In a small NYC apartment it’s hard to stay clutter free.  Over the course of the almost 6 years that my husband and I have been married and living in our in our NYC abode (our anniversary is next week!) I’ve accumulated a lot of things that I can’t and don’t want to give up or put in storage (Storage being mom and dad’s basement of course).  As a result, I’m going to make a concerted effort to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place.  I’m not going to lie, the limited apartment space is a bummer, but I’m hoping to find a way to keep everything tidy and organized.  Below are 3 things helping me in this process.  These are simple and inexpensive things but they make me feel good about this de-cluttering process of my life.  Hope these can work for you too and any organization tips that you may have are always welcome!

Look good while you Clean:  Okay, okay so i’m not advocating cleaning in your Sunday best, but something as simple as these bright and fun cleaning gloves make scrubbing tiles a little more bearable.

Cleaning Couture

Shoe Boxes:  I’ve always wanted to be that girl that had a perfectly maintained closet ( think Cher Horowitz’s closet from Clueless).  I know in my current place it will NEVER happen.  The size and setup of the closet will just not allow it.  In order to alleviate this problem somewhat, I purchased clear shoe boxes from The Container Store.  You don’t know how many times I walked right past these thinking it was just not worth it but then my husband suggested I try it and I caved.  I can’t tell you how great it looks.  Having the same clear boxes uniformly lined up just makes my shoe shelf look polished!  You can purchase a set of 20 clear boxes for $34.  I plan on taking photos of my shoes and attaching them to each box to make it even more pristine!

Clear Storage Boxes from The Container Store

Recycling Magazines:  This is probably my biggest clutter problem but also the one I am most proud of when I finally get to cleaning.  I love magazines–plain and simple.  Long before there was Pinterest and even to this day, I still can’t resist a good old fashion magazine tear or an “I’m going to try this” dog eared page.  But I clearly have a problem with letting go of my mags.  Before I do a massive purge I always have to be very honest with myself and accept the fact that I will not read every magazine article.  I will not make every recipe.  I will not try every product shown.  I just don’t have the time.  So if a magazine is more than 6 months old (cut me some slack–it used to be a year) it’s going to be recycled.

So long old friends