Column: The joys of spring cleaning?

I started my spring cleaning early this year. That is an astonishing statement, coming from me. Usually, I don’t do any formal spring cleaning at all. I just never got into the habit.

But for some reason, as winter began to wane, I decided enough was enough. I started to clean up, throw out and organize. The result wasn’t just more shelf space, nice as that is. I also began to understand the organic nature of clutter.

Marie Kondo, the Japanese organizing guru who currently stars in a Netflix series, may have been the impetus for my cleaning spree. I recently wrote about her recommendation to cull home libraries; as an avid reader I have mixed feelings about what she has to say about books.

Still, after reading her first book in 2014, I did espouse her concept of looking at each item I own and considering whether it “sparks joy.” Though I’ve yet to do a full overhaul of my wardrobe, there are times when I take a tired shirt out of a drawer and realize it no longer provokes a positive response in me.

It does simplify decluttering to use this tactic. Plus, I think it’s a valid standard for the way we live now. I don’t need five cardigans. I may want that many, but if I really don’t like one of them, isn’t it better to pass it on to charity and focus on the four that I still enjoy?

So it was that I saw a pocketbook and a satchel sitting on a bench in my kitchen and realized they were not sparking joy. In the fall of 2017, I used the satchel as a carryall for work. Then I switched to the black pocketbook. By late spring in 2018, I’d switched again, to a smaller, purple bag. This past winter, all three sat on the bench, where I could easily pick them up as I headed out the door, along with a canvas grocery tote that contained some work-related materials.

Of course, I wasn’t using any of them, except for the purple purse. And the bench was out of commission because it was covered with bags.

Since cleaning and organizing are not among my favorite tasks, I took on one bag at a time. I threw away outdated ibuprofen and lipsticks that had worn down to a nub. There were papers that should have been recycled a year ago. Others just needed to be filed. I found that I had a brush and comb in each bag. I decided these could move to the cars; they would come in handy when returning from a windy walk. Also, I’d forgotten to bring a brush on more than one overnight trip and had to buy one. This would fix that problem.

As I finished my work, I reflected that I had been trying to figure out what would be the perfect bag to take to work. As a school librarian who travels to several different buildings, I have to carry more gear than I want to. I had gradually downsized from the satchel to the small purse (plus a rolling backpack containing my laptop, housed elsewhere).

That was a positive move. Too bad I hadn’t seen fit to clean out each bag as I was done with it.

Because I seem to have a high tolerance for clutter, I was amazed to find that the “new” bench, which now held only a small purple purse, did spark joy in me.

Next I tackled a storage unit in the kitchen. We keep a variety of frequently used items on it, such as dog biscuits, bananas, bottled water and candy and other treats. But it had become overcrowded due to the fact that my main food pantry (a tall corner cupboard) also needed to be weeded out.

I dug in and found outdated canned and boxed food that could be tossed. That left the entire bottom shelf of the storage unit empty. There’s still some work to be done, but I feel a sense of pride when I see that bottom shelf with only a bottle or two of water on it.

Next came that large, three-shelf, three-section corner cupboard. I did one shelf per weekend. The top shelf was full of outdated baking supplies. I knew what the problem was there. I used to like to bake. Then I got the job I hold now, and no longer had the time. So the flour and chocolate chips just sat there, taking up room.

The next weekend, I tackled the bottom shelf: spices. These were actually somewhat organized, but because of the depth of the cupboard, some outdated stuff was hidden in the back.

The middle shelf was a hard one, because it contained vitamins, supplements and medications. The prescriptions went into a shoe box so my husband, Paul, could bring them to the police station for disposal. I picked up every other bottle and checked the expiration date. I ended up with two plastic baskets—one containing the vitamins and allergy pills I take every day, and the other holding digestive remedies and Benadryl, which I only need occasionally.

I was astonished that I could be so organized.

I’ve made a lot of progress, but I still have more work to do. One section of the big cupboard remains—canned dog and cat food, and tea. Then there’s the big cupboard below the counter, which has kitchen items like colanders and plastic pitchers.

But now I know I can do it. And be happy with the results. The good news is that since I have found that clear surfaces spark joy for me, I want to avoid cluttering them from the start.

Wow. I can’t believe I just said that.