Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I need to badly join this club…Huge chance that I will be moving this July and I want to clean out my closets and drawers before that since I know I will be extremely busy this summer. :hinna: I need to go through every closet, drawer, cupboard and throw away things that I don’t use. Last thing I want to do is go through the hassle of packing and moving unnecessary things…
Can you guys help motivate me? 
I have the “kamchoor” jaraseem in me too… 
Excuse me! 
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
^cecused :D
ok sans Shinoo.. too bad it isn't spring at your end at the moment or you could've been our motivation.
PunjabiRose which part of the house would you like to start with?
For the record: I did my kitchen cabinets today. Not all though :o only the ones containing bartan shartan as they were easier to begin with.
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
Mods! (yooohoo) - Can you make this a sticky for Spring?
And if's a club - can you put a schedule up please
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
So can someone give tips for kitchen cleaning & de-cluttering please... my question:
How do you organize your pot lids? I got one of those lid holder things that you can attach to the inside of your cabinet door, but I haven't attached it yet.... don't wanna make holes in my cabinet door :( Might even return it. Any other ideas?
Also, what about pots? How do you organize those since they are used a lot. Any tips?
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I think I should start in the kitchen…
I have turned into such a desi mom… I save all sorts of plastic containers and make them my “tupperware” 
. I have an entire cupboard of these…
Wheres your motivation at? Tsk tsk. Clean people clean 
exits
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
NJ.. no schedule as of now.. I wanted to do it in a week but am clearly behind my schedule. Also everyone has different time options so I don’t know how that’ll work :bummer: any ideas people? :hmmm:
MIA .. I’ve stacked the pots and all lids are lined in a square shaped basket. Also I keep the more commonly used pots at the front of cabinets and the lesser used ones at the back. I’d love to hear other options though.
Saw this on MS site
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/25-kitchen-organizers#slide_8
also these pantry dividers can serve the prupose :hmmm:
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/25-kitchen-organizers#slide_11
PR, I do that too.. turning ice-cream tubs to storage boxes etc..There’s nothing wrong in it I guess (from my desi point of view) though I don’t have any idea if it has any adverse effects on health. The only thing is these things are not meant to last long so make sure you expire them periodically. Like when you get a new ice-cream tub expire the old one 
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
Ok since mostly we have started from the kitchen..here are some tips from the web.. we can adjust this list to our needs as not everyone has the same chores.
15 Minute Kitchen Cleanup. Clean the Kitchen in 15 Minutes
I don’t think I can do all that in 15 mins but just to get an idea of starting point.
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
MIA for de-cluttering.. I am doing that today and will update what I threw out to give some ideas. The rest please give some ideas too.
PR, I do that too.. turning ice-cream tubs to storage boxes etc..There's nothing wrong in it I guess (from my desi point of view) though I don't have any idea if it has any adverse effects on health. The only thing is these things are not meant to last long so make sure you expire them periodically. Like when you get a new ice-cream tub expire the old one :D
naa ... i dont think it's very hygienic to use plastic boxes ... i instead use the glass ones .. the jam/coffee/chocolate-paste/etc bottles ... i thoroughly wash and clean them in really hot water ... and then use them as my spice jars or whatever fits in them ... there is daal in some bigger ones too ...
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I'm in!! I am decluterring and re-organizing our home from top to bottom. I just re-organized 1 closet. I have to start on the closet in the master bedroom next. Other bedroom and kitchen will come next! :)
BTW, anyone changing the home decor according to spring/summer season?? I'm thinking of changing some things like getting new placemats for the dining table and little decor stuff in living room...
back when wood burning fireplaces and stoves etc were used to heat up homes during winter, the house was also closed up to prevent heat escaping, when summer came everything was washed including walls etc because it would get soot on it.
we have unfinished cleanup stuff, bunch of kids old toys in the garage, and car seats they are too big for, been asking friends to come take what they want, and then donate the rest.
I have to purge from my closet as well,
The biggest thing is the basement, there are boxes of stuff, in fall I gave away a bunch of books, old electronics, and comforters etc. have to finish that up.
biggest thing though is purging kids toys and clothes. thats one thing begum and I disagree on, I am fairly utilitarian when it comes to majority of kids clothes, she is not 
as far as hints go, I have not seen anyone clean as quickly and efficiently as my sister. think of the tasmanian devil going through the house and just cleaning..
she takes these big bins in each room, and throws things into, garbage, donate and goes somewhere else groups.
trash goes out right away, dontion stuff gets put in boxes right away, the goes somewhere else bin goes to guest room, then each room gets sorted. This way the unneeded stuff is out, the stuff that has to be in the room is put away properly, and then the goes somewhere else bin is tackled.
she does have a housekeeper who does laundry and scrubbing mopping etc. its a rather massive place, but 2 days its 100% done.
Oooooh, those look nice… thanks MM
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
CA, great!! I wish I had started off with some other room, kitchen is proving to be a non-ending venture. But on the brighter side, once I am done with it, rest won't take much time hopefully. I am getting some deco items for my living room too, there is a 50% sale on a home store ;)
**X2, **2 days is like wow!! Since we don't have any storage room in our apartment so I can't really clutter much even if I want to, but still I try my best in the available space :D
MIA, you are welcome :-)
My Update: Weekend's been a bit slow but anyway, got done with the masala cabinets/pantry. Washed all jars and re-organized them. Threw some expired stuff, chipped off crockery, empty boxes etc.
Do update on your progress everyone, help each other stay motivated..share tips!
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I do mini spring cleanings almost each month.
As the weather was hot a week ago, no more now as it snowed again, I cleaned my kitchen windows and kitchen.
the others are not that bad yet.
yes I need to sort out my wardrobe .. thats a mess.
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I actually took a mini trip to visit my khala.... will be back to my apt in a few days and then the cleaning shall begin!
Hm… I never even thought of it like that??? 
Should I be doing this even if I only re-use plastic and glass containers… like takeout boxes… yogurt containers…jars… etc. ???
Really??? but why??? So much food comes packaged in plastic anyways. One would think its no big deal to store food in it as well. I always wash them myself with soapy water and then also stick them in the dishwasher before any use. Another thought… all normal tupperware is plastic too… …so how unhygienic can it be?
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
PR, honestly I don’t have much research on that so can’t say.. actually I was refilling a water bottle once and someone said I shouldn’t be reusing it as it’s meant for a single use. I don’t know if I was just being teased or if it is true, but anyway that’s where it came from. I do continue to reuse these containers but am careful not heat anything in them in microwave.
Update: I finished with my kitchen finally.yay!! it took much longer than it normally does but I have my lack of energy these days as an excuse:snooty:
I hired our building’s housekeeping to clean fans, lights and fixtures over the weekend, so that’s also taken care of. I’ll do bedrooms today, shouldn’t take much time as I have only closets to manage, some de-cluttering and dusting, that’s about it.
We have carpets only in bedrooms and had them shampooed in Oct. I wanted to have them cleaned again but hubby said that there’s no need 
How often do you guys recommend one should get carpets/ curtains shampooed?
Re: Spring Cleaning Club
I don't really spring clean, I just do everything as I go along. I.e. if a spice jar finishes, then I'll wash and dry it before refilling. If I'm cooking, and it requires me to watch the stove, then I'll empty a cupboard and clean it properly inside and out.
I wipe down/dust/polish every surface including the light fittings pretty much everytime I clean - certainly every couple of weeks. About once a month my steam cleaners will come out for tops of the kitchen cupboards, the cooker hood, and tiles and floors in the kitchen and bathroom.
Cupboards and other storage areas are de-cluttered/tided on a regular basis as I can't stand messy cupboards. I find that works better for me, as although it may add a few extra minutes to my cleaning routine, it also means that I keep on top of things and don't need to spend a week or two going through everything. Luckily for me my husband is a clean freak, so he helps with all the upkeep.
The one thing that lets me down though is my filing - everything gets dumped in a box file. Any suggestions on a filing system?
Also, what do you do with glossy mags? I have a lot of interior design ones, which are on a bookcase in the front room, but I'd rather keep the bookcase for books.