Spring into Cleaning

The term ‘spring cleaning’ hardly conjures up happy images of our favourite season. We prefer butterflies, fresh cut grass and buds on the trees. But as moms know, it’s not all glamour and the real work has to get done.

The ‘real work’ being spring decluttering, that is, and it will leave you with a surprising feeling of calm when it’s all done. Here are our tips on how to get it done:

Sort It
Go room-by-room, sorting into three piles (or better yet, straight into boxes or garbage bags): Keep, Donate, Discard. 

One of the hardest things to deal with (especially if kids are underfoot) is the overflowing toy box. If you suspect that some toys aren’t being played with, stash them out of sight in a cardboard box for a month. If time’s gone by and no one has noticed, it might be time to get rid of them.

Donate It
Value Village is a popular destination for gently used goods, but the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and smaller places like St. Vincent de Paul get the lion’s share of our donations. It feels good to give. Did you know that a fraction of clothing donations actually makes it out on the racks at St. Vinnie’s on Wellington? A large majority of items are shipped out to Third World countries.

If you have furniture to donate, consider calling Helping With Furniture. They’re a volunteer-run, charitable group who picks up furniture and household goods from private donors and delivers it to refugee claimants in the Ottawa area.

Sell It
Make a bit of pocket money via websites like UsedOttawa.com or Kijiji. Or how about renting a table at a community yard sale? The Wild Wild Westboro Garage Sale is coming up on June 4 and you can rent a table for $10. If you don’t have time to sell your goods, you can also donate them to the hosts, the Westboro Community Association.

And techno-friendly garage sale junkies might be interested to know that OttawaStart.com has launched a special Twitter feed just about Ottawa & area yard sales.

Go Curbside
The City of Ottawa’s Spring Give Away Weekend is taking place on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5. It’s an excellent opportunity to get rid of your junk—and it’s always amazing to see how it disappears in the blink of an eye.

Just Don’t Dump It
Items such as paint, pesticides, and household cleaners should never go in the garbage or get poured down the drain. The City of Ottawa hosts several one-day Household Hazardous Waste Depots for residents every year and there are a few dates coming up. Check the website for exact times and locations, as well as a full list of what they accept.

You want to know what we like best about spring de-cluttering? There’s more room to sit back and relax when it’s all done. Tested by Andrea T., Ottawa