It’s the most annoying time of the year!
Not really, but it is the busiest time of the year for my household. Spring semester in our homeschool journey seems to be the most nonstop time of year. Between extracurricular activities, science fair projects, appointments, special events, household cleaning, and decluttering, spring tends to be the busiest time of the year for us. It seems like our weeks are all jam packed and there are not enough days in the week or hours in the day to complete everything on my list.
This time of year is definitely when I yearn for the more relaxed schedule of summer.
Since spring is almost here and that means spring cleaning and going through the kids’ closets and finding out what I need to buy for the kids to start off the season with what they need.
Step one for me is decluttering the kids’ closets and figuring out what they have outgrown. Having four kids, I always expect a large shopping bill to come when seasons change and this year was no different. I have one child that is in between sizes so most of her bottoms have to be taken in because she needs a larger size for length and a smaller size for the waist. This makes things a little complicated when shopping. I don’t know if anyone else has this issue, but I also have two little ones who have a hard time parting with things they have outgrown. I mean literal tears when something doesn’t fit, and my kids doing anything they can to convince you that the shirt or treasured piece of clothing that is two sizes too small “fits perfectly!”
Step two is organizing the kitchen cabinets, pantry and freezers. There is something nice about having the pantry and kitchen organized, and ready to use again. Maybe it’s just me, but something about the fall and winter months leaves the kitchen cabinets less than desirable. Maybe I just like to rearrange things as the season changes; maybe I just like to make sure there is no down time for myself; maybe it’s because I use everything so much more during the holidays; or maybe it’s that I got lazy with putting things away just so. Whatever the reason, starting off the season with a fresh start is nice!
This year I took it a step further and even did a deep clean in my bedroom and bathroom as well as our dining room, which seems to be where all the things go to die. What I mean by that is the kids seem to think if they leave an item on the kitchen table, it will just live there until they need it again. Things pile up throughout the day, and by the evening, instead of cleaning up, they try to move the items to the kitchen island or even on top of the dog crate. I guess they think this because once it gets to a certain point, I go through and move everything, and put it away and organize because I can’t stand it. So the new phrase I say on repeat to the kids is “Don’t put it down, put it where it goes!” Maybe they will get tired enough of me saying this that they will do it on their own. If not, at least it is getting them to put things away, so that’s a win.
