It’s that time of year. My fingers are itching to pare down and lighten up, and that means anything that isn’t nailed down around here is subject to finding its way out the door. For almost four decades now my husband and I have had a running joke in which we repeat the same lines every, single, time. Somehow, it still makes us smile. (Anybody?)

Phil, upon seeing me put something else in the “must go” pile, “I can’t believe you’ve kept me around for so long.”

My response, “That should tell you how much I love you.”

Phil’s finale, “Or make me nervous!”

Marriage skits aside, and with a nod towards spring cleaning, here are a few practices that help me stay on top of the clutter around here.

1)     Touch it once. You may have heard this rule? It isn’t my original idea, but I’m a big proponent of it. Touching something once simply means I try not to address anything “temporarily”. I open mail near a trash can so I can discard anything that doesn’t need to be addressed. If freshly folded clothes from the laundry room need to be put away, they don’t “stop” in the living room. You get the idea.

2)     Pick up and it won’t pile up. Full disclosure—my mom ingrained this habit in me when I was living under her roof, and I’m so glad she did. (I’ve been known to do a bit of a comedy routine on this one when I’m speaking before an audience. If anyone is interested, I could try and find those words for you.) Mama’s message was clear, and experience has taught me it’s also wise. Our houses don’t pile up if we pick up. I can’t count the times someone has said, “Your house is always SO clean”, when the truth is, it’s simply picked up! The floors may not actually be mopped, and the vacuum may not have hummed in a week, but tidy will often be interpreted as clean! It’s never too early to instill this habit in our kids, either. They should be taught to pick up their own clothes and toys once they’re done with them. They need to know there isn’t a great “unseen hand” keeping things in order.

3)     One in one out clutter rule. Now, this is one of my all-time favorite tips for keeping a closet straight, and who among us doesn’t know that struggle? If I buy a new shirt, I give an old shirt away. Of course, it’s not always practical to find someone to give it to that very day. Here’s where the “touch it once” rule comes back into play. It means I don’t like to leave clothes hanging in my closet that I intend to give away. Instead I keep a big bag handy. Even when I’m not going to give it away ASAP, it’s going to go into the bag. When the bag is full, I can find someone to bless with it.

Don’t just clean this Spring, dear Rockstars. Remember to fling!  A shaped-up house will be lighter and run more smoothly. I suppose that applies to our bodies, too, but that’s another post for another day!