Best Friend Handbook: Spring Cleaning

09 Apr Best Friend Handbook: Spring Cleaning

My friend Katherine Stuart writes a wonderful blog,”Best Friend Handbook,” everything from fashion and beauty tips to nutrition and recipes – including recipes for success. In one of her latest blogs, Katherine waxes rhapsodic about the joys of spring cleaning. Does sorting and tossing really make way for new beginnings?

Katherine Stuart

I got to admit: I love a good spring cleaning. It makes me feel revitalized, excited and hopeful. All things that most of us could use a bit more of these days. How does a spring cleaning do this? Well, I have always subscribed to the notion that if you want to attract a new anything into your life whether it be energy, a partner, a job, a home or a new style, you have to make room for it. And one of the simplest ways to do this is by getting rid of crap.

I realize that spring cleaning may be a bit easier for me than it is for most because I love organizing stuff. I mean, the Container Store is on par with Neiman Marcus for me. However, if you are someone who gets so overwhelmed by the idea of organizing that you curl into a useless ball or who just doesn’t have the time then hire a professional. There are a lot of good ones out there. They even have a national organization where you can search for members in your area.

Whether you choose to go it alone or hire help, here are a few of my tips for an awesome spring cleaning:

Love It or Toss It

Now, I’m not as crazy as Marie Kondo (whose last name has now become a verb), but I do think that there is something to be said for only keeping things that make you happy. As someone who’s struggled with her weight, I can not tell you how often I’ve held on to a piece of clothing because it will “look good when I lose those 10 pounds” when the reality is that I may never lose that weight and if I do, I am going to want sometime new to celebrate. Bottom line: If something doesn’t make you feel good now, toss it.

Continue reading here.

More about Katherine Stuart:

Katherine is a former movie executive and screenwriter who now runs her own content company, Content by Katherine. Her blog, the Best Friend Handbook, was born out of a desire to help other women feel better about themselves. As a lifelong best friend, fashion aficionado, former Pilates instructor, and amateur cook as well as the person that everyone comes to for advice, Katherine decided to take her opinions global, and create a virtual best friend. You know, someone who loves you no matter what. Who never judges you for eating, say, a quart of ice cream, always knows the best recipe for an impromptu dinner party and who can tell you exactly which eye cream will make you look like less of a hag the morning after one glass too many.