A new beginning

This week we will celebrate Candlemas (February 2); this day that is half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. This day where we celebrate the light that will share itself, the lengthening of days, the budding of Spring, and the birth of new life all around us. It is a time to celebrate the newness in everyday. It is a time to awaken the parts in yourself that have been in a deep slumber through the cold winter, parts of you that have hibernated away from the blustery and cold depths of the dark nights and flurry of holidays past. Candlemas is the perfect time to reemerge from our dark, cozy nests and see what lies ahead; to take one last peek at our shadows and honor our past and move to be ever present for the now and whatever lies ahead.

from stylemepretty.com via Pinterest

In preparation of what lies ahead our posts this week will focus on how we can prepare our homes and hearts to celebrate and allow the Light in. We will focus on and offer suggestions for a good spring cleaning, lantern making, candle making, art projects, planting seeds/sprouts, and recipes that will help make this Candlemas a week long preparation and celebration! So to start......let's get cleaning!

Today, we'll talk about how to prepare our homes. There are many ideas/books/websites out there that offer suggestions and ways to organize and clean ones home. These ideas range from 10 day projects, 15 minutes per room in one day, deep cleaning, or just surface organization. For me, living in a space with less than 1100 sq. feet, with 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 6 people, friends coming and going everyday, constant cooking and baking, laundry, and being completely exhausted by days end I find that 'things piling up' is my biggest issue. Folks come and go and drop their things while in motion. Our home is lacking quality storage solutions so I need to be really creative in how I set up a room. For example, our family room is our play room, our mudroom, our reading room, and the office. This room is roughly 12'x12'. However, with careful planning we've managed to keep our coats hung on the door side wall and we keep the smaller things organized with baskets (hats and gloves,shoes and slippers). Toys are located on a book shelf and are kept organized by random baskets and boxes. Our crafting supplies are kept on another shelf (the tall skinny kind) and our books take up one whole wall using two book shelves. We have DVDs that we watch on occasion that we have taken out of the plastic boxes and then put the DVDs themselves in a round basket. That way, we've consolidated the space the disks would otherwise take up. We are a bit of a minimalist family.......we always think we have too much so constant purging is one thing we do often. If only to afford ourselves the comfort of feeling like things are neat and tidy. If I could suggest one thing on how to keep your most used room as a family organized I would say (and this is only from my own personal experience) that less is more. Keep coats in a closet or on hooks. Use baskets to catch all the little things (gloves, hats, keys, toys, movies). Shelving is a must! Adding shelving to any room will make a wall more accessible and functional. Jars, baskets, flower pots, whatever you have on hand can be used to hold items that otherwise might be rolling around on your kitchen counters or coffee tables.

To give your home a nice and quick sweep give yourself a block of time to go through each room, quickly, with two boxes (one for donating and one for trash). Don't spend time looking deeply, just grab what you can see as you glance around the room. This shouldn't take too long, maybe an hour at most! Next, start from the most used room and go through again and do your regular clean sweep. Dust, organize, wipe the windows and sills, mop and vacuum floors. I would suggest finding things you already own to help in the organizational part but if you're lacking receptacles to hold things head to a thrift shop and see what you can find first. This doesn't need to be an expensive clean sweep and really should only take a morning or an afternoon to complete.

from desiretoinspire.net via Pinterest

Even though it's cold now (where I live anyway) I like to crack the window a bit to allow some clean, crisp air to come through the room. I also like to burn a candle and some sage as a way to purify the space. If you're home is quite disorganized this might not be a one day project. I've been there. A book that inspired me not to long ago was Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. This is a 10 day home makeover, a bit more thorough than what I described above but follows the same principles. It's worth every bit of time and effort to make your home a haven, a place where everyone feels relaxed and at peace, in every room. If you're stressed out in a space in your home then it's time for a change. The one place we should all feel calm is in our home. Make it your haven, your safe place to retreat to at the end of the day. Make your home a place that when you wake up you're not looking around and seeing your 'to do' list in physical form. A very special gift you can give yourself and your family is to wake up or come home and just be in your space with no worries or concerns for the stuff lying around. No cleaning, no feelings of 'ugh......piles'. Just pure and simple bliss. Just breathing and being.

from desiretoinspire.net via Pinterest

So on these days leading up to Candlemas, shed the heavy stuff that takes over your space, throw open the curtains and let the Light in. Freshen up, spring clean! Turn your home into that place where you can just relax and be together with your family. If the debris in your home is taking up all your time.......now is definitely the moment to motivate and make your home the space you dream about.

What ideas and suggestions do you have to help make your Spring cleaning more tolerable and manageable? What are your favorite cleaning solution recipes/products? What ideas to you have for celebrating the Light in your home? Like our Facebook page and share your ideas with us here and tomorrow we will randomly select someone to receive a gift basket of Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies! Candlemas is coming......prepare for the coming of the Light!