The One Thing I Never Tackle During a Spring Cleaning Session

Ayn-Monique Klahre
Ayn-Monique Klahre
Ayn-Monique is a lifestyle editor and writer who's worked for Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, FamilyFun and more. She loves lattes, jogging and hanging out at the playground with her husband and daughters.
published Apr 4, 2018
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(Image credit: Hayley Kessner)

When those first brighter rays of sunshine start filtering through the (albeit dirty!) kitchen windows, all of a sudden you really start to see the dust that’s been accumulating on the baseboards, the grease around the cupboard knobs, the dirt caked into your grout, and the grime in the crevices of your appliances. This is the time to break out your full arsenal of oddly shaped and repurposed brushes (a toothbrush is always a favorite) and DIY cleansers and get to work.

But there’s one thing I never clean during a spring cleaning session: my junk drawer.

(Image credit: Cambria Bold)

Here’s why: To me, spring cleaning is about breaking out the scrub brush, getting down and dirty, and scouring all the surfaces you’ve been neglecting for the past few months. But cleaning is not the same as organizing. Sure, as you pull out your dishes to wipe down the shelves you’ll uncover a few that can be set aside for donation. That’s totally fine. And yes, spring cleaning can kick off a whole round of organizing. But when I’m cleaning — like, really cleaning — I do not want to get distracted by organizing.

More on Junk Drawers

I know some people think cleaning and organizing are the same, but for me, the two things use a different part of my brain. Organizing requires logic and thinking — while cleaning can kind of be done mindlessly (singing along to top 40 hits). Also, organizing can invite sentimentality (aw, that postcard we got from our favorite couple a few months ago!), which can totally derail the cleaning momentum.

So while I’m happy to pull out my utensil dividers and wipe out my silverware drawers, I ignore my junk drawer during spring cleaning sessions. It’s just too dangerous! I’ll save that for another weekend and let that makeover be its own, totally transformative experience.

What about you — do you ever clean and organize at the same time? Do you have something you never do while spring cleaning?

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Cleaning
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