Category: Words of Wisdom

So you’ve finished spring cleaning your garden and now it’s time to focus on your garden. The recent wet weather in Australia’s eastern states has resulted in a surge of growth in many gardens, so where to start?! In this post, Paul’s Landscaping Sydney have shared some of their top tips on how to spruce up your garden…

I’m snuggled up inside on a cool, wet and windy (spring?) day here at Mr Gift HQ in Canberra. After I’ve finished this blog post I’m off to tackle some of my “indoor” spring cleaning tasks. These tips from Kennards Hire inspired me to break my spring cleaning To Do list down into indoor and outdoor jobs, as well as different areas around the home. This way you can make the most of sunny spring days with outdoor jobs, but still tick tasks off your list on days when spring showers are about…

1. Plan ahead
A checklist divided into indoor and outdoor areas will be beneficial to anyone spring cleaning around the house. 

Consider segregating your chores based on different areas around the home and divide your time over a few weekends if necessary. This allows you to methodically tick off tasks as you complete them and breaks down the cleaning process into small tasks to make a big job easy. Sanity restored. 

Mr Gift Tip: Set a fun deadline, such as hosting a spring BBQ or dinner party with friends and family. This will help keep you focused so you have something fun to look forward to as a reward for all of your hard work. 

2. Top jobs 
If you don’t know where to start, here are some key tasks to focus on:
• Use a pressure washer to clean your driveway of grime and mould. 
• Remove dead leaves and debris from gutters and the roof. 
• Apply a fresh coat of varnish and add new life to your veranda. 
• Inspect your home and outdoor entertaining areas for mould – use a pressure washer on any that you come across. 
• De-clutter the garage or shed. 
• In the garden, remove dead branches from trees and shrubs and any other build-up of debris to encourage new growth. This is also important in the lead up to bushfire season. 

3. Essential equipment
The right tools can make spring cleaning a breeze, so invest in quality gear to save yourself time and effort. If you don’t have all the necessary tools, your local Kennards Hire branch has a huge range of equipment for DIYers to make your job easy. This is also a great way to save money on gear you may only need once a year. 

Mr Gift Tip: If you don’t know how to do a particular job, seek advice. There are so many How-To videos available on the internet these days, or ask around friends and family. Chances are someone has experience in doing the job you want to get done and can offer advice. 

These tips were kindly shared with us by Kennards Hire, a family hire and leasing company with locations around the country. Throughout September and October, your spring cleaning work can help Australian kids who need it most thanks to the Kennards for Kids Initiative. Throughout this time, Kennards Hire is donating $2 from every hire to children’s charities across the country. All the more reason to get busy tackling all your spring cleaning jobs. For more information visit www.kennards.com.au

It’s not just your home that will benefit from a spring clean this month. Spring is a great time to bring your body out of hibernation and get it ready for that summer clothing. Beyond Fitness have kindly shared some of their top fitness tips to get you off the couch this spring…

1. Spring clean your fitness wardrobe 
Spring is the start of new life and a new you. What better way to get motivated than with a new workout wardrobe. Check out the latest trends and colours in sports stores or major department stores. You can often pick up a bargain too! With the right gear, you will feel ready to take on anything. 

2. Get your mindset right – slow and steady wins the race!
With three months before summer really kicks in, why not take your time and work towards it? Set up SMART goals and work towards them. This will help to prevent injuries and gives you reason to stay motivated from spring to summer.

Mr Gift Tip: Write down a ‘Wish List’ of things you’d like to achieve, then break each wish down into a few steps. Prioritise your wishes, then work to tick them off, one by one so you don’t become overwhelmed. 

3. Try something new
Give yourself a new challenge and have a crack at something new to maintain motivation. How about circus training? Dancing? Pilates? It’s time to spring in to action and give it a try! You never know, you might even enjoy it!

Mr Gift Tip: Get a friend involved. Having a bit of support will make it less scary, and it’s a good way to catch up with a friend you might not see as often as you’d like. 

4. Get new music on your iPod
Nothing makes you want to pound the pavements more than a new music playlist with some pumping tunes. It will make the kilometres come and go so quickly, you’ll have run or walked 10kms before your playlist is over. Just watch that weight disappear and your motivation increase.

Mr Gift Tip: Make a ‘wish list’ of new songs you’d like to purchase when you hear them on the radio, etc. When you get a chance to update your playlist this means you know what songs you really want and can update your list quickly.

5. Give your body a spring clean
Avoid the aches and pains that might join you on your new increased training regime. Get a treatment such as massage or osteopathy to sort out any imbalances which could affect your posture, energy, and form when working out. Make sure your body can keep up with your burst of springtime motivation.

Mr Gift Tip: Source new recipes to add to your repertoire that make the most of the new season produce. 

These tips were kindly shared with us by Beyond Fitness. Beyond Fitness is a personal training studio in Moonee Ponds that is dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals in a safe and achievable manner that is both fun and motivational. With the huge knowledge and experience base of manual therapy and fitness training, they can help any individual achieve their health and fitness desires. For further information, please visit www.beyondfitnesshealth.com.au   

How do you reinvigorate your health and fitness routine for summer?

When we were seeking experts to interview for our Spring Cleaning blog series, we thought a cleaning company would have some good advice to share. We certainly weren’t disappointed! Today’s tips are from Paul’s Carpet Cleaning Sydney…

1. De-clutter first – There is no point cleaning a cluttered home. Getting rid of items you no longer use will help you ‘wipe the slate clean’ and chase those winter blues away. Start cleaning once you have created space for everything that summer has in store for you (some new summer clothes perhaps??)

Mr Gift Tip: Tackle one area at a time so you feel like you’re making progress. Treat yourself afterwards with something new, like a piece of summer clothing or jewellery (preferably jewellery as it takes up less space!)

2. Get stuck in – Spring cleaning is all about tackling the chores you usually don’t have time to do. That means cleaning behind furniture, underneath carpets (or better yet, washing them entirely and scrubbing bathroom corners). Don’t forget upholstery too! In spring and summer when the sunshine enters our homes it reveals dust, stains, and signs of wear and tear.

Mr Gift Tip: Make a note of when you do these big jobs in your calendar or on your phone so you can set a reminder to do them again in 6-12 months’ time.

3. Don’t forget the BBQ – When you spring clean never miss the BBQ. Sunny spring days will mean you’ll probably want to enjoy yourself outdoors, and you don’t want to be held back by the state of your greasy grill. Have it cleaned and ready for spontaneous garden parties.

Mr Gift Tip: Buy some nice meat and make a tasty salad so you can treat yourself to a delicious meal after all the hard work is done.

4. Get the most out of your clean – During a spring cleaning session put some weights around your arms and ankles to burn more calories. This will help get the home clean and will make you feel better when you try your swimsuit from last year.

 Mr Gift Tip: They are lots of other ways you can add some exercise into your cleaning routine – try adding 10 x squats, star jumps or if you’re really keen, burpes in between jobs, or do walking lunges to get around the house.

5. Get help – delegate your chores, involve the children in the process, or get professional help. There’s no shame in it.

Mr Gift Tip: A job incentive chart for children can be helpful to give them something to work towards when they do their chores. A chart also gives them responsibility and ownership of specific jobs in the home. Professional cleaners can help get your home back to a manageable state, even if you only use them once or twice a year, especially to clean carpets and upholstery.

These tips were kindly shared with us by Paul’s Carpet Cleaning Sydney. These guys are your one-stop solution to clean carpets and upholstery. Whilst Paul’s specializes in carpet and rug cleaning, they also offer a variety of other affordable services such as on-site curtain cleaning, mattress cleaning and end of lease cleaning. Check out their website: www.paulscarpetcleaningsydney.com.au

Here’s a fun video with some more tips on how to clean your space…

I have to confess, I’m a bit envious of Louise D’Allura. Organisational skills are not something that come naturally to me, and organising myself and my family is not my forte -it’s something I have to work pretty hard at. 

Louise is the Director of The Revamp Experience, a Home Economist/ Nutritionist and Professional Organiser (a title I can only dream of!). I was pretty excited to get the opportunity to interview Louise recently as part of our Spring Cleaning blog series. But it was tough limiting myself to five questions. When I meet someone like Louise I just want to ‘absorb’ their organisational prowess. Here are a few of Louise’s gems of wisdom…

1. What are the top 3 ‘hot spot’ areas of the home or office that give the most ‘bang-for-buck’ results the people should tackle first?

Louise says: 

1) Create a Landing zone – a place where your wallet/ laptop bag/ and all incoming paper lands. Once you’ve got that set up you can create homes for your paper items and tasks – e.g. Action tasks (such as Pay Bills; search on line/ calls;  Refer to it later – paid bills / projects.

2) Declutter kitchen and pantry – Having a kitchen you can cook in makes it easier to eat healthy foods – and a great way to save money immediately because you can meal plan much more easily and take lunches/snacks.   

3) Wardrobe – make your day start well by finding what you want easily! 

2. How can people avoid getting overwhelmed by their list of spring cleaning jobs?

Louise says: The best way to get yourself started is to set yourself a goal. It might be setting a date to invite family/friends over for lunch or dinner. You might need to get the spare room sorted so you can offer them a bed for the night if they had a little too much to drink!

To get started: Start Today by doing a 15-minute dedicated round of decluttering – looking for those things that are obvious rubbish AND items in good condition that you know you can donate immediately. Have two garage bags handy and repeat this process at least twice a week (e.g. Tuesdays and Thursdays) and you’ll have bags of donations and rubbish. Make life easier by focusing on the perimeter in the first instance. 

Once you’ve tackled some of that obvious surface clutter you’re ready to think more about splitting up that goal (I’ve got to get the whole house organised) into teeny tiny manageable tasks.

The most important part here is CREATE A LIST of the tasks you can do in 10-15 minute pockets and stick it on the wall in the space, in your office/ study, in your phone or in your diary!!  

This list needs to be tailored to help you achieve your bigger vision. So for example if “organise my study” is your number one goal and you’ve got a set of draws, just go through one draw per day, until it’s all complete. Identify items to toss and start putting like-with-like, until you have all the draws done and you can organise the whole chest of draws. 

3. I tend to get distracted when I start a job. For example, I’ll start cleaning in one room, then go to put something away in another room and start cleaning something in there without finishing the first job…any tips on how to avoid this?

Louise says: Organising by yourself can lead to YoYo organising! YoYo is all about starting in one area, then finding something that belongs elsewhere (e.g. tea towel), and before you know it you’re organising the whole area that you were just meant to drop something off in e.g. linen press or tea towel draws in the kitchen.  

The trick is to have a few tubs/ baskets set up and labeled as: return upstairs/return to others.  

Just notice the frequent areas and pile them up for now – don’t deliver them or you will never get finished! Practicing mindful organising means you need to keep asking yourself “WHAT am I doing right NOW”. Walk away from the linen press and put the tea towel DOWN!!

4. What advice would you give on managing mess on a daily basis so that cleaning and tidying doesn’t become an overwhelming job?

Louise says: Everything in your home or office needs to have a home – a place that is logical and close to where you use/or look for an item. If it is an item you use for every day, you need it to be within easy reach and readily accessible for everyday use. It is a good habit to train your ITEMS to return home. When an object strays from its ‘home,’ it can easily be lost, and these items build-up in random locations.

Choose ONE AREA that you rely on daily. This might be your pantry; your incoming mail zone; your paperwork flow. It might even be your time. Whatever is causing you the biggest grief – stop wasting your precious time, your energy and your money tolerating a really really inefficient system. 

Allocate 30 minutes to PLAN how you will tackle it – break it down into little jobs and schedule it in. Focus on one thing at a time instead of cluttering your mind with multiple tasks. Multi-tasking is overrated!!

Once you’ve achieved a win – set aside a regular time to do a quick straighten up – 10 minutes is often enough to do a quick mad dash to pop things away – get the family and your staff (at the office) involved and responsible for their own items.

5. Any other tips people should try out this spring to get their home, office, wardrobe or kitchen organized?

Louise says: Plan before you start! Put pen to paper and map out the R-E-V-A-M-P Process:

What is the purpose of this room/space/cupboard (R-emember)

What works/doesn’t in this space? (E-valuate)

What items need to be here/would I like to have here? When was the last time I used it/wore it (do I look positively fab in it)? Can it be re-purposed e.g. a bedside table is re-purposed as a printer stand! Could someone love it more than me? (V-alue)

If I do keep it what will I do to use and honour it and where will it live? Where will I keep the things I need the most? (A-ssign)

What can I do on a regular basis to monitor ‘stuff’ (M-aintain)

What can I do to celebrate the new space? (P-arty)

These tips were kindly shared with us by Louise D’Allura from The Revamp Experience. Louise is a Home Economist/ Nutritionist and Professional Organiser. She helps busy people get organised at home, at the office and for healthy eating. Louise works hands-on with clients, runs workshops and teaches the personalised Meal Planning Your Way system. Check out www.TheRevampExperience.com.au for more info, or contact Louise 
on 0408 723 559. 

Visit www.TheRevampExperience.com.au and get your free guide – The Art of Stress Free Living. 

When was the last time you decluttered your home?