Clean Up Your Act

Spring Cleaning Tips from a Pro

(ARA) - Springtime means flowers, rain showers and … spring cleaning. It's easy to procrastinate, but spring cleaning is an excellent way to simplify your life simply by reducing clutter.

"Spring is a great time to go through your wardrobe. Remove items that are damaged or haven't been worn in two years, and have a yard sale or donate them to charity," says Mia Kile, member of the American Society of Interior Designers, the Interior Design Educators Council, and an interior design instructor at The Art Institute of Dallas.

To reduce desktop clutter, Kile suggests burning music and data CDs onto an external hard drive. Earn a few extra dollars by selling the CDs to a used book or music store. Look for other ways to de-clutter by visiting a home store.

Use spring cleaning as a time to check the batteries in your smoke detector and to change your air filters. "Take this opportunity to call your air conditioning guy and have him take a look before the busy summer season," Kile adds.

As for spring decorating, Kile suggests changing out artwork or family photos as the seasons change. "This will keep things fresh, and you will notice things instead of walking by them every day and taking them for granted."

The same can be said for small decorative items like pillows and throws. Keeping a neutral color palette will allow you to add blasts of color depending on the season -- Kile hints that muted, citrusy colors are in for spring. You can also bring in color through paint on walls, furniture or trim. It's an inexpensive way to make a room look refreshed.

Replacing heavy drapes with light, linen or sheer fabrics can open up a room and allow natural light to come in. Slipcover the sofa or chairs with a floral print or pale, springy colors. Even rearranging the furniture can make a room feel like new, just in time for spring.

And of course, nothing says spring like fresh flowers. Choose a color scheme and be consistent when creating arrangements.

These little changes can make a huge impact on your decor, and not on your wallet, so spring into action!

To learn more about The Art Institutes, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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