Pre-spring cleaning can be great for ‘green’ cred

Maybe I was a victim of spring fever, swept up in the unseasonably warm Northwest winter weather. Perhaps it was just a bad case of cabin fever, the usual burst of decorating and re-decorating enthusiasm that always hits me right after the holiday frills are put away and the house is put back in order. I don’t know what led to the impulse, but the last couple of weeks I’ve been going through rooms and closets and drawers sorting through the contents. What I want to keep has been organized. Things I no longer need (or can remember what on earth I was thinking when I brought them home) have been bundled and dispersed. Some of it has gone to the children, some to local thrift stores. But I’ll confess that I’ve also been spending time prowling around town, poking into antique shops and scrolling through photos on Etsy Vintage. Part of the shopping has been practical. With a self-imposed cutback on work, and more time to look critically at the rooms around me, I’ve realized I needed several pieces to help me get more organized. And, if I’m honest, as a life-long vintage treasure hunter, I love finding one-of-a-kind things for my home. But that’s when the home-rule comes into play. If something comes in, something has to go out. And, because I’ve shown a natural tendency to cheat (See? The rocking chair came in and BOTH of these paperback novels are going out.) Whatever goes out needs to match the discard. That’s when it can get tricky. So far, I’m doing OK. I found a petite wrought-iron baker’s rack at a local antique shop for extra bathroom storage and dropped a set of folding chairs by the donation center. I found a new desk lamp at the thrift store and left a stack of lampshades. I bought a stack of hardback books and dropped a box of CDs by the public radio station for their upcoming Recording and Video sale. The map of Paris was traded for a box full of picture frames. My friends roll their eyes at my strict rules but I know myself too well. Life is all about balance, right? The way I keep the scale from tipping too far in the wrong direction is to balance what comes in with what goes out.