CRACK IN THE BOX

As a kid I loved April because of one thing: spring break. As an adult I despise it because of one thing: tax day. Today I've decided to shine new light on April by making it my official "clean house" month no matter where I am, what size the house or how crazy my schedule is. While I was busy this winter carrying wood, shoveling snow and perfecting the fine art of walking on ice I was neglecting my home organization. So, this month is the perfect time to spring into action, get organized and take inventory of what stays, what goes and what we can donate and sell. For Christmas we received a cool gift from a dear friend overseas. A few weeks later it broke and after searching around the house for the original box, I saw a small corner of it burning in our fireplace. Joe had used it to start a hot fire on a freezing cold night. So, we are stuck with the broken gift because the particular store refuses returns unless in the original package. This brings up another interesting question; how long SHOULD you keep those cumbersome computer, TV, ipod and every other appliance boxes?? While some people keep them around for years, hiding them in dark corners like a crack addict, I suggest you keep them as long as the extended warranty lasts. To keep track of the numerous expiration dates, I put them in a safe place (smaller boxes for ipods, cellphones, GPS machines, etc. go in large plastic bins with the expiration dates printed on the outside), place labels on the outside of appliance boxes so you know when it's safe to throw (or burn) them, etc. So whether you do your organizing in spring, summer or fall, next time you do a clean sweep of your place, throw out the old to create extra clean space.
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Thirty minutes
COST: Free
STRESS LEVEL: Saving a box from the fire; LOW