Spring cleanout

Ah, the air is warming, the sun shines more, the smell of things turning green, SPRING! I find this the best time to clean out everything. My closets, my herbs, old seeds, my pantry, the cobwebs hanging in my living room, the bathroom, etc. This is a great time to take a weekend to clean out all those expired products. I make my family a full breakfast and then we get to work checking labels and cleaning out anything we know we won't use or that looks funny. If it is natural we empty, rinse, and recycle.
Herbs... well I try to only buy what I think I will use in a year. Leaves and flowers are really most potent their first year. Roots and bark are good for two to three years. Tinctures made and kept in a cool place can keep for many years. I store my herbs in tightly lidded glass jars away from direct sunlight. If I purchased them for a blend then I make sure I mix it up and label it well as soon I get them. Make sure you date anything you make at home... even culinary herbs. A helpful tip that I am finding invaluable is to write recipes for items I know I use often on index cards or recipe cards, laminate them, and put on a ring. This way I don't have to go searching through a bunch of books for the recipes that really worked for our family. The same can go for food recipes, culinary mixes you like, cleaning supplies, beauty recipes, crafts directions, cleaning lists, stain removal ideas, anything with a shorter list that needs to be kept on hand. I find it saves a lot of time.
Happy Spring cleaning!