Now that spring has truly bloomed, it’s time to transition out of our winter cozies and get ready for the sun. Spring cleaning is a tradition that focuses on giving a little extra love to areas of our homes that might not get the most attention. Spring cleaning can be a wonderful and much needed reset at this point after the cold weather and winter laziness, if done well. But how do we get cleaned and organized effectively?
#1- Game plan
“Alright, let’s clean the whole house!” is a great idea, but it subsequently brings the question of, “Okay, where do I start?” Without a plan, we tend to pick something random, usually what’s right in front of us. We might spend a lot of time on small things like organizing our desks or rearranging the medicine cabinet, and tire ourselves out before we can get to the bigger picture, like major decluttering.
It can be helpful to walk around your home and write down everything that needs to be done, from a big task that will take a lot of time to a small organization that nobody will notice. Once you have all of the tasks written down, you can organize it by priority.
There are two ways that can be helpful in organizing your list; either by what will make the biggest difference to your home visually, or what will make the biggest difference in daily convenience. Having an organized list not only helps you clean with the bigger picture in mind, it also helps you stay motivated. You can check off items as you go, and truly see your house becoming more clean and convenient with every task you complete.
#2- One step at a time
Locking in and cleaning the entire house in one day may work for some people, but it’s not realistic for many. Most of us have other things going on in our lives like school, work and family responsibilities that don’t let us clean for an entire day. This is why it can be helpful to focus on one area at a time. Designate an hour a week and pick a spot to deep clean and organize. Over the course of a few weeks, you’ll get a lot of work done without feeling burdened.
#3- To make a house a home
It’s really easy to accumulate a lot of things we don’t need. Whether it be gifts, impulse buys or once-loved items that no longer fit our tastes: things pile up. It can be difficult to figure out which items are important to keep or pass on. Marie Kondo, author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” and star of Netflix’s “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” has a wonderful perspective on how to go about this process: keep only what sparks joy. Our homes are places we come back to every day, where we build many of our closest relationships and where we find comfort, so it makes sense for every item in our homes to be something that makes us happy.
#4- This isn’t a bad New Year’s resolution
When scrolling through spring cleaning TikToks and romanticizing your reset life, it can be tempting to want to do a complete overhaul and get rid of absolutely everything. Like a bad New Year’s resolution, this is really unsustainable. If you get rid of too much, you’ll just need to replace whatever you’re missing, which completely defeats the purpose of cleaning. If you replace all of your decorations every time spring cleaning comes along, this ritual starts to become incredibly expensive, and you’re more prone to falling into microtrends, picking items you’ll get bored of quickly.
A better alternative to overhauling everything is to go through and organize with intention. Ask yourself if you use the item regularly, if there are ways to upcycle or repair it or if it makes you happy. If the answer to all of those is a “no,” then it’s pretty safe to get rid of it.
When getting new items, a similar approach can be taken. Bring new things into your home slowly and intentionally. Imagine yourself seeing or using it regularly. Will it make you happy? Will it make your life significantly more convenient? Did you want it before it was advertised to you? If the answer to all of those prompts is “yes,” the item will probably be a wonderful addition to your home.
Whether it’s participating in the spring cleaning tradition, or taking a little extra time for self-care, remember to prioritize your health. With a clear mind and regulated emotions, you’re sure to happily blossom into the next era of warm weather and summer fun.
