Spring Cleaning

I sneezed myself awake this morning. So I can confidently say it's Springtime. While I love the warmer weather, flowers, and longer days of Spring, it's also a reminder that it's time to do some cleaning.

This year I'm planning it out, and here's what I plan to do.

Plan for it. I know my pain-points (my bedroom), and I know what areas I want to focus on. Feng Shui teaches us to clean up areas that are causing us distress first. Because I know I can't just force myself to go great guns like that, I like to split my time and energy between doing something that I know needs to be done with something I actively want to work on.

Chunk it out. I suggest tackling Spring Cleaning a little at a time. I like to set a timer on my phone for 20 minutes of cleaning time followed by 10 minutes of rest; this feels more manageable.

Know your energy cycle. For me, I know that my most productive time of day is in the morning. After lunch, I start to slow down, and evenings after a workday are unproductive. If you want to be successful at anything knowing your energy cycle is crucial. Of course, you will have to balance this with the rest of your schedule. When I worked a regular day job in Washington DC, I would occasionally set my alarm clock to wake up an hour early to clean. It was a great system for me. I always seemed to get so much more done in the mornings.

Prep your supplies. Make sure you have everything you need on hand to start your cleaning. Since Spring Cleaning is a combination of purging and cleaning, you'll want to make sure you have extra trashbags and boxes on hand in addition to your regular cleaning supplies.

Make it fun. I still struggle with this one, but I have found that if I charge up my Bluetooth speaker and play a podcast or a good music playlist, it will pass the time much faster. You can also pour yourself a glass of wine or make a cocktail if it helps.

Look, you don't have to set aside a weekend to do this. And you don't have to do it all in one go. Apologies to all of you Marie Kondo fans, but there's more than one way to "skin a cat." You can take all of April and May to get it done slowly if that's what works for you. So here’s to having a happy and clean Spring, and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest for more Spring Cleaning tips.