Spring cleaning shouldn’t just about tidying house. This year, I’m making “spring cleaning” about refreshing and resetting every aspect of my life. Whether that means getting rid of literal material objects clogging up your closet space or discarding bad relationships, spring is all about new beginnings. The weather is getting nicer and the days are getting longer, and I want to have the ability to enjoy it instead of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed! Spring cleaning almost becomes like a second round of new year’s resolutions for me; it gives me the opportunity to simplify and declutter my life and set some new, clear goals for myself.
Although I initially said spring cleaning isn’t just about tidying house, this spring I do actually plan on doing some literal cleaning, like actually rounding up all the garbage and useless knick-knacks in my dorm and throwing them in the garbage. As much as I value keeping sentimental stuff, I have accumulated way too much trash and clutter over the past two years that I’m starting to feel like a hoarder. I have clothes that I literally never wear taking up space in my drawers, shoes from 3 years ago that don’t even fit anymore, and so much makeup and skincare cluttering up my vanity that I have no desk space left; I have receipts from restaurants and ticket stubs from movies scattered all over the floor, and worksheets and notebooks from classes I took freshman year piled in the corner. While I appreciate the memories these items represent, I want my room to be a place of comfort and calm, not a place of chaos. Your room is supposed to be a serene escape from the craziness of the rest of the world, not an added place of stress.
To revitalize my space, I plan to donate or sell clothes and shoes I don’t wear anymore that are still in good shape. Depop is a great online resource for selling clothes, and places like Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet will buy some of your old clothes from you. If you don’t want to sell, donate! Goodwill is always an option as they are always happy to take stuff off you.
I also have a goal to keep my room clean and organized more consistently, so that I can come back to it at the end of the day and feel peaceful. Doing a big clean every couple of weeks works fine, but it would definitely be easier if I did a little bit of tidying every day. Nothing major, just keeping up the little things like making my bed, organizing up my desk, and making sure my dirty clothes make their way into the laundry basket. While this is taking on the idea of spring cleaning in the most literal sense, it actually does wonders in clarifying and rejuvenating your life.
However, I do plan on doing some spring cleaning in more than just the literal sense. First, I want to clean up and revitalize my mental and physical health. One goal I have the spring is to start meditating and practicing mindfulness. Every morning, I plan to sit on my bed and just spend a minute grounding myself and preparing myself for the day. I want to visualize positive outcomes and really pump myself up so I can make the most out of every day.
I also plan to start exercising more and getting those endorphins pumping. As the weather gets nice, I can no longer blame the cold, snow, or sleet for preventing me from going for a run or walking to the gym. The end of winter and the beginning months of spring are stressful, particularly for us college students, and the stress only builds as we continue into April and May. So, it’s important to take care of yourself and give yourself a break. By checking in with myself mentally and physically, I can sprint towards the finish line instead of crawling!
As the year winds down, I think it’s also important to think critically about the people you surround yourself with as well. Summer provides opportunities for fun and freedom, so you don’t want to be dragged down by toxic people when you should be having the time of your life! Look closely at your social circle and see who brings you up and helps you to be a better person, and take note of who doesn’t make you feel quite so good. It’s okay to distance yourself from people who aren’t putting equal effort into their relationship with you. Whether your relationship is platonic or romantic, spring is a good time to really think critically about where the said relationship is going.
While keeping in mind those who may not have your best interests at heart, don’t forget to celebrate the positive relationships in your life. If you have someone in your life who is good to you, make sure you let them know! Spend some extra time with them. Furthermore, if there are new people you want to get to know better, don’t be afraid to branch out. The glorious spring weather is the perfect chance to invite someone to grab a smoothie and venture out for a walk in the fresh spring air.
Spring cleaning can definitely apply to social media as well. Clean up your news feed or timeline so it’s fresh and shiny for spring. Unfriend that boy from high school that you were in love with who always led you on and flirted with you, even when he was in relationships with other girls. Unfollow the girl who pretended to be your friend but always talked about you behind your back. Also, I don’t know if anyone else does this, but I follow a ton of accounts that I look at as “goals.” These accounts mainly feature gorgeous girls living it up on amazing beaches or in incredible faraway cities with their posse of cool friends and their perfect boyfriend. While those pages or accounts are definitely fun to drool over at first, after a while, those accounts make me feel really bad about myself. I can’t help but compare my life to their perfect, insta-curated one, and it’s time to stop. One of my goals for spring cleaning is to purge those accounts from my newsfeed so I can regain some perspective and focus on all that I am grateful for in my life.
Spring can be a time of renewal and growth, but only if you’re willing to put the effort in. I always find myself stressed and depressed this time of year, what with classes and life throwing everything they can at you all on at once. But instead of wallowing this spring, I’m taking the idea of spring cleaning to heart and putting some effort into making the last few weeks of this semester the best that they can be. It definitely requires a little bit of time and energy, but I think expanding this idea of spring cleaning beyond simple tidying up my room will really make a difference as I finish out the year.
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