Before I had my own space, I did not understand the benefit of spring cleaning. But now that I have a big girl apartment — and big girl money to fill said apartment with clutter — scheduling daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal resets are essential to keeping my space clean and my mind clear.
So, now that I’ve settled into 2022 I have prepared a guide on how to approach spring cleaning.
- Don’t overwhelm yourself, focus on one room/area/task
Depending on how much free time you have and the extent of clutter in your space, you may need to contain your spring cleaning to just one room or even one task within a room.
If you’re like me and tend to fall down a rabbit hole once you start cleaning, be mindful and only take on what you can handle. You can focus on cleaning out your closet and donating any unnecessary clothing and shoes, organizing the cabinets and drawers in your bathroom, or deep cleaning your kitchen.
An effective spring clean depends on what workload you can personally handle; just realize that you do not have to clean your entire space at once. Dedicating time to improve any area of your space is a worthwhile endeavor.
- Give yourself breaks, but stay committed.
Pick a day and dedicate a realistic amount of time to clean — with breaks integrated throughout. If you choose to clean out your closet that still houses some of your middle school greatest fits, cleaning for six hours straight isn’t ideal. You are likely to become bored and burnt out which isn’t conducive to getting anything done. I’ve set unrealistic cleaning goals in the past and just ended up with more mess and more disdain for cleaning.
Instead, give yourself six hours and take breaks for snacks, television or dancing — whatever motivates you, but try to remain disciplined. Set a timer so that your 30-minute break doesn’t turn into a 3 hour TikTok marathon. To take it even further, you can
- Make it a group effort
If you share your space with roommates, suggest a spring cleaning day. You can each choose a common area to deep clean and stay motivated by taking breaks together. However, I understand not everyone has the most positive relationship with their roommates. If you guys bicker more than not, including them may just result in more stress — so clean at your own discretion.
- Have a plan
Spring cleaning is only really effective if you donate or throw away items that are not of use to you, and have a concrete plan of where to put items that typically lay around miscellaneously. Planning your spring cleaning day will certainly include pinpointing a day that you dedicate to your space, but also making sure you have the proper storage available to organize items.
Spring cleaning is a great habit to develop and it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process. Instead, set reasonable goals and you’ll have a cleaner space before you know it.