Spring Cleaning Joy

March 24, 2022

Happy Spring! It’s such a joy to be in the Pacific Northwest to watch spring fully hatch. Since our winters are so long, dark, and rainy, it’s a huge mood booster to get the longer days and warmer temperatures. The wood element is in full swing, so you’ll tend to feel a lot of upward lifting energy. Harness this energy into getting your home sparkling clean, so that you’ll be able to fully utilize the fire energy when it comes this summer. Spring cleaning is important to preserve the longevity of your home and can also help keep it safe. In this post, I’ll give you some tips to make your spring cleaning binge more efficient and enjoyable.

Think of Spring Cleaning as a form of self-care. It’s a way to hit the reset button. Whether you’re focusing on the decluttering and organizing aspect, or on actually cleaning, visualize how this process will help you feel lighter and more free. You’ll be letting go of things that are out of your control, which will allow you to hear your intuition. As you’re cleansing your surrounding environment, your inner environment will feel a sense of peace and cohesion. Living in a cluttered environment tends to make people more stressed, less motivated, and more depressed. It greatly exacerbates ADHD symptoms. By removing toxins from your home such as irritants like dust or objects charged with painful memories, you’ll make space in your life for more meaningful and reciprocal relationships. Without these contaminants, you’ll be priming your nights for more restful sleep. Having a clean home will do wonders for your self-esteem. You’ll start to make healthier choices regarding diet and exercise, which will help you maintain your clean home. The process of cleaning requires a certain amount of cardiovascular endurance and mental agility, so you’ll start gain these positive results right away!
Gather your supplies. Pick out your favorite cleaning products, or make your own! Some people are very sensitive to the endocrine disrupters in regular cleaning products, so opt for natural products when you can. If you’ve got some tough stains or need the extra elbow grease that only chemicals can provide, make sure to protect your skin and lungs from absorbing more chemicals than necessary. Get a good assortment of microfiber cloths, sponges, scrub brushes, dusters, a broom, dustpan, vacuum, step stool, and whatever else you like to clean with. If you don’t have what you need, head down to your local Ace Hardware or wherever else you like to shop to stock up on cleaning supplies. I love the quaint, old-fashioned feel of my little local Ace, so whenever I want some extra cleaning inspiration, I love going there to get new supplies.
Open some windows. The sunlight will help act as a natural disinfectant and will help lift your spirit. It’s also an invitation to allow for source energy to help assist you with the cleansing process. The fresh air will help clear out any stale and stagnant energy that may be lurking behind the scenes. The sounds of the birds outside and scent of the outdoors will help expand your energy to both raise your vibration and ground you to the earth.
Make a plan, or go with wherever you feel inspired. Some people LOVE planning out their cleaning routine, and others like to move more intuitively through their home. If you’re someone who has had trouble getting distracted with what you’re cleaning, make a list of all the places you want to clean. Can you get it all done in one day, or do you need to schedule it in to your calendar to do over the next few days, weeks, or months? Be realistic about your other obligations so that you don’t over commit yourself. Set yourself up for success!
What kind of big seasonal tasks or yearly maintenance chores do you want to check off your list? Do you need to clean your oven, rotate the mattress, clean the car, or repot the plants? By taking a survey of what you want to do, you’ll be able to plan what order to do things in. For example, you probably shouldn’t vacuum and then repot the indoor plants, because then you’ll have to vacuum again. Be smart about your time. Do you need to schedule professional maintenance like hiring a landscaper, someone to clean your gutters, professional window washers, or a professional carpet cleaner? Make those calls to get the pros on your calendar so you don’t forget to do it later. Do you have big plans to get several boxes of homemade VHS tapes digitized? You may want to bump a project like this up to the front because by getting the boxes out of the way, it will make cleaning much easier.
Get started! Do you have a lot of decluttering to do before you can clean? Take some “before” photos, so you can see all the progress you’ve made. It’s easy to forget how far you’ve come, so be sure to take some time out to acknowledge your accomplishments.
Still need some inspiration? Check out Apartment Therapy’s Spring Cleaning Guide: How to Spring Clean Your Whole House.

What is your favorite Spring Cleaning task? Please share in the comments.