Dust Off The Drama!
Do you find yourself trying to fit mountains of stuff into a space that feels too small? The idea of spring cleaning can be overwhelming to anyone, especially if you don’t know where even to begin. Before diving into a spring cleaning project, take a minute to plan out how you want to tackle it! Here are some tips to get you started.
FIND YOUR GOAL
Before anything else, get into the right frame of mind. Realize that it’s not about becoming a minimalist and living on one pair of shoes for the rest of your life. Instead, focus on finding the things that serve purpose, that inspire you, and that make your life better. Even if you end up keeping most of your stuff, you’ll know that stuff is important and has a purpose in your home and your life. Bring the items together that you want to downsize. Do you have too many shoes? A mountain of photo albums that are taking up space? Gather them in one space, then sort them according to what serves a purpose and what doesn’t. The old photo of your great-grandmother’s friend whose name you don’t even know? That can probably go. But your tennis shoes that you run with every morning can stay — even if they’re old, or if you have a second pair. If you do use it, why throw it out?
FIND JOY
Who said spring cleaning needs to be boring? If you feel obligated to do something, it’s going to be much harder to follow through. But if you enjoy what you’re doing, the task becomes that much easier. Turn up some music while you dust off your furniture, binge a show while you fold laundry, or call friends over for a garage-sorting party. Whatever you decide, enjoy your time. Tedious tasks can still be joyful!
FIND REST
In addition to enjoying your time, also know when to stop and take a break. The stuff isn’t going anywhere — you can return at any time. Burnout sneaks up on you quickly. If you’re not careful, you could end up too exhausted to finish your spring cleaning. Find pockets of stillness between tasks and take advantage of them. When you move from one room to another, take a minute to eat something, hydrate yourself, or have a nap. When you finish decluttering one category of items, have a moment of quiet before moving on to the next. Try setting a timer for a couple of hours and come back when it goes off, or try the Pomodoro method. Either way, be sure to take the amount of rest you need to stay on top of your game.
FIND A ROUTINE
Don’t feel like you need to complete your decluttering all at once. Be patient, and set apart a few minutes each day for your cleaning routine. When you dedicate a little chunk of your day to tidying up, the clutter melts away. Even after your big spring cleaning is all done, stick to your routine to prevent the mess from building up. And next spring, decluttering will be a piece of cake!
