It came quick ladies and gentlemen! The thing we've been putting off all winter long. The dreaded #SpringCleaning. We all know why we've put it off for so long and it's because it's overwhelming and quite frankly, a lot of work.
Whether you have a small one-bedroom apartment or you're living in a ten bedroom mansion, you've accumulated so much junk and let the dust pile up; you're not even sure where to start.
Now, if you're living in a mansion, you've probably hired a housekeeper to do all the dirty work for you, but for us regular folks out here I've decided to make it a little easier and tell you my five tips to make Spring Cleaning a breeze.
Alright, let's get started!
How can you become motivated?
1. Identify what areas really need to be cleaned:
The first thing that could mentally prepare you is realizing that not every area of your home needs to be cleaned "Spring Cleaning Style." What I mean by this is, I'm sure you haven't let everything slip out of control all winter long, so there are probably some areas that don't need as much attention as others.
It is helpful to focus on the main areas, so you're not wasting the valuable energy you've saved up all winter long.
A way to justify what is spring cleaning worthy is to think of your everyday tasks that you do around your home like washing the dishes, making the bed or doing laundry and make a mental note that these things are not part of your spring cleaning tasks. Only the things that you've let go untouched for a while should be majorly cleaned.
For example, if you've been stressed out every time you've opened your closet trying to pick an outfit for the day, yet haven't had the time or energy to clean it out, then that is an area that you should put on your list.
Get the daunting, most time-consuming tasks out of the way first because that's when you're most motivated and you can really tackle that job with ease.
2. Schedule, Schedule, and Schedule:
Another thing that is mentally stressful is looking at this whole process as one big task. How you should look at it is by breaking it up into a bunch of little tasks. Set aside chunks of time like 15, 20, even 60 minutes at a time to devote your energy to that spring cleaning task.
Tell yourself on Monday from 5-6 PM ET that you're going to dust all of the window sills in your home. That way you know you have time, you can cross it off your list, and you won't have to worry about dusting those window sills for a whole year.
How relieving is that?
How can you avoid feeling overwhelmed?
3. Hire your own personal cleaning service:
The idea of cleaning your entire place all by yourself is enough pressure alone to make you throw in the towel before you've even started.
I've been guilty of it; I'm sure we all have, so there is no shame in asking for some help. Ask your mom, dad, sister, or brother for a helping hand. You could even ask your neighbor. The more, the merrier and nine times out of 10 if people aren't busy, they would love to help a friend out.
Less pressure. Less time-consuming.
If you're already living with roommates, then decide among everyone who does what tasks and what day it should be done. This way everyone is held accountable and will get it done in a timely fashion. We don't want spring cleaning to turn into Freshen up Fall. See what I did there? Not that clever, but you get what I'm saying.
4. Prepare your cleaning supplies beforehand:
It will be helpful to know you have everything you need when you start cleaning.
There is nothing more annoying than starting something and not having the right materials to finish.
Imagine baking a cake and realizing halfway through the process that you don't have any eggs. You'd have to stop everything you are doing to run to the store to grab some eggs. It's the same thing with cleaning; you don't want to be interrupted while you're in your groove. You can prevent this by making sure you identify what needs to be cleaned, with what products and having it all in one area, so you know what you have.
5. Treat yourself: Raise your hand if you love cleaning. If you're one of the rare souls out there that raised your hand, can you come help us out? We can really take some tips from you all.
Otherwise, we are mentally preparing for this special time of the year, and we know that we are going to be setting goals and hopefully executing them.
Instead of focusing on the cleaning aspect of it all, focus on the reward. Give yourself an incentive; for example, once you get done with X, Y, and Z on Friday night, you can go out with your friends because you deserve it. If you finish spring cleaning all of the bathrooms before your favorite reality tv show comes on, yes - grab the tub of ice cream and the large spoon and indulge in the creamy goodness. If you can execute each task that you planned for the day, you're killin' the spring cleaning game, and you deserve to treat yourself.
There you have it, folks, my five tips to hopefully making your spring cleaning a little less daunting and maybe even a little enjoyable. I wish you all the best of luck.