It’s the first day of spring! I’ve come to really love spring the past few years. Everything just feels new, fresh, happy. And Michael and I got married in early spring so all those memories come back and it makes my heart happy. We’ve never shared our wedding photos here yet, so a wedding post is coming soon, promise.
All that aside, everyone knows what spring is for – yep – spring cleaning! As much as I love all of our DIY projects, putting together our DIY Build Plans, and planning our next how-to project, I also love cleaning and organizing. Okay okay, maybe what I really love is just a clean and organized home. The process not so much. But it has to be done and the end result is so satisfying!
So to kick off the first day of spring, here are few tips to make spring cleaning a little less overwhelming and a little more enjoyable.
1. Spring clean one room at a time!
Whenever I start thinking about spring cleaning, every cluttered closet, every giant stack of random paper, and every disorganized space comes to mind. And I want to do ALL of them. But my little brain just can’t handle all of them. So I do nothing. Just me? I didn’t think so.
Don’t do nothing! Pick one room. Just one. And start. If that’s all that gets done well then you have one tidy, organized, happy room and that’s amazing! And if you want to keep going after that then that’s amazing. Just don’t let the collective chaos keep you from having at least one room done.
2. It’s not spring cleaning unless you get rid of some things
It’s not always easy to give things away. It takes a lot of mental energy to sort through your things and figure out what to keep and what to get rid but. But if you go into your spring cleaning having already determined that you will be getting rid of things, it’s a little easier when it comes to it.
So grab three boxes or bags. One box is for giveaways. One is for throwaways. And the last one is for putting things away where they actually belong. Having a concrete way to organize the items you’re sifting through takes away some of the mental block of “what do I do with this?”.
3. Pick a motivator
Maybe the end result is enough to get you started and keep you going. But maybe it’s not. I find that if I have something fun or new to work into the space, I tend to stick with it just to get to the fun part. If your under-the-sink kitchen cabinet is always cluttered, get a cute basket to keep things contained. Are your gift bags constantly in a hard-to reach, disorganized corner of a closet? Find a fun (DIY??) organizer idea on Pinterest and implement it!
4. Make the spring cleaning process fun
We all have limited time and energy. So big projects like these tend to become a “let’s get this done as fast as we can” projects that are stressful and frustrating. It’s no wonder we don’t like them! To make the process more enjoyable, try breaking it down into smaller steps. Work on it in 15 or 30 minute increments. If you run into a problem and start to get frustrated, take a break and come back later. Turn on some music. Get snacks. Open the window. Bring something that you enjoy into the project so you associate enjoyment with the task.
We just finished our DIY Spice Jar Organizer, which transformed our spice cabinet:
From this:
To this:
It’s a huge difference! And now that the cabinet is cleaned up and organized, it makes me want to declutter the whole kitchen!
Annndddd…our build plan for this DIY spice jar organizer will be live soon! 🙂
5. Enjoy the space
You’ve spent all that time and energy in cleaning up your space. Now do something with it! Did you spring clean your kitchen? Have some friends over. Or if that sounds like more stress and work, grab some flowers for your now-tidy counter, light a candle, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Make some cookies. Do something fun in your clean space. All work and no fun makes everyone sad.
You can even think of this in anticipation of your spring clean and use it as your motivator. Envision what your room will look and feel like when it’s done. Then consider what you would enjoy doing in that snazzy, new-feeling space. There’s something about that feeling that makes us excited and motivated.
It’s amazing what a good declutter and cleaning can do to a space. So here’s your sign. Go spring clean!