In the hope that spring ever shows its face, I thought I
would do a post on spring cleaning your life. Apart from New Year’s
resolutions, this seems to be the time of year where everyone decides to make
big changes to their lives, out with the old and in with the new. Now, from my
limited experience, these sudden and massive changes rarely last. In April I am
cleaning everything out and starting over, and by the summer I feel as if it’s
all back to square one. Perhaps it is our thinking and attitudes which need
spring cleaning rather than our wardrobes (although this never hurts!)
So here are my top 5 tips for making lasting changes which
will make your life feel spring cleaned all year round:
1.
Make a
plan for maintaining your spring cleaning-
It is all very well doing a massive spring clean, but what
is to stop it going straight back to how it was? I find that setting aside
certain times for certain tasks makes me much more likely to keep it up. I like
to set aside a day a week to clean and sort different rooms so that I know they
will all get done. This can be for anything, if you are lucky enough to not
have all the cleaning to do, why not use this idea for keeping on top of your
school work?
2.
Spring
clean your attitude-
It becomes easy to focus on all the stress and negativity in
our lives, every time we fail to keep up with the tasks or goals we have set
ourselves. This is when we often give up and let things go back to how they
were before. Instead, why not focus on the positives. I like to live by the
quote “There’s something good in everyday.” Think about what you have achieved
or what you’ve enjoyed about each day, and maybe even write it down.
3.
Storage
solutions-
I often find myself tidying things in such a way that they
look absolutely lovely for about 5 minutes, until I actually need to get
something out! Storage always seems to be an issue, no matter how much you
throw out every spring. To get around this, I like to separate things into
different boxes or storage solutions. This also makes it easier to tidy if you
do slip up and let things fall back into a mess; it is much easier to take out
a box at a time to tidy than have a whole cupboard of chaos to address.
4.
Brighten
up your living space-
I find that my living environment has a big impact on how I
feel and how motivated I am. Waking up to a clean, tidy space, which is
decorated in such a way that it makes you feel happy and at home makes it much
easier to get up and face the day. Add some bright springy colours, fresh
flowers and nice smelling candles to make your life feel cheerful and put
together. It is easy to forget how much of an impact your living space has on
your day to day mood.
5.
Make it a
positive experience-
I know that many people can think of nothing worse than
spring cleaning, however much it appeals to my OCD attitude! However, I do
think it depends on how you approach it. See it as an opportunity to put on
your favourite music and look through all of the things you had forgotten even
existed! This is the time to really take care of all the possessions you have
spent your hard earned money on and perhaps re-live old memories. If at the end
of the day this still seems like a terrible task, just think of the end result
and soldier through! I find bribing myself with tea and a biscuit always helps
the job along.
So there we go, my tips for spring cleaning that will last.
Perhaps this does not appeal to you, or perhaps it seems very obvious, but they
are tips which have helped me lead a happier clutter free life! I hope this
helps someone get into the spring cleaning mood, despite the huge lack of spring weather!
Meg xxx
