When you think of spring-cleaning, you probably think of that time of year when you do a more thorough cleaning of your house… decluttering closets, cleaning the baseboards and windows, etc. Or maybe it’s when you spring clean your yard after winter. We’ve been doing that the past couple of weekends. But what if you took that same idea, but instead of cleaning your physical surroundings, you tidied up your life? A lot of people do this in January, but spring is just as a good a time as the new year, maybe even better!
Here are some ideas of what that might look like.
1. Take Stock Before You Start to Spring-clean.
How is your life currently going. What is going well? What could be improved? Do you have goals? How are you doing with those? Are there any areas of your life you’d like to change up? Taking stock of where you are now will help you direct your energy to where it’s needed.
2. Clean Up Your Relationships.
Do you have any relationships that don’t serve you – either from a romantic or friendship perspective? Maybe it is time to part ways with one or more people. If the people in your life don’t cheer you up, lift you up or build you up, they probably don’t belong in your life.
3. Tidy Up Your Habits.
It might be time to clean up those bad habits of yours. Bad habits add up over time and cost you in the long run. If you feel like you already do a good job of that, focus on building some new positive habits. Right now, I’m reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s an excellent book on how to build good habits and break bad ones.
4. Declutter Your Mind
There’s a lot going on in our heads! Experts estimate that the average adult makes more than 35,000 decisions per day. Developing a daily meditation practice is a great way to clear your mind. You might also try journaling. Even setting the practice of taking a deep breath (maybe every time you go through a doorway or open another browser tab) can be helpful.
5. And speaking of technology…
sometimes we need to unplug from it! Don’t be afraid to prune some of our social media accounts. Aim to spend less time on your devices and more time just taking in the world around you. And LoL, there’s an app for that!
6. Refresh Your Fitness Routine.
Has your fitness routine got boring or stale? Do you even have a fitness routine? Springtime is a great time to start to get outside and takes some walks or runs. I recently signed up for Tap Fit home fitness program. It has both tap and ballet fitness classes online.
7. Take a Look at Your Diet
A great way to tidy up your life is to clean up your diet a bit. Think about adding more natural whole foods, fruits and vegetables and especially cutting down on sugar. I’m actually going to try a new kind of fast called L-Nutra, that the company is sending my way. I’ll let you know how it goes!
8. Organize Your Workspace.
While this is closer to real spring cleaning, organizing or changing your workspace around is a great way to boost your productivity. Clearing the clutter around you helps to clear the clutter in your head. Reorganizing is less about cleaning and more about making sure every item has its space and every space has a purpose. If you have your own home office, try rearranging it for a new perspective. Check out Amazon or Target for some pretty new office supplies.
ACTIONABLE STEPS
- Reflect on the past year of your life. Make a list of things that worked well and another list of things that did not. This will help you direct your “cleaning” efforts.
- Tidy up your social media by unfollowing or unfriending the people who are constantly negative or who annoy you. Think about who matters to you, and unfollow those that don’t. (If you feel you can’t do this quite yet, you can “pause” them.
- Schedule your life spring-cleaning time into your calendar. What’s not on your schedule doesn’t usually get done!
A Couple of Book Recommendations
“Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life” by Craig Groeschel
“Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life” by Admiral Williams H. Mcraven
“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” by James Clear
LEARN TO LOVE YOUR LIFE AGAIN
Do you feel like you need to hit the REFRESH button on your life? Download our free guide and begin to create your best life yet!
Great post, Shelley. I’m going to do this???? I spend December reviewing and planning for the next year but so much can change I really like the, idea of a 6 month review!
Xo – Melanie
I teally like how you explained how to declutter our lives. Great ideas very helpful 🙂
Hi Shelly!
I think it is so important to declutter and get rid of things that don’t serve us! .Deep breaths and practicing journaling helps free up some of my thoughts so I can get a good nights sleep, otherwise I am mulling over things in my head. Great tips!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Hi Jessica,
Great thought! I’ve also found that if I don’t pick up the physical clutter, my brain feels cluttered as well. Guess it works both ways!
Thanks, Nancy! I’m glad you liked them.
Thanks, Melanie! Like you, I spend the last few days of December taking a look at the past year, what went well and what didn’t and making a plan for the next year. That usually lasts through the year but things change, or something comes up, so spring is a great time for a refresh!