The first part of the week, I went home for a few days since I hadn't gone back in two months. Then on Wednesday, my mom, my brother, his friend, and I all caravanned down to Port Aransas. The first day we were there, I got really sick with allergies, but with some TLC from my mom, I felt better by the next day. We spent the rest of the break building sandcastles, walking around town, biking on the beach, watching Downton Abbey (that was mostly me), and just hanging out. It was so amazing to spend time with family and relax.
But now that Spring Break is over, and I'm forced to reenter the real world, I've realized that spring really is here, and I have a LOT to do. The time has come to cast off your sweats, shave your legs, paint your toenails, and embrace the sweet spring air and beautiful weather, but it's also time for some...
SPRING CLEANING.
Yeah, I know. I hate cleaning, too. But nothing makes me feel better about the changing weather (besides everything) than taking the time to clean out my life. Admit it, you kinda slacked your way through the winter. But now that the weather is changing, it's time to change a few things, too. Here are a few ideas for spring cleaning/organization to get you going.
*Note: the following pictures do not accurately portray my real-life closet, car, bathroom, backpack, desk, inbox, or dog. These images were found on Google.
Clean out your closet
To me, this one is most important. Now that the weather is warming up, you don't have a need to keep those heavy winter coats in your closet. Put them in a bag and take them home the next time you go so that you'll have them when it gets cold again. Do the same with your heaviest sweatpants, long-sleeve t-shirts, winter scarves, and flannel pj's. If there's anything you had this winter that you didn't wear, donate it to Goodwill or sell it to Plato's Closet. It's time to cast off your winter wear and make room in your closet for cute spring clothes.
Clean out your car
During the break, my boyfriend helped me throw away all the trash that had accumulated in my car during the cold months when cleaning out your car is miserable. Then when I got home, my brother and I went and washed/vacuumed our cars together. Now, my car is clean, and I feel much better because of it. Take the time to clean out your car and give it a good wash in the beautiful sunshine.
Clean out your inbox
How many emails do you get a day? 10? 20? 50? And out of those, how many do you actually read? If you're like me, most of your emails are promotions from stores you shop at that you might peek at every once in a while, or they might be temptations to get you spending money. In order to reduce clutter in your inbox, take the time to go through and unsubscribe from site promotions you don't care about. Trust me, you don't need to hear about every Midday Dash that comes along. Not only will this clear space in your inbox, but it will also reduce your daily emails and keep you from making rash shopping decisions every time there's a 15% off deal at J.Crew.
Clean out your backpack
I don't know about you, but my backpack is a deep dark cavern of chaos. It's hard to find what I need most of the time and it's really disgusting in there. If yours is the same, the easiest way to start is to just dump everything on the floor and start throwing things away - gum wrappers, old notes, pens out of ink, trash, etc. If you don't already, start using a pencil holder to hold writing utensils. Don't throw your trash away in your backpack. I repeat, YOUR BACKPACK IS NOT A TRASH RECEPTACLE. This has been a Public Service Announcement.
Clean out your friends list
Have you ever looked at your Facebook News Feed and been like, "Uhh, who is this person, and how do I know them again?" I do it. ALL the time. Take an hour or so to go through your friends list and delete people 1. whom you never talk to, 2. who aren't interesting, 3. who doesn't find you interesting, 4. you don't remember meeting. This will reduce the number of friends you have, but it will make your news feed more interesting and you'll enjoy the Facebook experience more. Also, do the same with Pages you like to reduce spam and clutter on your Feed.
Organize your clothes
Since you're planning on cleaning out your closet, might as well take the time to get it up to snuff on an organizational level as well. Take everything out of your drawers, fold it properly, and put it all back. Sort your shoes by style, your shirts by color, and your accessories by category. Find new ways of organizing things that you've never tried and see how they work. But most importantly, try to KEEP everything this organized.
Organize your desk
If your desk looks anything like mine, you can't find anything when you need it. Sometimes, the best way to get organized is to start over - completely empty your desk and put it all back together. Go through your pens and pencils and throw away any that are out of ink or lead. Throw away old notecards that you've been hoarding. Get a file folder and sort your syllabi, notes, and scantrons. Arrange your books alphabetical by title. Put new staples in your stapler. tape in your tape dispenser, and paper in your printer. Put some flowers on the desk (fake or real). You'll be more productive if your workspace is tidy.
Organize your toiletries
I share a bathroom with 20 other girls in a sorority house, and we have cubbies to keep our toiletries. But after a while, things can get pretty crazy. Whether you have a cubby or a counter or shelves or drawers, take some time to clean and reorganize everything. Throw away products you no longer use. Get some baskets or bins to sort products by use (shower supplies, hair products, skin care, etc.). If you have your own bathroom, wipe down your counters, scrub your shower, and clean your toilet, too. Feel clean again in the place where you get clean.
There are so many other things you can clean and organize, but those are the big ones. Once you take the time to put your life back together after hibernation, you'll be feeling ten times better for spring. Plus, you'll probably be moving in a couple months anyway, and the cleaner your space is now, the easier it'll be to pack later.
Happy Cleaning!
Much love,
Sydney
House cleaning can be overwhelming. Some people like to have a big project and clean the whole house in one day. Others are paralyzed by the thought of all that cleaning. Cleaning is the most time consuming job. Worst of all, some stains are hard to clean out. Even if you are spending all your efforts or energy, you may not clean them properly.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, to cut down laziness, I finally decided to clean my house. It took me long hours to do so, but it felt good. All the unnecessary stuff I gathered in a big box and plastics, I then called Everything Rubbish, a household rubbish removal providers in Sydney and got rid of all that waste and garbage. Now it feels like my home is a place to live.