Spring Cleaning

‘Spring cleaning’ – there’s a phrase to send me running for cover, if my mum reads this, she will be laughing hard that I should choose this as a blog.

‘Spring’ yes, I love it for all the obvious reasons, but ‘cleaning’ (more specifically tidying) has always been something I have begrudged, mainly because it is time consuming and even if the house looks a little better (debatable) afterwards, children / pets / everyday life will undo all the hard work in no time, right? Especially living on a farm where mud has a mind of its own.

But maybe you love having a spotless home, I really admire those who do! So you can delete the title of this post and insert whatever other ‘job’ you tend to recoil from whether it is washing the car, mowing the lawing, sorting the laundry….

If you take one thing away from this, it is (sorry mum) that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPRING CLEAN (or any of those other things), your home will be just fine the way it is, never mind what anyone else thinks, everyone will survive another day/week/month and you do not have to add to your to do list. Make space in your head for what matters to you. But should it be something you eventually embrace, I hope that my tips on managing those jobs, procrastination and putting things off will help.

Even if you’re fortunate enough to have help with cleaning or other jobs in your home, you might still be thinking about freshening up where you live ready for warmer days and longer evenings, and it is important not to be put off by the ‘what’ think about the ‘why’. If you’re cleaning just because you feel like you should or tick a box, you are going to resent your time. But making your home environment even more inviting can be hugely beneficial to your personal sense of wellbeing. It may not be a priority with all the other competing pressures we have, but if you have a little space to do it, please try to be intentional about the 'cleaning', make it count.

With that in mind, and with perhaps a greater sense of urgency, you might even go a step further and feel like doing a litter clean-up near your home, this means spring cleaning will have a meaning bigger than you, it will directly benefit where you live and your community's environment. There is no downside to that but either way you can reframe your thinking about the minutes spent on it.

Here’s a few tips:

• Don't necessarily try and do it all at once - even 5 / 10 / 15 minutes is better than no minutes and you will feel a sense of achievement

• Open all the windows - fresh air is simultaneously uplifting and calming

• Switch on your favourite music - make it a mini- work-out

• Listen to an motivating, insightful podcast - emerge from the cleaning more engaged

• Practice some breathwork as you go - extending your outward breath lowers stress

• Diffuse some essential oils and try to lay off any toxic products – benefits your emotions and less detrimental to the environment

• Remember how fortunate you are to have a home to take care of - savour and enjoy it

• Switch off all phone notifications – you’ll work faster and better

• Simultaneously declutter – old magazines, chipped crockery, bust toys – recycle them

• Stay hydrated – its hard work you know!

• Enlist some help - family, friends and if you're cleaning your building / road - neighbours!

• Give yourself a massive pat on the back when its done and reward yourself with whatever brings you joy

And if my mum is still reading, the whole place will be spotless for your next visit.