Spring…ahhh…I can feel the sunshine on my face, the breeze in my hair, and the tickle in my nose. Where is my antihistamine? The universal symbol for life is approaching, and what’s a better way to welcome a new beginning than a thorough cleaning? With my baby making his way into toddlerhood, I am determined to plant traditions in my family garden. I have decided {mainly as an excuse to enlist the help of my husband and live-in parents} that an annual spring cleaning is just as important as Thanksgiving. With a busy schedule, a needy husband, and too many hobbies, I have to be strategic about this.
Do get you and your family mentally prepared
It’s no secret that my husband and I do not love to clean. At any time, you will find a pile of unfolded laundry scheduled for tomorrow night, and I’m okay with that. Conquering spring cleaning is such a feat that I literally prepared him as if we were about to attempt a marathon. Oh, this was not only for him but also for me! We picked when it was going to happen, added it to calendars {it was on my iCAL, work, and Google calendar}, and almost every night ended with, “We start spring cleaning in x days”. The countdown began. There was no reason for excuses. I had given myself and my husband ample time to get our affairs in order because it was going to happen. This house was getting cleaned for spring!
Do prioritize what needs to be done and have a plan
I used to think I could win every battle, but then I grew up and acquired a family. This by far is the most useful lesson I’ve learned in my adult life. Same goes for spring cleaning; we can’t win them all, sisters. There were so many things I wanted to include. Girlfriend, if I included them all, it would’ve been spring, fall, and winter cleaning. Instead, I made a list of what I really wanted to accomplish now for spring cleaning and arranged them from 1-whatever. 1 being the smallest project I could get out of the way working up to the bigger projects. Each project had sub-items to keep me organized with supplies needed {keep receipts in case you change your mind} and so I could assign tasks. Stores like Michaels, Ikea, or Hobby Lobby are well aware of our seasonal needs so keep an eye out for great coupons and deals!
- Downsize the kid’s items – Cindy
- Toys, clothes, closet, bathroom
- Donate
- Countertops/surfaces – Ray
- clean all surface and corners of countertops
- Cars – Ray
- Drawers {desk, kitchen, dressers}
- Clean and organize junk in desk –Ray
- need folders and sticker labels
- Organize kitchen drawers – Cindy
- need shallow baskets
- Dresser drawers – Cindy
- donate unneeded items
- konmari fold teeshirts
- Clean and organize junk in desk –Ray
You get the picture. I didn’t get anything new so I continued using this day planner that I love from Target. It has a great layout for each day and comes with pockets/stickers!
Do enlist help
Spring cleaning can be quite overwhelming. It definitely was for me. My motto was, “team work makes the dream work” during this process. My mom helped me with the baby’s items as well as entertaining him while we went through our list. A friend came with me to Ikea to get organizers and shoe racks. Ask a relative to come over to watch the kids or schedule a deep cleaning. If you don’t have a housekeeper you regularly use, try vendor connecting apps like Thumbtack. You can put in what you need {clean only kitchen and restrooms or entire house} and get quotes within a short amount of time with company bio and reviews.
Don’t start on a whim
I don’t know about everyone else, but my multiple bad box hair dye jobs have proven that no big project goes right when done on a whim. I’m highly impulsive and when I decided to attempt spring cleaning, I really did go into my closet and throw all my clothes on the floor in hopes that in an hour they would be all hung up and color coordinated. Halfway through, I had to start dinner and when I returned, I was too tired to keep going. The rest of the week was shuffling through clothes on the floor to get dressed for work. This is the main reason why I am pushing to have a plan.
Don’t try to do everything in one day
Trying to do it all in one day can be frustrating, discouraging, and counterproductive. All moms are busy. I repeat…ALL moms are busy! Doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home mom or a full-time working mom, there isn’t enough time in a day! I tried to do a lot of my list in a day and I found that by putting other items on the back burner so I could cram so much in a short amount of time only stressed me out even more. Instead, I manipulated my schedule to fit what I could into where. The baby’s bath was moved to Thursday and my Wednesday evening was used for organizing kitchen drawers. There isn’t a rule that says spring cleaning can only be done in a day. I also really did enjoy taking time to reminisce when the baby wore tiny shirts and where I ate with my husband when he gave me this weirdly small Harry Potter tee when we were still dating {at least he thought I was skinny}. Take time to enjoy the process. It isn’t fun, but spurts of it could be.
Don’t be unrealistic
Part of spring cleaning is to make room for new beginnings. Don’t keep anything you aren’t 100% about. I literally donated a white slit back dress that was a size 2. Would I love to wear that dress again? Yes. Will I be a size 2 again without being unhealthy? No. Sadly, that was not the only article of clothing I had to ask myself this. Not just sizes way too small, but also items that were faded and worn so many times it had lost its shape. I found that by simply being realistic, I freed up more closet space. This meant one more reason to update my wardrobe!
At the end of your spring cleaning, look towards a refreshed home and {if you’re like me} new projects! I realized that I needed shelves next to my desk and a peg board on the wall to help organize my small work space. I felt sad at times letting go of items because I’m so attached to its memories. I had to remind myself of my goal:: to make more space for this growing kid! So away went the baby toys and entered a dual purpose desk+storage for Raymond and {of course, his new obsession} Rex!
Whichever of the above do’s and don’ts you choose to help with your spring cleaning {if any at all}, the most important advice to me is you don’t have to be perfect. We finished our list in a week and a half but it was adjusted. As much as I want it to be, my life isn’t a Pinterest board so my pans are still stacked on top of each other by size instead of lids hanging on the cabinet door, but you better believe the old pots/pans I stopped using aren’t part of that team anymore!
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