Clutter Cat's 3-Part Guide to Making Spring-Cleaning Fun
Spring Cleaning - one big chore, right?
Can’t you just imagine it now – spending a beautiful Spring weekend tidying and cleaning instead of enjoying the first hints of the warmer, sunnier days to come. Tying your hair back, busting out the feather duster, vacuum cleaner and garbage bags, working up a sweat as you sort, sweep, mop and declutter, then sitting back to enjoy the last of the evening BEFORE STARTING ANOTHER WORK WEEK.
“Yeah, no thanks”.
There are some people who absolutely live for this sort of thing. That’s great. They get a sense of purpose from the laborious work, not to mention the satisfaction of enjoying a shiny good-as-new space. When we find out how to bottle and market this enthusiasm, we’ll be sure to let you know!
For those who despise the idea of spring cleaning with a passion, or those who don’t have the time - even the pros who maybe could be doing it more efficiently - we’ve come up with a simple three-part guide to making spring cleaning a sunny walk in the park.
KNOW YOUR MOTIVES
A quick internet search of the history of Spring Cleaning reveals that it’s a practise which spans cultures and even religions. Our favourite origin, however, is the one that suggests that it’s done in Spring purely because the days are longer, we have more sunlight; and as such human physiology suggests we should be less tired!
So theoretically you have more energy, but do you have the motivation?
Well, let’s ask ourselves - what will Spring Cleaning do for me? Will it make your living space more comfortable? Will it take away the constant (no matter how slight) stress of untidiness? I don’t mind how pro you are at averting your eyes and walking past the cobwebs on the ceiling or the layer of dust building up on the windows - the discomfort or annoyance is still a type of stressor.
What about no longer losing things? Our worst enemy is having to search for things we’ve lost (for my colleagues, it’s mainly caused by me pinching their permanent markers from their organising kit bags. Sorry, guys).
Spring Cleaning is the perfect opportunity to reorganise the space and figure out placement of your belongings so that they are easy to find. For any budding minimalists out their, Spring Cleaning is the perfect time to start with a blank canvas - take everything out, tidy the space, then work out what goes back and what doesn’t.
Perhaps this Spring Cleaning session will be your last - that is, your space will become so tidy and organised that regular daily and weekly cleaning will be not only easier, but something that you can take on with pride, and rarely have to tackle on such a scale again.
Have a think about your possible motivation for Spring Cleaning and really visualise the benefits of the finished product - whether it be relaxing on a clean, mess-free couch with your feet on soft, clean carpet; or maybe not having to go searching for things, to have everything in its place and at your fingertips.
BOOK IT IN
By booking in your time you are effectively giving yourself permission to let other things go. That’s right, PERMISSION! No guilt, no procrastinating.
It also allows you to hold yourself accountable - sometimes when we put a task in the calendar or block out a day or two, it’s like laying down a set of rules or guidelines that must be followed.
In terms of staying focussed, this is also where the procrastinating comes in - it’s so easy to start a big, daunting task and then drop it because something slightly easier has caught your attention.
Step it up a notch and let your friends and / or family know what you’re planning - this will add to the accountability, but who knows, there may be someone out there who is willing to help for the day. Why not make a thing of it? Hard work is easier and can even be fun when there’s someone to chat with, and more so when you know you will have someone to share the enjoyment of the finished product.
USE WHAT YOU’VE GOT
The reason we suggest this is because you don’t have to go out and splurge on the best cleaning equipment. If you do this, (and we don’t like to make assumptions, buuuut…) you’re probably procrastinating. You can actually do a lot with very little.
Also, there’s nothing worse than getting the house in great shape and then having to find places to store additional tools and equipment.
On that note, are there things you can borrow or hire instead of buying, using once, and then having to store for the remainder of the year? Think professional carpet cleaners, steam mops… It’s a minimalist tip, but we like it. Sometimes just havingACCESSto something is more valuable than OWNERSHIP of the thing. For items that would only come out of the broom cupboard once a year (or never), consider it a pretty good deal to be able to get use out of it, minus the storage space required, maintenance and upkeep of the thing, and cost of purchase.