I like to use new seasons and natural changes in that calendar as built in ways to make my life more reflective, thoughtful, and goal-oriented. Spring is a perfect time to do that! And as cliche as it is, spring always makes me want to go through my wardrobe, downsize, and toss half the clutter that’s accumulated in my office.

When I think of spring cleaning, deep cleaning the kitchen isn’t the first thing that comes to mind — probably because I hate actual cleaning (as my parents will attest to).  I do love organizing and decluttering though. So as I finish up a week of spring cleaning, I compiled a list of tips to make your spring cleaning (a.k.a. decluttering) a little easier:

1. Make a list. This could either be of the tasks you want to complete, different rooms in your house to clean, or different areas of your life to reflect on. My list consisted of: bedroom, wardrobe, office, personal brand, diet, and car (still working on one or two of those 😉 ). Breaking it down makes the whole affair seem much more manageable.
2. Add non-physical things to your list to declutter. On my list, I had diet and personal brand. Normally, I would also have added goals and projects to my list as well, but I already set time aside each month for that.
3. Tackle one list item at a time. You don’t need to check everything on your list off in one day. After you’ve made your list, it’s easy to see ways you can break up the work: clean the office on Monday, downsize wardrobe on Thursday, brainstorm for personal brand on Friday, etc.
4. Focus on the task in front of you. If you said you were going to clean your bedroom, don’t turn on Netflix while you do it (yup, may have got sucked into the second season of Daredevil while attempting to clean mine… but it’s really good, and you should watch it). You’ll be more productive and finish faster if you just do one thing at a time.
5. Get rid of anything that doesn’t have a match. Somehow I tend to accumulate socks missing a match, containers missing lids — you get the picture. If an object doesn’t have a match, toss it.
6. Make sure everything has a home. Visual clutter can stress us out (no, it really can). While you are in cleaning mode, be sure to find a spot for everything to live.
7. Donate what you don’t need or use. If you haven’t worn that sweater all winter or touched that kitchen gadget since someone gifted it to you, someone else could probably put it to better use. Don’t be afraid to let go of things — they are just things after all.
8. Get a plant. The little green can help brighten your room 🙂 Here are some ideas for low maintenance house plants.
9. Clean out your smartphone. How many apps do you have on your phone that you haven’t opened since downloading? No? Am I the only one? Okay, well then… You should still go read this article anyway.
10. Make it enjoyable! Blast some of your favorite music, open the windows, grab a glass of wine, light some incense — pick something that will make you smile to make cleaning a little more happy.

What are your best spring cleaning tips? I’d love for you to share in the comments!