26 Apr Spring Cleaning: Decluttering Your Head & Home
Unless you’ve been stuck on a desert island for the last few months, it’s a pretty safe assumption that you’ve heard of, watched, and even attempted to KonMari your home. Earlier this year, Netflix brought the sweet voice of Marie Kondo right into our living rooms, and our closets have never been the same. If you want to become more familiar with her, check out my experience with the KonMari method!
No matter how successful your household’s Marie Kondo efforts have been, tidying is an ongoing thing. Your massive piles of donations are a fabulous start, but there’s more to be done to maintain your lifestyle overhaul. The good news is, maintaining and refreshing will be much easier than the initial purge.
Refresh your home for spring!
Spring is the perfect time to kick-start this next level cleaning. This time, your cleaning is seasonally specific so it looks a bit different than the first KonMari overhaul.
Start your tidying with a checklist – in the Artful Agenda lists section – to focus your energy and prioritize what you need to accomplish. Walk through your home and take note of areas that need special attention such as closets or storage areas that need a seasonal refresh. Then for each task, hit the clock button to assign it to a certain day. This way you will be reminded in your task list for that day to take care of your chosen tidying task.
Once you have your checklist of categories to clean, you can bring the whole family together to help! Using the checklist, you can delegate different tasks to each family member to get everyone involved. For example, you can assign each individual their own belongings or categories of shared family items to prep for spring. Even the kids can help! Have them contribute by separating their winter-specific items and organizing them in a storage box or bin.
Cleaning itself is a wonderful reward. However, as you complete each task, you get the extra satisfaction of crossing the task off on your list. Just imagine the satisfaction you will feel when your spring cleaning is complete and all your tasks have been crossed off!
Declutter your mind!
As you are refreshing your physical surroundings and getting ready for spring, take some time to apply Kondo’s core principle of eliminating any and all items that don’t spark joy to your mental and emotional space as well. If it’s not actively making you happy, thank it for its time and say your goodbyes. Yes, that’s right. Your newfound cleaning and organizing habits can help refresh your mind too.
That may seem like an abstract concept and may not come naturally to you, but that’s okay. It’s a bit more difficult to pinpoint thoughts and goals that might not be sparking joy than a stray t-shirt or pair of pumps. But, just because they aren’t sitting in a pile on the floor, doesn’t mean they aren’t cluttering your world just as much.
One easy way to start spring cleaning your head is to consolidate your scheduling. Most people have to-do lists, paper planners, digital calendars and more spread all around the house and office. You can keep track of all these important goings-on in one pretty and useful place by using Artful Agenda. I made this digital calendar to fit in with modern life without sacrificing the creative touches I love in a paper planner or journal.
Take some time to dream big!
Now that both your home and schedule are neat and tidy, it’s time to think big picture and move on to dreams and goals. There’s no reason goals have to be relegated to New Year’s resolutions. Spring is a time of renewal and growth, so why not start now?
There’s a place to store and work toward these new and updated goals in Artful Agenda too. Plus, you can set them for the week or month depending on how much time you think you need to knock them out.
Didn’t accomplish that goal or task when you hoped to? No worries! Go ahead and hit the snooze button. It’s built into the program for a reason, and it’s an important feature that’s totally okay to use. Taking a breather to recharge can be just what you need to regroup and work toward those well-thought-out goals.
It’s also the perfect time to update the cover of your Artful Agenda to a pretty spring pattern. Transitioning to the new season is as easy as swapping glitter for petals.
Now only your joy-giving thoughts and habits remain, leaving you inspired, motivated, and streamlined— ready to take on the world, or at least your immaculately organized Artful Agenda schedule.
Haven’t started using Artful Agenda yet?
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