Is your excitement for the coming of spring dampened not only by “April showers that bring May flowers” but also by
the annual tradition of doing a good “Spring Clean”? I don’t know about you but I am not a fan. And talk of it is everywhere! I could barely believe it when I settled in to read my daily email from Vogue and one of the articles was on Spring Cleaning!
But you can do it! Here is what you need to know:
- Stop dreading it! It will not make it go away; dreading it will just add to the agony. A secret of life is to get on with what needs to be done and then it will be done that much faster.
- Make your list! Alright, “the list” is my go-to. I admit it. But it is not just the satisfaction of scratching things off the list, although that is pretty great! Gosh I love it. It also helps you get organised and focused which increases your likelihood of seeing things through to completion.
- Pick a room, any room! Or a type of task. By going after your cleaning in some kind of order, you can more easily break it up over several weeks in a coordinated fashion. It also helps break the cleaning up into bite-sized pieces.
- Good enough is good enough! You want to do it properly but you don’t need to be a perfectionist. What is that expression? Perfect is the enemy of done. It can help to set time limits. 45 minutes to clean out the fridge. Two hours to clean your closet. I call them “speed exercises” but really that just means it is done and better yet, in time for me to watch some TV!
- Make it easy on yourself! I have a friend whose kitchen is always a mess: the stacks of dirty dishes with food that looks cemented-on is overwhelming. Whilst I always try to do dishes right away, sometimes you have to come back to it. In those instances, stack the dishes neatly in the sink, squirt some dish soap and run the hot water. When you return to the task, the job is almost done!
Look for ways to apply this across all aspects of your cleaning. For example, get rid of stuff you don’t need (or equally important, don’t use!) throughout the year rather than leaving it for an annual spring clean. And take good habits, like keeping surfaces clutter free…it will make your job easier for the next big cleaning!
- Learn from others! You would not believe the inventive ways people have found to short circuit cleaning jobs; just google it!
Oops! Don’t forget that Spring Cleaning does not restrict itself to the indoors! You need to get out to the garden and pick-up winter debris and oh, so much more. But really, that is a reward. Just think of the sunshine on your face!
And do not worry. You do not have to carry the burden alone! Spring into action and find some help with your house cleaning on SOSgarde! SOSgarde.ca is a Canadian portal designed to help you find local caregivers in your area, easily and quickly. The caregiver (or housekeeper!) who is right for your family is only a click away.