A Simpler Motherhood

Spring Cleaning

Spring has sprung. It’s here, friends. The rain (and sometimes snow) is falling, it’s not getting dark at 5 p.m., and the birds are making all sorts of racket in the early morning hours. It’s what we have been waiting on these past few months and thank heavens it’s here when we are all at home.

Every year I try and choose a few Spring Cleaning tasks to tackle to spring us into the new season. (Not to be confused with Spring Tasks.) I’m sure you’re not, but if you have ever wondered why Spring Cleaning is a thing, think back to Little House on the Prairie days. All winter long they would sit in a boarded up house, fire blazing, getting soot and ash and gunk all over themselves. Come spring the women couldn’t take it anymore and cleaned every surface, every textile, every thing to get rid of the grime. We have held onto the Spring Cleaning tradition 150 years later and I would argue it’s a good one to keep.

Although we don’t have much soot or ash to deal with in the 21st century, there are still things that go undone all winter long. Maybe it’s because we don’t have the energy to do it thanks to the limited sunshine and seemingly unlimited darkness or maybe it’s because we have a holiday hangover. Whatever the reason, spring usually comes with a bit of extra energy for Spring Cleaning. And this year we all have a bit more time at home. I want to share with you a process I am trying this year to get some Spring Cleaning tasks completed. Here we go…

Do a Walk Through

This is the easiest and most straightforward step. Walk through your home and take inventory on what is driving you crazy room by room. Is it the dirty baseboards? The disheveled closet? The cobwebs in the corners? Go room by room and write down a list of things driving you bonkers.

Choose your Priorities

Look at the list you made and choose three things to complete. These are the top three things getting under your skin. When I did a walk through the three things I decided to tackle were:

  1. Change the felt no scratch sliders on the kitchen island chairs. (They have been collecting crumbs and debris and are driving me bananas.)
  2. Purge and organize the homeschool closet.
  3. Wipe down two walls that endure dirty hands on the daily.

Gather Supplies

Looking at the three things you have prioritized, gather the supplies needed. You may or may not need to order a few things. For me, I needed to purchase new chair protectors and Magic Erasers to wipe down walls.

Think about cleaning supplies, organizing supplies, and any extra things you might need. Your cleaning motivation can dissipate quickly if you don’t have the supplies on hand. Before you begin, make sure you are prepared.

Rally the Troops

If you have kids and a husband who can help, now is the time to rally the troops for Spring Cleaning. Share the list of priorities and specific tasks that need to be completed. Let your people choose a task or tasks they want to complete. If you want to up the ante, either offer a reward at the end or money for each task. My kids are extremely motivated by dollar bills, so I will use this to my advantage during Spring Cleaning. I will give specific tasks a dollar amount and maybe even have a cookie and ice cream party when all the tasks are completed.

Just Do It

Now is the time to get moving. If you don’t have time to complete in the course of a weekend, put it on your calendar to complete the tasks when you have the time. For me, spending a week doing the work leaves me feeling accomplished and gets. it. done and out of my mind. All of us are different, so do what works for your personality and sanity.

Grace and Celebrate

Maybe you got all you wanted done. Yay you! Maybe you didn’t. Still…yay you! Any amount of time spent knocking out Spring Cleaning tasks is worthwhile. If you didn’t get everything done #grace and celebrate what you did achieve. If you knocked it out of the park, make cookies and watch a movie to celebrate. I whole heartedly believe in celebration and scrubbing all the dirty fingerprints off my walls is cause for celebration.

What Spring Cleaning tasks will you get to this spring?