How To Kick-Start Your Spring Cleaning | Live Lovely

Spring is finally here and change is in the air. Our friends and peers are Spring cleaning, the weather is getting slightly warmer (some days more so than others) and we’re dreaming of the warmer days when we can open the windows and let in the fresh air. But getting started with Spring cleaning is another story. The kitchen needs a good scrub down and while you’re at it, so do the windows, the floors, the bathroom, and a good dusting is in order. Laundry has piled up, paper clutter is on the kitchen table, and you also need to declutter that closet. It can be overwhelming. Where do you start? For that I have just one suggestion:

Clean your bedroom. 

As kids and teens we probably heard this one a lot, but in our case, it is the perfect place to start. Our bedrooms are our sanctuaries. They’re supposed to be the calm personal spaces we can always turn to for relaxation and a good nights rest. Yet, our bedrooms are often where we dump our dirty clothes, piles of paper, and miscellaneous crafts and supplies that we don’t know what to do with. Starting with your bedroom is a good place to begin because it is usually one of the easier rooms to clean and it has a lasting impact on how you feel when it is clutter free. It just feels good to rest easy in a clean room and to wake up without clutter hanging over your head first thing in the morning. When you finish this room you will feel more accomplished, relaxed, and motivated to start cleaning in other rooms and areas of your home. 

The outcome of this kick-start is you should have a bedroom where all of your clothes are put away in their rightful homes along with any accessories and personal belongings. Your floor should be clear of clutter and so should your dresser tops and night stand. You want the outcome to be a clear and polished room that emits feelings of comfort and coziness. 

Step One: Make your bed. It takes less than a minute to do this task every morning, yet many of us leave it undone in our rush to get out and start the day. Making your bed is the number one thing that will instantaneously make our bedrooms look 50% cleaner. It really works. Once you get this out of the way, I tend to use my bed as a big shelf or table for sorting clothes and miscellaneous items. Make sure to start the habit of making your bed every morning fi you don’t do so already. 

Step Two: Start with all of your laundry. Sort all of the dirty clothes into a laundry basket to be taken care of then move onto folding and hanging clean clothing. All clothing should have a specific home. If they do not have one, you will have to make one. This can be done by donating items to make more space or reorganizing what you already have. Make sure to evaluate the best way to use the space you have efficiently. 

Step Three: Clear off all surfaces. Every single one. Walk around the room taking EVERYTHING off every dresser, window sill, night stand, bookshelf, etc. Don’t forget that also includes your floor, which is the largest surface in your room. Again, I would put everything on the bed so all of your stuff is in reach to sort. Wipe down all of these surfaces to remove dust and them put back only what you dearly want displayed. Everything else will need to be decluttered: trash, donate, or to put away in its rightful home. 

Step Four: Now that your floor is nice and object-free, it is time to vacuum. Vacuuming is another nifty way of making a room look so much cleaner with very little effort. 

Step Five: Clear your closet. I will not tell you how to do this exactly as everyone has their own way, however, I will mention that the way that works best for me is to remove absolutely everything from the closet (you’ve guessed it: place it all on the bed) so you can see what you have to work with. You may have seen this tip if you’re familiar with the Marie Kondo method of tidying, however, I have been doing this since I was a kid. It has always been easier for me to put everything I need to go through in one spot and to keep it within easy reach to sort.

Now you need to evaluate everything you have put together. Do you have too much stuff? Are things in the closet that do not belong there? Do you have proper storage solutions like a pole to hang your clothes or a shelf for shoes? This part of the project can take you an hour or even a whole day. My one recommendation is to be thorough and to do it well so you don’t go back to another mess after just a day or two. You want to create a system that works, not a process of shoving everything back in the closet and hoping for the best. 

Step Six: The hard part is over. Now that your closet is clear your dressers should be a breeze. Empty and go through every drawer, shelf, and cubby in your bedroom. Donate what you no longer need and fold everything neatly to put back. I have found that the Marie Kondo method of holding and putting shirts and items in drawers upright not only makes more space and allows you to see everything you’re looking for, but it also keeps tidy and is simple to keep up without having to work hard at it. 

Step Seven: What is under the bed? If you don’t even know the answer to that question, it is time to find out. Pull everything out and sort: trash, donate, put away. But before you put everything back (neatly and where it belongs), make sure to vacuum out the dust bunnies. 

Step Eight: Congratulations; you’ve decluttered and cleaned! Your bed is made, your clothes and all of your belongings are put away in their proper homes and you have a clear and calm space. Now it is time to make your room cozy. Decorate with items that you already own: artwork that you could display, frame a favorite photo, and neatly display your favorite trinkets. Now that your favorite items are no longer stashed in some box under the bed you can proudly display them. 

If you’re looking for simple ways to polish your bedroom there are a few things you can do on a small budget and without adding too much to the clutter: add a plant to purify the air and bring some outdoors inside, hang a mirror to brighten a room and add depth to a small space, and cozy up your bed and seating area with comfy pillows and throw blankets. You can also ditch your ugly hamper and switch it out for a lovely basket. 

Share this post with your friends who are starting their own Spring cleaning journey this year. Happy cleaning!