It’s that time of year again- allergies popping up, lingering snowstorms, and midterms—that’s right, spring break is coming and spring break means spring cleaning… at least for me. I find cleaning quite relaxing so for me the week of midterms and during spring break is often spent cleaning to relax. I’ve accumulated some tips to make cleaning easier and more fun so keep reading to find out my secrets!
1. Tidy up.
I know when we’re stressed it’s easy to let things get messy and piled up. My desk chair and the ottoman under my bed in my dorm get piled with clothes, assignments, and bags of things to be put away and I always swear I’ll do it once I’m done studying or binging Netflix. Naturally, that never gets done as I always find something that needs to be done first (Reign isn’t going to watch itself). But, the first thing I do as part of my cleaning routine is sorting through the piles putting things where they belong whether it’s on my desk, in my laundry, or in the trash. It instantly makes everything seem cleaner and it’s only a small thing.
2. Do your laundry.
When your laundry basket is shoved in your closet behind a closed door, it’s easy to ignore the ever-growing pile until you run out of socks or underwear, but when you’re trying to pack for your spring break trip only to find your favorite shirt is at the bottom of your dirty clothes, it’s very frustrating. I try to do my laundry once a week and I happen to find folding laundry very relaxing, but it’s not the first thing on my mind when midterms and vacation are on the horizon. But, just like tidying up, it’s easy to do- you just throw it in the machine and forget about it for an hour, fold it and put it away, and it’s all done. It may seem annoying at the time, but when you can easily find what you need to take home or wherever you’re going, you’ll thank yourself.
3. Organize your desk.
I love being able to go back to my dorm after any break and have everything neat and ready for me, rather than leaving a mess on my desk and my bed to be dealt with when I arrive refreshed from vacation. It’s not fun getting off a bus and wanting to lay in bed only to find three textbooks, a jacket, and a pile of clothes to be hung in the way of your leisure time. So, organize your desk before you leave—put away your books, organize your papers, and leave yourself a nice clean slate to come home to when you return to school.
4. Make lists.
This is probably my top tip for cleaning or for getting things done in general because it holds you accountable. At the beginning of my day or my cleaning period, I make a list either on my phone, my computer, or a piece of paper of all the things I want to get done. Today, for instance, I wanted to do laundry, vacuum, put away the clothes I had brought home from school that would be staying at home, and go through all of my mail. I try not to make mental lists because I find having things written down really holds you accountable and if nothing else it guilts me into getting things done.
5. Vacuum.
Just like making your bed and tidying up can make a huge difference even though it’s a small task, so does vacuuming. It instantly makes a room look cleaner and it feels good to have a freshly vacuumed fluffy rug under your feet. Once again it’s a simple thing to check off the list and is a good way to either start your cleaning because it gets you going, or to end your cleaning because it can wind things down.
6. Have an organization system.
Whether it’s plastic bins, pretty baskets, or just how you organize your socks, have a system for how you organize things. It makes the cleaning process quicker and easier when you know where everything goes and don’t have to stress about finding a place for things. I’m one of those people who is crazy organized and has bins for everything, but even something as simple as delegating one drawer to tops and one to bottoms can make cleaning less stressful and make you less likely to avoid it.
7. Have plenty of supplies on hand.
The last thing you wanna do is finally get into the cleaning groove only to find out you’re out of supplies. At both my dorm and at home we always have gloves, sponges, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, Lysol, and Clorox wipes under our sink so we can always clean whatever messes are around. I also always keep a stock of trash bags in my room and when things start to get low I make a note to go buy some at Target. While it’s not as bad as not having any to start with, running out of cleaning products in the middle of cleaning is frustrating as well.
8. Have fun with it!
I know not everyone is like me and enjoys cleaning, but it’s easy to make it fun. Put on some music while you’re folding laundry or watch some Netflix when you’re tidying up (I always play Friends in the background since its kind of mindless entertainment). If you’re going to do laundry let your roommate know and see if they wanna do it too so you can complain about how much it costs together. It can seem like a drag, but it’s easy to make it a relatively enjoyable experience.
Whether you split it into little increments or get it done in one swoop, cleaning is a necessary part of living on your own and with the change of seasons, it’s nice to make sure everything is fresh. Change your sheets, buy a plant, and clean out your fridge. All of these things are small things but they add up to make your room feel clean and inviting. I love nothing more than coming home to a made bed and a clean desk so I can relax without a messy room adding to the stress I have from school. I hope you all had a great spring break and that this helps you get motivated to clean up and freshen everything for spring!
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