Sure, you’ve cleaned your closets out to celebrate the spring equinox, but have you ever done some self-care spring cleaning? This is the only spring cleaning you need to do.

Original photo byAnnie Spratt

For me, it’s hard to get jazzed up about cleaning. Cleaning sucks, and organizing is a pain. I hate purchasing cleaning products, or using my most precious resource — time — to complete cleaning based tasks.

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But, I also know that it makes me happier when I do it. Not like, a lot happier. But having an organized home makes me a more productive person. And it’s nice to know that you only have only 20 minutes of cleaning to do should someone text you to let you know that they’re coming over.

My list of self-care spring cleaning stuff isn’t universal. In fact, for some of you, this may be your Tuesday cleaning. But this is what works for me right now for this season of life.

Self-Care Spring Cleaning To Do List

001: Buy useful organizers.

Bed Bath and Beyond is mostly a nightmare store for me. I don’t know if I have sensory processing issues or what, but seeing things piled high on shelves is too much stimulation for me. Seriously, I need a nap after every trip. And while I will acknowledge that I’ve made some good purchases there in the past, I become irate when I realize I dropped a sizable chunk of dough on something that just doesn’t work.

I’m here to say that 2018 is officially the year that we drop cheap plastic organizers and shelves. There is nothing more frustrating than buying something to organize your desk, only to realize that it just won’t work because you bought some garbage. So, this year, for spring cleaning, I’m buying useful organizers. I want to get my little bits and pieces under control. And by doing this, my desk becomes a better place to write from.

002: Set a project schedule.

I’m one of those writers who can start a project, but then I catch wind of this shiny new idea in the back of my skull, and I feel like I need to give it equal attention. And while I think it’s important to write down any idea that comes your way, new ideas definitely don’t need to have the same amount of attention as the current work in progress.

But if I write a project schedule and keep it in view, then I’m more likely to give the right amount of attention to what I’m working on. Right now, I’m trying to hardcore bash out a novel, but I’m also super in the mood to start a trilogy about space cowboys. (Yeah. Space cowboys.) So, I’ve created a schedule where I have to spend a certain amount of time working on my current W.I.P. and then I can daydream about space cowboys for a bit.

003: Sage your home.

How much bad energy have you let in your home in the past couple of seasons? And don’t even act like you haven’t. You know that winter is full of seasonal affective disorder, emotional eating, and letting tasks and chores pile up because you just don’t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with them.

While cleaning up the house is a great start, you’ve definitely got to do something with the weird energy. Push that on out, and make room for the perfectly delightful energy that spring wants to bring in. Oh, and change your air filters. Allergy season is upon us, after all, and sage can’t cleanse those terrible allergens.

004: Clear out old creative projects that just weigh on your spirit.

I did this not too long ago by getting rid of all my old notebooks, and it was one of the most freeing things I’ve done in a hot minute. We often don’t think about the psychological and emotional weight that old projects can have on us, but it’s definitely there. If you sometimes find yourself worrying about all the unfinished projects that you’ve started and how you’ll never tackle them all, it’s time to let them go. You can do this as unceremoniously as I did — by tossing them in the trash. Or, you can make it a ritual, like a funeral for all the ideas you don’t want to mess with anymore.

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What’s Your Self-Care Spring Cleaning Routine?

Are you one of those people who deep cleans more than twice a year? Do you have beautifully organized systems in your cabinets? Do you tell old creative projects to hit the road? What’s your self-care spring cleaning routine?