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Spring Clean

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris

There is a reason why “Spring Cleaning” has been a habit around for centuries. Whether it’s your desk in work or your entire house, it helps us clear out and prepare both our mind and body for the summer.

One nice thing you can do for yourself to celebrate the new spring season is to fully open all windows in your house and/or the office and simply allow a free flow of fresh air. Some rooms with no plants and little air movement can hold high concentrations of CO2 which is why we feel so fatigued at times when we’re in them. A blast of fresh air will ensure good oxygen circulation which in turn will improve mental focus, motivation and blood circulation. Take a moment and be mindful of the that fresh feeling of new air on your skin. Feel its temperature. Try and imagine that new, clean oxygen entering your lungs and bringing new life and energy to your whole body.

Now, how about a bit of spring de-cluttering? De-cluttering not only frees up space in the home and office, it also makes for a mental re-boot. Our subconscious is aware when we are surrounded by familiar, often useless, objects and is stimulated when these are moved or replaced. The whole act of de-cluttering and spring cleaning can involve anything from changing furniture positions to boxing up and clearing out items we don’t need anymore. The very exercise of actively doing this is a well aired space also kick starts the metabolism. When we are done we are left feeling motivated to work on fresh ideas and we have freshened up our environment. Happy days!

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO SET YOU UP FOR DE-CLUTTERING SUCCESS!

• Assess the mess and make a plan – Take just one room, desk or area that you would like to see uncluttered. Pick an amount of time you would like to spend on this job. So if you only want to send 2 hours decluttering then only pick one section of a room to do. If you have a lot of de-cluttering to do, then spread it out over a few days.
• Write it down – making a written plan can be very helpful because it can be changed and reviewed as you go on. It also helps you to see things broken down. So, plan room by room or cupboard by cupboard if you have to. It’s your plan so you can do as much or as little as you like. Just set out your de- cluttering goal and then hit it!
• Enjoy the Process – Keep in mind that this is about the process rather than about winning medals for sorting the most stuff out. Never do more than you set out to do.
• Log what you have done. Knock off. And then close door.
• Finish, Reflect and Apply – Every time you reach one of your de-cluttering goals give yourself a big round of applause, a hug and tell yourself how great you are. Reflect on what you have achieved and what you did to achieve it.
• Lessons for the future – Over the next few days look over your plans and how they worked out. See where it was of benefit and where it wasn’t to break these jobs down and to get them done bit by bit. You can apply the same approach to Head Clutter. By this we mean all those other jobs and things that you have been putting off that have been niggling away at you over time. Just write them all down. Break them down into small steps and then do one step at a time.

Mark Tolan
BSc, BA, MBPsS, IACP (Student Member)
Assistant Psychologist