This post includes affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase through one of these links.

If you are anything like me, you tend to procrastinate/avoid cleaning. Yet, “Spring Cleaning” is a thing. 

Picture your perfect spring day. What activities would that include?

🌸A picnic with your besties?

🌸Spending the day outside enjoying the warm weather?

🌸A nature walk to appreciate the beautiful spring foliage?

Do you picture cleaning?

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-spray-bottle-4107120/

I’m not going to lie to you. I was very hesitant to write about spring cleaning, because I knew writing this post meant I would have to actually show up and do some spring cleaning. My inner toddler is not thrilled about that. 

I want my content to be 100% genuine and relatable, which is why I am going to come out and say that I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning. There are so many other activities I would rather do. Thinking about cleaning makes me feel overwhelmed, but I also want the benefits of having a clean space.

Clearly, avoiding cleaning conflicts with my desire to have a tidy and organized home. So, I set out to find some strategies to make this (seemingly) boring task more manageable.

I know that if I can make cleaning feel easier and less time-consuming, then I’ll be more likely to actually do it.

I wanted to share these tips so that you can also feel more motivated to do your spring cleaning!

That Girl Spring Cleaning Tips (Tips for People Who Feel Unmotivated to Clean)

Break Your Cleaning Down Into the Smallest Possible Steps

Identifying the smallest steps you can make towards accomplishing something is one of the best ways to start and complete daunting tasks. If you focus on larger tasks that feel challenging, 

such as “clean your room,” you will likely want to avoid that. 

It is much easier to get yourself to start a small, simple task, 

such as “re-organize one drawer.”

This method works for any task, and works especially well for cleaning. I’m going to walk you through a plan to systematically break down your spring cleaning into bite-sized pieces.

Clean a Little Bit at a Time

Don’t fall into the trap I used to fall into and think you need to set aside hours to clean effectively. Because if you are anything like me, you will not set aside that dedicated cleaning time and nothing will get done!

Fortunately, I realized this is a false belief. I don’t need to give up days or even hours to properly clean my space. Cleaning just a little bit at a time allows me to get my space in order without feeling like I’m spending a lot of time or energy.

For example, if you pick a different area to tidy each day, by the end of the week, you will have a much cleaner space!

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-brush-on-brown-wooden-table-4108711/

Go Room By Room

This is my plan for systematically cleaning each area of my house. You can use this list to inspire your own spring cleaning plan.

Spring Cleaning Plan: Bedroom

◇Go through your drawers

◇Go through your closet

◇Get rid of clothes that don’t serve you 

Give away any clothes that either don’t fit or that you don’t wear.

Photo by Pille R. Priske on Unsplash

Spring Cleaning Plan: Bathroom

◇Wipe surfaces and walls

◇Clean floor

◇Clean Mirror

◇Clean sink

◇Clean shower/tub

◇Clean toilet

◇Get rid of expired medication, makeup, and body products

It’s easy to forget about expired medication and makeup/self-care products. Go through all your drawers and make sure to get rid of any old products.

How to Safely Dispose of Old Medication

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Spring Cleaning Plan: Kitchen

⬦Wipe counters

⬦Clean oven

⬦Sweep

⬦Swiffer

⬦Clean electric tea kettle

⬦Clean fridge/freezer

⬦Clean microwave

⬦Get rid of old food

I highly encourage you to get rid of anything you don’t realistically think you will eat. I say this as someone with a habit of holding onto non-perishable items for too long because I feel guilty about food waste. We all should do our best to avoid wasting food when possible, but it happens sometimes. That is okay! You don’t need to hold onto that old package of pasta you don’t actually want to eat (I say mostly for my own benefit)!

Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash

Living Room

⬦Sweep

⬦Swiffer

⬦Wash blankets

⬦Wash couch cover

⬦Declutter

⬦Organize storage closet

Do a Digital Declutter

⬦Go through your downloads

Delete anything you don’t need.

⬦Go through your photos

Delete random photos you don’t want. 

For extreme organization, you can organize your photos into separate folders, making it easier to find photos when you need them!

⬦Go through your notes app

Delete those random notes you don’t need anymore.

⬦Go through your contacts

Delete anyone that is no longer part of your life.

⬦Delete apps you don’t use

⬦Organize your inbox

Finally delete all those old, unread emails. 

⬦Unfollow anyone you don’t want to follow on social media

Photo by Good Soul Shop on Unsplash

Make Cleaning Part of Your Routine

Make small cleaning actions part of your daily routine. This will help you keep things in order, so your space doesn’t get overwhelmingly messy in the first place!

For example, when I’m making breakfast, I’ll wipe down the counters and sweep the floor while waiting for the toaster or coffee maker. 

Another helpful tip is to declutter by putting away a few items at a time whenever you walk into a room, instead of trying to clean everything at once.

Keeping with my kitchen example, I’ll put away a few clean dishes every time I walk into the kitchen, instead of unloading the whole dishwasher at once.

These small actions make cleaning feel much more manageable. This approach helps me clean up without feeling overwhelmed.

Gamify Your Spring Cleaning With Notion

Another helpful way to motivate yourself to clean is to gamify your spring cleaning. Ask yourself what you can do to make cleaning more fun. For example, you can listen to music, an audiobook, or a podcast while cleaning. Or play your favorite show or movie in the background.

Add Dopamine to Your Spring Cleaning

Giving yourself a dopamine boost can make you more likely to accomplish your cleaning goals. I like to do this by using Notion to plan my spring cleaning. Notion is an all-in-one productivity and planning tool, and my favorite organization app. I love that you can customize premade templates to create visually aesthetic projects (no coding skills necessary).

Making Notion projects is so much fun and makes my little Type A brain happy. Plus, I find that using Notion makes me feel more motivated to actually complete my to-do list and get the dopamine hit that comes with marking a task complete.

Sign up for Notion!

Give Yourself an Incentive to Clean

In addition to using a fun productivity app, you can use external motivation to inspire your spring cleaning. Give yourself a small, but meaningful incentive, like a trip to your favorite cafe/restaurant or a new beauty product, to reward yourself for your hard work!

Look at Inspirational Spring Cleaning Content

Consume content that makes you feel motivated to clean (like, hopefully this blog post). You might already know of some creators that inspire you to get your life in order. If not, you can try searching for “Spring Cleaning Inspiration” on YouTube/TikTok/Instagram/Pinterest (your social media platform of choice).

Use Body-Doubling for Accountability

Body Doubling is when you have another person present to help motivate you to accomplish a task. Having another person involved can make you feel an increased sense of accountability. Accountability is helpful for driving you to complete tasks. 

While this tool is often used to help individuals with ADHD, I think body doubling is useful for anyone!

For example, you might call or video chat a friend or family member, let them know your spring cleaning goal, and keep them on the phone while you clean. 

Another option is to look up “Clean With Me” YouTube videos. Having someone cleaning alongside you can help you feel more inspired, even if it is just through a video.

Ready to accomplish your spring cleaning goals with more ease and less stress? Start by incorporating these strategies right now. Before you know it, you can make a clean and organized home your reality, even if you feel unmotivated to clean. 

I hope these tips help you! 

Leave a comment to let me know how these tips work for you! And make sure to share if you have your own helpful cleaning tips! My intention is to create a supportive community where we lift each other up and share helpful resources and advice!

And make sure to follow me on social media for more positive and realistic self-improvement inspiration. My goal is to help you become the best version of yourself by sharing the tips that help me on my journey. And, if you haven’t already, remember to sign up for my email list for notifications of new blog posts with tips to help you live your best life!

Transform your space this spring, and get one step closer to living your best life!

Featured Image: Photo by Precious Plastic Melbourne on Unsplash