Spring Cleaning, Sanitizers, and Sanity

As so many of us are now in social isolation in an attempt to “flatten the curve” of Covid-19, being cooped up in the same home all day can feel a bit stifling. I always feel especially antsy to get outside and socialize when the sun shines and the weather warms up. But this year is different and requires a new approach.

Once the novelty of binge watching and procrastibaking wears off, this could be a good opportunity to do some spring cleaning and sanitizing. Start chipping away at all those annoying, nagging piles of stuff. Go through your closets, weed out the books you know you will never read, and assess your junk drawer(s). (Note: I love a good junk drawer or three, but it’s a good idea to go through them every once in a while. Read more here.)

I find purging can be a great way to work through many emotions that might be bottled up such as anger, angst, frustration, loneliness, depression, etc. Cleaning after a purge can be a very fruitful and productive way to use up all the anxious energy generated worrying about the virus and the impacts.

Plus, once you purge some stuff, it’ll be easier to establish a quick and easy sanitizing process for the few times you venture out of your house.

All of these things can help you stay sane when you’re in the same place for extended periods of time. If nothing else, you can feel some satisfaction by crossing a few annoying “to-dos” off your list. Or maybe even purge enough stuff that drawers close again. Or find it easier to locate what you need, when you need it.

Use the time now to make space for all the things you want once we can go out again. This applies to electronic spaces, too.

As always, The Deletist has some tips to get started.

1. Start with something easy – go for the quick wins to build confidence and maintain motivation.
2. Be elite and delete, save strategically. Define your criteria for what to save/keep and use that to guide you through your purging projects.
3. If you’re a procrastibaker, make something delicious to munch on while you work.

For more tips and tricks, see my other blogs posts on Spring Cleaning, Productivity, or Deletion. Or order The Art of Making Space: Choosing Quality Over Quantity.