From Tired to Energized: Spring Cleaning for Your Body and Mind
We often hear that spring brings a time of energy and joy where we get to do fun outdoor activities, see loved ones, and have all this energy to spring clean the entire house. That all sounds nice but for many spring also brings a time of end of the school year, swapping out winter and summer clothes, planning vacations, and still trying to catch up on getting energy from the draining winter. Just because it’s a new season doesn’t always fix the problems of being tired and overwhelmed. Whether it's due to stress, change in sleeping habits, or simply feeling burned out, the desire for more energy is a common one at this time of year.
Fortunately, there are plenty of simple and effective ways to boost your energy levels this spring, allowing you to fully embrace all the season has to offer!
While spring cleaning in the traditional sense is a great tool that can help with decreasing mental clutter, it isn’t the only way we can get a fresh start or increase energy. (However, we are going to start there, so jump ahead if you know this section isn’t for you!)
How does spring cleaning help the mind and body?
Traditional spring cleaning can be a powerful tool for SOME people to help get organized, decrease mental clutter, get motivation, and get a sense of hope from a fresh start. Key word, SOME PEOPLE. The thought of spring cleaning may create more stress for some people, so if that’s you, don’t exit the browser just yet, we have some great tools that don’t involve taking out all your tupperware and putting them into cute boxes and baskets.
For the folks who get filled up by organizing, this section is for you!
I probably don’t have to tell you how to spring clean your house because if you’re like me, you’ve watched the Home Edit and read Marie Kondo and know the how tos. But we want to make sure your place isn’t just functioning in the space, but it also serves your mental wellbeing.
Organizing is a great tool to use for motivation because it can be broken down into small steps and many of us get a small burst of dopamine when we cross something off our to-do list. Spring cleaning can be broken down by a single drawer, cabinet, corner, item, etc. It doesn’t have to be completed in a certain time frame so you can do what is best for you. Often, if we start with one small task, that can build up motivation to keep going and do several small tasks.
REMINDER- break it down into SMALL steps. Don’t say- “I will organize my whole closet” because yikes that sounds overwhelming and time consuming and I have no idea where I would start. You can break that task down into several small steps that can be tackled a lot easier like
sort through jeans
clean 1 drawer
organize 1 shelf
find storage for scarves
etc.
Why does this matter?
We know that for many people, physical clutter is mental clutter. Many people accumulate stuff year round and it builds up gradually until we start to get overwhelmed. By getting rid of or organizing stuff that is causing distress, this can free up space in your brain. Enjoy that movie or TV show rather than scanning the living room and noticing what is out of place.
Spring cleaning also creates routines!
Even if a seasonally routine, it helps takes mental stress off of figuring out when things need to be done. You can create daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally, or even yearly cleaning plans. Instead of thinking every week when you will get to dusting or going through old paperwork, create a routine and your brain doesn’t have to worry about it every day! Remember-these routines are meant to serve you and make sense for you not necessarily what makes sense for the families in Good Housekeeping magazines. These routines can be adjusted and modified whenever you need. You can write them down, put them on a calendars, follow a list online, or any other way that makes sense for your brain!
Spring cleaning for the mind!
If organizing or decluttering adds stress to your life- ignore the last past and this section is for you!
For starters, mental clutter is a real thing. I used to try to manage all my to-dos, replay the day, and worry about upcoming things ALL THE TIME. That was mentally exhausting. Now, I found strategies to help with the mental clutter.
My personal fave, and maybe an easier one to start with is by practicing brain dumps.
These can be super personalized and tailored for what works best for you but in a nutshell a brain dump is where you put all the stuff floating around in your head onto a piece of paper. You can find cute brain dump worksheets online that have different categories. You can just bullet point ideas that come to you. You can set a timer or go at your own pace. You can write to dos, stressors, worries, guilt, events, ideas, etc. The possibilities are endless. When I first started, I needed more structure with brain dumps so I used worksheets I found online with different categories such as work, family, cleaning, personal, friends, etc. Over time, I was able to write my own categories and now I don’t need the structure and just bullet point whatever comes to my head that day.
My favorite is to do this before bed. For many people, these thoughts gets pushed aside during a busy day but then come flooding when you get ready for bed or are trying to sleep. This helps empty the brain so you don’t have to worry about it before bed.
(p.s. If writing isn’t your thing, I have had people use a personal email, their notes app, talk to text, etc. Get creative and find what works best for you!)
Another spring cleaning for the mind can be to get outside!
So much of our day to day stuff is inside at work or the responsibilities at home. Our mind can benefit from being outside and getting Vitamin D, fresh air, and seeing different things outside of the 4 walls we spend most of the day.
Simply sitting outside can be great for the mind, but if you want additional ideas for how to care for your mind in the spring, here are some of my fave suggestions!
Go for a short walk
Do a nature scavenger hunt
Practice deep breathing
Draw or paint a nature scene
Practice using all 5 senses outsides
Watch for wildlife
Look at the flowers
Garden
Go to a park
Sit near a window
Have a picnic
All of these can help our mind feel connected to nature and can help our mental health.
These ideas can help create motivation, increase our energy, help break up a busy day, and even help us sleep better. YES PLEASE!!
The best part of all of these tools are that you can adapt them to work best for you. Play around and try a few out and make any changes you need to to make them work for your life!
Most of these tools, if not all of them, can also be used with others. You can include your kids, your partner, your friends, coworkers, etc on this journey to get outside and take care of your mental health.
In fact, there is so much research about nature, mental health, and physical health- I have started a walk and talk therapy service that you can learn about HERE!
I hope your spring is full of joy!
Take care of yourself,
Alicia Johnson
Online therapist in Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Florida. Schedule a free consultation for therapy HERE!
