Five ways to kick-start your spring clean

Spring is the perfect time to cut the clutter, banish the grime, and clean up the environment you live in.

This year especially, as we’re anticipating life slowly returning to ‘normal’, why not dedicate time now to completing jobs you’ve been putting off for the whole of lockdown – yes, we know your secrets – so when we’re allowed out, you can go about looking smug, knowing your Spring clean 2021 is completed!

Here are a few tips about how you can spruce up and Spring clean your home, office (or indeed home-office), street, and other local areas to keep your environments looking their best:

1. Go on a litter pick walk

   Head outside for some fresh air and exercise but why not take a bin bag and plastic gloves or a litter picker with you to make it more productive? Decide on a route and pick up any litter you see on the way until the bag is full. Not only does litter look unpleasant, but it can also be extremely dangerous for wildlife, their health and habitats. It has also been known to affect the value of properties in areas where there is a real litter problem.

2. Give yourself 10-minute challenges

   How often have you told yourself that a job really needs doing but you just don’t have time to spare? Why not set a timer, for 10 or 20 minutes and for that time, focus on short bursts of activity to make a start on those tasks you’ve been putting off? This could be pulling up weeds or hacking back the shrubbery in your garden, sorting through piles of laundry or clearing out a cupboard. You may find that once your 10 minutes are up, you feel motivated enough to keep going until you're finished – and always remember to treat yourself at the end! It makes it even more worth doing!

3. Sort out your clutter

   Tidying up your neighbourhood is important, but make sure you don’t neglect the home you live in. Did you know, mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression can be exacerbated by spending time in a cluttered, messy and disorganised environment?
   
   So not to overwhelm yourself, we recommend tackling one room at a time! Then create three piles; the first – what you want to keep, the second, what you want to throw or recycle, and the third, what you’d like to give away to charity or sell.
   
   If there are any items you’re not sure about, pack them away and put them into storage and see if you can live without them. If you miss them after a month or two, get them back out of storage and reintroduce them to your home. Self-storage is also a great option for keeping family heirlooms and treasures you can’t bear to part with safe and secure if you’re struggling for space in your property.

4. Clear your desk

   Dirty desks are bad for your health but head into any work environment or home office set-up and you’ll see that many workers are surrounded by clutter and mess as they work. Research in 2018 found the average desk contained 400 times more germs than a toilet seat, putting the health of workers at risk.  Make an effort to clean up your desk and sort through any piles of paperwork at the end of every week. Having space to work will help focus your mind, increase productivity, and make the start of the working week easier to face.
   
   It is also more important than ever to regularly anti-bac your hands and surfaces, particularly any touchpoints which are accessible to others such as bin lids, door handles, kettles and bannisters/railings. Always make sure you have your anti-bac hand gel, wipes and spray to hand to reduce the risk of contamination. And don’t forget to clean your keyboard which on average contain 3,295 germs per square inch.

5. Shred your paperwork

   Paperless billing and online statements mean that we no longer get reams of paper through our letterboxes every day and therefore don’t have as much paperwork piling up around the house or office. But most people will still have boxes and cupboards full of paperwork from years ago that they no longer need.
   
   Set aside some time to go through your paperwork, shredding anything that is now irrelevant. Don’t hang on to instructions for appliances you have replaced or bills for a property you no longer live in. As a general rule, you should keep any financial paperwork like bills or bank statements for at least two years. For things like payslips and P45s, keep hold of them for two years after the end of the tax year they relate to. Otherwise, only keep important paperwork like birth certificates, marriage certificates and passports, details of policies or accounts which are still active and information that you may need to access again in the future.
   
   Remember, shredded paper isn't recyclable, however, you can donate to some animal charities and vets to use as bedding – check with them first beforehand to save any unnecessary journeys.

These are just a few ways you can give your environments a spring clean so you’re de-cluttered, organised and focused and ready to take on the world when allowed to do so!