How to Spring Clean Your Life

The arrival of Spring brings with it a time of rebirth, change and growth, both physically and spiritually. As we say goodbye to Winter, we see nature beginning to bloom, and the world seems a little brighter once more. As nature flourishes around us, it is a perfect opportunity to take a look at our lives and see how we too can change and grow. Everybody has heard of the idea of a Spring Clean, where we take the time to fully clean and freshen up our houses, throwing away things we don’t need and getting our living spaces more organised and ready for the new season. However, have you heard of spring cleaning your life?

Similar to the traditional Spring Clean, this is simply taking some time to really pause and look at your life, and take steps to make sure that everything is as you want it to be. This includes getting organised, getting rid of things you don’t need, and setting goals that will help you flourish and be happy. Here are our tips on how to spring clean your life.

Step it up at work

We spend the majority of our time at work, so it’s important that our job makes us feel happy and fulfilled. Are you where you want to be in your career? Or could things be better? Perhaps you’ve been thinking of asking for a raise, or applying for a promotion, but have been too nervous to go for it. Or maybe you’re bored and looking for a new challenge, but haven’t got around to looking for a new job yet. Whatever will help you be happier in the workplace, now is the time to go for it.

Even if you’re perfectly content with your current role, you don’t want to get too comfortable. It’s easy to get comfortable in a job you’re good at, but comfort leads to boredom, and boredom leads to unhappiness. It’s important to keep things fresh and interesting, and that requires a new challenge from time to time.

If you’re not looking for a new role, why not ask your boss for a new, challenging project? Taking on new responsibilities and learning new skills helps you keep your mind sharp and prevents you from living on autopilot from 9-5. Your job should be rewarding, not just something you do for 8 or so hours every day that adds nothing to your life.

Reevaluate your relationships

The people we spend time with affect our lives in many ways. When we’re not at work, we’re usually spending time with our partners, families, and friends. It’s important that these relationships make us happy, so if somebody is having a negative impact on your life, it’s time to think about letting them go.

We change as we grow older and it’s inevitable that our friendships with change too. Sometimes we simply outgrow certain people and relationships, and it becomes a strain to try to hold onto something just because there is a lot of history there. It may be sad, but in these cases, it’s better to let nature take its course, and let these relationships come to their natural end.

Other relationships you should consider letting go of are any with people who bring only negativity to your life. Do you have a friend who constantly makes you feel bad about yourself? This is what’s known as a ‘toxic friendship’, and you should let that person go for the sake of your own happiness. Your time is valuable, and you should spend it with people who bring you joy and love.

Are you happy in love?

On the subject of relationships, you should take some time to focus on your love life whilst spring cleaning your life. If you’re in a relationship, ask yourself if you’re really happy. If the answer is yes, that’s great! Now ask yourself, what can you do to make it even better? How can you make yourself and your partner feel as loved and as happy as possible?

If the answer is no, it’s time to figure out why, and what to do about it. Do you need to make changes to make the relationship work better? Or is it time to decide if you want to be in the relationship at all? The decision to end a relationship is obviously a difficult and sad one, but if you’re not happy or the relationship isn’t serving you, then ending it will ultimately lead to something better, and you will thank yourself later.

Give your body a boost

Did you make a bunch of resolutions in January to eat healthier and exercise every day? Did you stick to those resolutions, or have you slid back into old habits? If so, no need to worry! Now the days are getting longer and warmer, it’s the perfect time to set new goals, and make them stick.

As well as trying to eat healthier and cut out too many snacks and takeaways, Spring is a great time to take up a new exercise routine. Figure out what your goals are, and find something to suit. Do you want to lose weight or tone up? Consider joining a gym or starting a running programme. Or, are you simply looking for a fun way to be more active? If so, consider joining an exercise class, or even a dance class. Take a friend and enjoy it together, or go solo and use it as a way to meet new people while also getting fit.

As well as diet and exercise, it’s important to remember to give your body some extra love and care occasionally. Run yourself a bath, put on a face mask, or treat yourself to a massage. And whilst you’re looking after yourself physically, remember to give yourself some mental and spiritual relaxation too. Take some time for yourself to do things you enjoy, such as reading a book, watching a favourite movie, or simply giving yourself some time to lie down and listen to some music.

Spruce up your finances

Spring cleaning your life is all about getting organised and cutting out the unnecessary things. One of the most important parts of our lives we need to be on top of is our finances. Take some time to evaluate your financial situation, and how you can improve it.

Go through your accounts and see how much money you are earning, and how much you are spending. Make note of all of the unnecessary things you spend money on, and how much you could save if you stopped needlessly spending. Set yourself a budget, and make sure you’re saving a little each month. Seeing a savings account grow is extremely satisfying, and you never know when you’ll need the extra cash.