Even if the weather hasn’t started cooperating yet (like it hasn’t up here in Michigan), springtime has slowly begun to come around, and with it comes the pressure to start spring cleaning.
Not that this is a bad thing! We all need a little motivation sometimes, and the chance to declutter and tidy up after a long winter can be just what some of us need.
That said, there’s one point that, seemingly, nobody can agree on: when are you done spring cleaning? Are you just done whenever the season is over? Is there a certain project you need to complete, or goal you need to hit, before you can call yourself done? And just when the heck does summer start, anyway?
If you’re wondering when you can finally be done with spring cleaning, or just looking for some advice on what to focus on before you consider it over with, you’re not alone – and here’s what we think:
When to Stop Spring Cleaning
When other projects need to take priority
The biggest issue with a lot of cleaning projects is that they can start to feel a little…overwhelming after a while. Even the most avid spring-cleaners among us can bite off a little more than we can chew, and next thing you know, it’s mid-July and you still haven’t fully cleared out those living room bookshelves yet.
And you know what? That’s totally okay! You’ve got a lot else going on in life, particularly as spring winds down – there’s vacations to take, cookouts to plan, and if the kids are home for the summer, you’re not gonna get anything done. As long as you were able to start your spring cleaning, that still means your house is cleaner than it was – and that means you did a good job, even if the rest of your life is starting to get in the way.
When you’ve hit the big milestones
A good spring cleaning plan, just like with any plan in life, should have a few bigger milestones or goals behind it. Even if they’re more broad in scope, any attempt at spring cleaning should have a few bigger ideas in mind: “declutter the living room”, “reorganize the bathroom cabinets”, “finally set up those 2 shelf wire shelving units in the basement”, and so on.
Now, of course, after setting those goals, you may have encountered a bit of ‘scope creep’ here and there – while decluttering the living room, you may have decided to try and tackle one of the hall closets, etc etc. This can help contribute to the feeling that you’re never quite ‘finished’, but if you take a step back and see that you accomplished everything you set out to do at first…well, that sounds like you’re pretty much done with spring cleaning to us!
If you’ve been cleaning already
A lot of people use spring cleaning as time to tackle the ‘big jobs’, but ‘big jobs’ can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Sure, there’s always larger projects that need to be managed, but once those are done…the rest of it is just sort of daily chores, isn’t it? Nobody sets off to just “get some vacuuming done” during their spring cleaning, and if you’re at that part of the process, it’s safe to say that you’re done with spring cleaning for the year! (Just don’t forget to keep vacuuming – it’s not something you’ll want to put off until next year!)
Whenever you feel like you’re finished
Let’s be honest – cleaning can be a big drain on our time and energy at the best of times, and the monolith of ‘spring cleaning’ can make it feel like more work than it’s worth.
So, if you’re starting to feel a little burnt out, take a step back and look at everything you’ve accomplished. Is the fridge a little less cluttered? Is that junk drawer a little more manageable? Sounds like spring cleaning to us! Of course, there’s always the idea of finishing the big projects (see above), but if you’re comfortable with where things are and you just want to get back to your normal routine…then it’s safe to say you’re finished.
Until next year, of course.