20 Clever Spring Cleanses That Will Improve Life

Shannon Quinn - May 16, 2019
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20 Clever Spring Cleanses That Will Improve Life
Photo: Credit: Shutterstock

Spring is a time for renewal, and there are so many opportunities to try new things to improve your life. When you hear the phrase “spring cleaning”, most people automatically think about tidying up. While that’s definitely important, there are so many other ways to clean up your life and make it better.

Go through your shoe collection to discard any unwanted pairs. Credit: Shutterstock

20. Purge Your Shoe Collection

A lot of people have massive collections of shoes, “just in case” you might need to wear them again. In reality, you probably do not need them all. Go through your collection, try everything on, and ask yourself if it’s truly necessary. Throw away anything that is falling apart, and donate shoes that are still wearable.

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The Konmari folding technique. Credit: Shutterstock

19. Use the Konmari Method on Your T-Shirt Drawer

Recently, the Komari Method has become very popular after the series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo premiered on Netflix. So, why not try this out at home? Doing your entire house with the Konmari Method can be very time consuming, but even if you only take the step to re-fold your t-shirt drawer, this is still a major step in the right direction.

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Beauty products eventually expire. Credit: Shutterstock

18. Discard Your Expired Beauty Products

Did you know that makeup expires? Just like food products, cosmetics have to be recycled or thrown away after a certain period of time. If you hold onto certain products for too long, it can cause breakouts and eye infections. Every makeup product has a symbol on it called “period-after-opening” that will let you know how long it stays good for once it it exposed to the open air. During your spring cleaning, do not forget to check your makeup!

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Take a break from your smartphone. Credit: Shutterstock

17. Smartphone Detox

Nowadays, everyone is glued to their smartphone. While some people need it for work, the vast majority of people are just checking social media. Try to give up your phone for 24 hours, or at least have designated parts of the day where you make a promise to yourself to be present and live in the moment.

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Make sure you discard expired food in your fridge. Credit: Shutterstock

16. Clean Expired Food Items From Your Kitchen

In the spring, it’s time to go through your fridge and find everything that is expired. Even if something is not expired yet, but it is a food item that you never use (like a salad dressing that didn’t taste exactly the way you wanted) throw them away. Then, dive your fridge a good clean with disinfectant spray. Once everything is clean, you can organize your food in such a way that makes everything easy to find. This is very satisfying once it’s all done.

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Germs accumulate on your most-used items. Credit: Shutterstock

15. An Anti-Germ Cleanse On Your Daily Items

There are certain items you use every single day. For most people, that’s your cellphone, computer, door knobs, car, etc. As the day goes on, these commonly touches places are gathering germs. Even if it’s your own germs, try to give these places a good wipe-down with disinfectant wipes.

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Sometimes, it’s okay to say “goodbye” to Facebook friends. CredIt: Shutterstock

14. Unfollow Facebook Friends

Some people have a habit of hoarding Facebook friends. However, there have been studies that show that the more Facebook friends someone has, the more lonely they actually feel. The appearance of being popular or important on social media is never as gratifying as getting to know someone one-on-one and forming a truly close bond. Sometimes, if we feel lonely, it is simply a matter of reminding ourselves of the high-quality people in our lives. Try to purge your Facebook friends. If you are afraid of offending people, maybe post a status saying that you are unfollowing people who you have not spoken to in years. This way, if someone has their feelings hurt, they can read your status. Hopefully, they will understand that you two have grown apart. And if they truly care about you, they will reach out in a private message- or better yet- a phone call.

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After a breakup, it’s time to let go. Credit: Shutterstock

13. The Ex Cleanse

Emotional spring cleanings are just as important as the physical ones. Sometimes, it can feel impossible to get over an ex boyfriend or girlfriend, especially if they had a huge impact on our lives. However, relationships often end for very good reasons. Time heals all wounds, but there are habits that can only prolong the grieving period that are very unhealthy. Whether you have regrets or not, try to cleanse your life of old photographs (both online and real life) and anything else that may remind you of that person. This can be difficult. You may find yourself feeling nostalgic. So have patience, and be kind to yourself as you go through this process. Once you are done, though, it should feel like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.

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Clean your hair brushes periodically. Credit: Shutterstock

12. Clean Your Hair Brushes

If you have long hair, you already know how brushes will accumulate a ton of hair. Not only is this gross, but it can also make your hair have more static, and it will never be as effective as a clean brush. So make a habit or removing the hair, and even soak the brush in a cleaning solution to make sure it is ready to comb through your hair.

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You may want to cleanse your DVD and CD collection. Credit: Shutterstock

11. Discard Old CD’s, DVD’s, and VHS Tapes

Nowadays, owning physical DVD’s and CD’s is no longer necessary. Everything has been digitized, and you can find almost any movie or song you could ever want through online streaming services. If you have a huge collection of DVD or VHS tapes, take a day to go through all of your movies to see which ones hold sentimental value to you, and which ones can be let go. Keep in mind that there are a lot of poor people out there who cannot even afford the internet, and they still may enjoy your second-hand movies.

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Email inboxes can become incredibly cluttered full of junk mail. Credit: Shutterstock

10. Your EMail Inbox

Nowadays, everyone is subscribed to all kinds of email newsletters. After a while, these emails can seriously start to pile up, and it becomes a huge hassle. Do a spring cleaning of unsubscribing to newsletters that you no longer read. Also give yourself some time to put on some good music, a podcast, or a movie in the background and tackle the process of combing through your e-mails to delete.

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Focus on improving your work-life balance. Credit: Shutterstock

9. Improve Your Work-Life-Balance

Busy people often struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance. If you find that your personal life is consuming you to the point where you cannot concentrate at work, things need to change. And, obviously, the same can be said if you are working overtime and never take any time for yourself. This can lead to burnout and strain on your personal relationships.

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Do not allow hard times to get in the way of your goals. Credit: Shutterstock

8. Drop Obstacles in The Way of Your Goals

The road to success is never a straight line. There will always be problems that get in the way of our happiness. Sometimes, it may be a one-off incident that’s easy to shake off. Other times, you are actually putting obstacles in your own way. For example, maybe you think, “I really want to buy a house, but I have so much debt.” Well…Pay off the debt! Make a budget plan, and give yourself a time line to get it done. Ask yourself the following three questions: What do I want? What is getting in the way? How can I fix that? Once you begin to see these as problems with solutions, it makes a massive difference in your outlook on life.

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Sometimes, it is best to let go of old grudges. Credit: Shutterstock

7. Let Go of Grudges

Everyone has been hurt by friends, family, and ex-partners in the past. But if we hold on to these grudges, it can only cause anger and resentment. These negative feelings will only hurt us, and others around us. And this negative emotion will be a huge turn-off to others, as well. Instead of holding on to grudges, choose to forgive the people who have done you dirty- even if they never apologized. Remember that forgiveness is not just to benefit the other person. Forgiveness helps you move on with your own life.

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Give your unwanted clothing to a charity shop. Credit: Shutterstock

6. Donate Unwanted Clothing

Earlier in this list, we mentioned the Konmari Method. If you have seen the TV series on Netflix, you already know that Marie Kondo recommends putting all of your clothing in a huge pile, and saying “thank you” and parting ways with items that no longer bring you joy. Even if you do not have an entire day to devote to a massive wardrobe overhaul, try to get in the habit of donating your unwanted clothing. Once this is done, you will be left with the clothing items that truly make you happy.

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Stop judging other people so much. Credit: Shutterstock

5. Have a Judgement Cleanse

A lot of people have a bad habit of judging other people in a negative way. More often than not, judgement comes from a place of low self-esteem. If you are constantly trying to search for ways to make yourself feel better by putting other people down, it becomes an incredibly toxic cycle. Remember that negatively judging people is not helping anyone, including yourself. Try to see other people with the same kindness and understanding that you would give to your best friend. Once you change your mindset, you will begin to be a much happier person overall.

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Make adjustments to sleep better at night. Credit: Shutterstock

4. Get a Better Sleep With Changing Your Bedroom

Sometimes, getting a good night’s sleep is as simple as making a few changes in the bedroom. How long has it been since you flipped your mattress, or purchase a new one? What is the temperature of your bedroom? Do you often feel too hot or cold? Are your pillows comfortable enough? What about light and noise? Consider purchasing a sleep mask, ear plugs, and anything else you might need to improve your sleep. It may seem frivolous at first, but once you begin to experience a good night’s sleep, you will realize that it helps with nearly everything else in life.

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Blue light can help keep you awake. Credit: Shutterstock

3. Block Out Blue Light at Night

All smartphones, TV’s, and computer screens give off a blue light. This replicates sunlight, and it tricks your brain into thinking that it’s still daytime. Even if you are very tired at night when you look at your screens, it will still make it much harder for you to fall asleep. This can be countered by either wearing special glasses that cancel out blue light, or you can download an app on Mac products called Night Shift to change the color of the screen after a certain time of night.

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Cleaning out your purse can be incredibly satisfying. Credit: Shutterstock

2. Clean Out Your Purse or Gym Bag

Whether you carry a purse, gym bag, or brief case, men and women both have places where they toss their receipts, gum wrappers, and so much more. Instead of keeping all of this junk around, take time to clean your bags and make your items easy to access.

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Get rid of all of your bad sleep habits. Credit: Shutterstock

1. Clean Up Your Bad Sleeping Habits

Are you snacking late at night? Reading scary stories? Getting into arguments? There are so many things that can hurt your quality of sleep. If you want to improve, start a proper sleep schedule. Have the same bed time and wakeup time every night. Try to wind down an hour before it’s time to go to sleep, and keep caffeine consumption to the early part of the day. Once you start to incorporate these habits into your life, it will help to improve everything else.

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