20 Ways to Spring Clean Every Area of Your Life

I can’t speak for you, but winter is the slow season for me and yet, somehow, it always seems to breeze by and I feel like I didn’t take full advantage of it. I look up and the sun is shining later in the day, the weather starts improving and my calendar starts getting really…colorful…with graduations, birthday parties, weddings, festivals, cookouts, etc. and I wish I had taken more time for me when I had an “abundance” of it.

Many of us take the earliest parts of spring to clean every corner of our homes. What I’m proposing is that we take this time to “clean up” every area of our lives: faith, fitness / wellness, life, love and food. No pushing things under the proverbial rugs; let’s be honest with ourselves and make some real, positive changes.

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Faith

Rededicate (or dedicate) yourself to God. Did you once enjoy walking with the Lord, but for whatever reason, a gap or separation occurred in your relationship and you desire to walk with Him again? Or do you continue to walk with the Lord, however, you desire a closer, more intimate walk Him? Whatever your current situation, when you renew your vow to the Lord, communicated to Him in prayer, make sure that it is genuine and heartfelt; not simply because somebody suggested that you should.

NOTE: If you haven’t yet made the decision to give your life to Christ, you can take a look at my post on what exactly that means here. And I’m always willing to talk personally and answer any questions your might have. Send me an e-mail at crystal@excellentlyimperfect.comor you can send me a direct message on any of my social media platforms (links on the top right of the page).

Clean up your words. Words can seem so small and insignificant but they hold such great power. Are you using yours to speak life or death? Words have the ability to turn things around. A lot of people say fake it till you make it; well I have a new one for you – speak it till you see it. Try making a list of positive affirmations that you can say in the morning or commit to voice any complaints or negativity. Something that has worked for me in the past is to replace every complaint I want to make with words of gratitude. And while we’re on the subject of words, this might be a good time to evaluate what, exactly, comes out of your mouth. Do you know you need to stop cursing or gossiping and you just haven’t “gotten there yet?” I hate to be the one to tell you, but there is no magic wand that will tame your tongue. It’s something that we have to actively work on. What better time than now? 😉

Forgive. Do you have people that have wronged you and you claim to have forgiven them but you’ve really just been avoiding them? I’m not saying that you need to continue to be in contact with somebody that has hurt you; the future status of that relationship is up to you do decide. I’m simply asking if you’ve let go of the bitterness associated with the offense. Here’s how you can tell the difference: when you see them, hear their name or are reminded of the situation, does it stir up negative emotions? If you’re taken right back to that place of hurt, anger, frustration, betrayal, etc. then odds are you haven’t actually forgiven them. Forgiveness is a choice and sometimes it takes time for emotional healing to follow, but today you can make up in your mind that you truly forgive and ask God to heal your heart.

Refresh your prayer life. Do you pray? Whether you pray only when you’re down, in need or asked to, or you talk to God every day, or you don’t pray at all, there is a way to put a little extra pep in your prayer life. The key here (as with most things in life) is to start small. If you don’t pray at all or outside of corporate gatherings, simply set aside a few minutes a day for prayer. If you already have a daily prayer life, ask yourself if it’s stale. Remember that prayer is conversation with God at it is crucial to building and sustaining our relationship with Him. Has your side of the conversation gotten robotic? If so, change your scenery or your attitude about prayer. Go for a nice walk with God and talk to Him there, focus more on Him than you and offer praise and thanksgiving. Whatever you do, do it with intention.

Fitness

Tuck away the scale. I’m going to let you in on a little secret: your scale doesn’t love you. So stop giving it so much attention. If you really feel like you NEED to weigh yourself, then pick one day a week and make sure you weigh yourself under the same circumstances each time. I personally prefer first thing Friday morning, in my birthday suit, before I consume anything. But you decide what’s best for you.

Get some sleep. Sleep is so crucial that I couldn’t possibly sing all of its praises in one paragraph (upcoming series, perhaps?). But without getting into the science of sleep, who doesn’t feel better when they’re well rested??? I know I feel like a superhero when I’m consistently getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Maybe 7 isn’t your number, but I would recommend getting at least 6 hours and no more than 9.

Get a massage. I mean…need I say more? You have my permission to splurge on yourself and go let somebody ease those muscles you’ve been so dedicated in working. If you really can’t afford it (make sure you take a look at the next point below) you can get a foam roller or rumble roller for much less…and you get to keep it. Trust me, they work. If I’m doing a lot of weight lifting, rollers are my go-to to get the knots out.

Switch up your fitness routine. Sometimes I find myself not wanting to exercise simply because I’m bored with my workouts. That’s when I switch to a different program or go to a class. I’m not saying to go against the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but if it ain’t exciting you, go find some joy.

Life

Take a look at your finances. Do you really know what you have coming in and and going out? Do you have a budget? Are you happy with those answers? Are there places where you can cut back on your spending? Would you like to increase your earning?

Clean up your surroundings. I know this one is obvious but I didn’t want you to forget. I’m not suggesting that you scrub the tile grout with a toothbrush, but clear your spaces – car, home, office – wherever you spend your time.

Declutter your brain. We have a lot on our minds. All of the time. It’s easy to fall into mental fatigue with everything that we have to think about but there some ways to lighten the load on your grey matter. One thing that helps is to get yourself organized. Find a good planner and actually invest some time in learning how to utilize it (here’s my review of the one that I L-O-V-E). Another is to do a brain dump every night. In your planner or another notebook/journal literally write down everything that your brain is trying to hold onto before you go to bed. You don’t need to organize it, just write it all down so you can look at it in the morning and your brain can relax. I recommend keeping it in your nightstand at first…until your brain knows it can trust you with all of this valuable information, it might try to hold onto some things that creep up while you’re trying to fall asleep.

Clean your schedule and priorities. If you constantly find yourself asking “why am I here?” or “why did I say yes to this?” then you need to take a good hard look at your priorities and your calendar. I too was a victim of always being busy and never feeling like I was getting anything done. It’s because I wasn’t getting the things done that would move me closer to my goals. Once I got very clear on what I needed to do, I was also very aware of what I didn’t have to do do. (Again thanks to my planner/journal).

Love

Get rid of toxic relationships. It’s time for another keep it real moment. You know that friend that leaves you feeling like you need a nap every time you get off of the phone with her? Or that partner that you’ve been dating for 3 years that constantly makes you feel inadequate and/or unloved? It’s time to love yourself and let them go.

Make time for yourself. I am the #1 culprit of not making enough time for myself. I come up with all kinds of excuses or never “get around to it” but the truth is I just haven’t made it a priority in a long time. Lately I’ve been making sure I check that little box in my planner and guess what – the world hasn’t crumbled because I take 30 minutes for me. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. Take time to sit and rub your feet and finally watch something on the DVR. Go sit on the porch and enjoy a whole cup of coffee while it’s still hot. Read a book that’s purely for leisure. If daily me time isn’t realistic for you, try setting aside a little 2-3 hour chunk of time every week to do something that YOU want to do.

Spruce up your current romantic relationship. When’s the last time you and your partner actually went on a real date? (And no, it doesn’t count if you do the same thing/go to the same place every week like robots.) Do you still flirt with your husband? Do you make it a point to really talk about your day before passing out? These are just a few things to consider, but if you’re feeling like the thrill is gone, I suggest that you approach your relationship with intention and don’t take the “little things” for granted.

Re-connect with friends. It happens to all of us. We have friends that we made in college or at a job we left 5 years ago and we barely talk to them anymore other than an occasional thinking of you text. Again – guilty as charged. Maybe schedule a happy-hour with those old co-workers you used to be so close with or get together for Saturday brunch with your girlfriends. A simple phone call would do the trick just fine as well.

Food

Clean out your pantry, fridge and freezer. You probably already know what I’m going to say: Get rid of the fake, processed food in you kitchen. It’s just not good for you. I’m ok with an occasional treat but where is that honesty meter sitting when you think about what you’re leaving in your cupboards?

Improve your hydration game. I’d say the only thing that ranks higher than sleep on the list of things your body needs to feel a-mazing is water. Hydration is essential for:

1. Fat loss
2. Energy
3. Glowing skin
4. Cell function
5. Proper digestion

So how much water should you be drinking. There are all kinds of guidelines floating around out there but everyBODY is different so here’s a trick that will tel you if you’re hydrated or not: look at the color of your urine. You want it to be a nice pale yellow to clear like…well, like water. If you’re in the spectrum of lemonade to applejuice, keep drinking.

Try some new recipes. A lot of people associate healthy or clean eating with nasty, bland and/or expensive food and I’m here to tell you that’s simply not true. Try some new recipes. Not sure where to start? Check out my main go-to board on Pinterest for some ideas. Maybe even take a cooking class!

Start your own vegetable garden. Don’t look at me like that; it’s merely a suggestion. But I tell you what, I love growing my own veggies. First because the flavor and nutrient density of fresh produce picked straight from a plant can’t be matched. Second because it’s really cool. I mean come on…you start with a little seed and end up with a whole plant of veggies! It’s easier than it looks. I do a container garden on our patio. If you think you might be interested in starting a container garden, here’s my Pinterest board for it and I have a YouTube playlist on how I set up and maintain mine.

I recognize that it’s easy to lose a grip on the reigns of our lives and that’s ok. We’re all human. But let’s commit to doing our best to live with intention and focus on the things that really matter to us.

If you want to challenge yourself a bit more, you can join one of my upcoming 14-day Spring Reboot Challenges. Sign up here to receive more information.

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO TO SPRING CLEAN YOUR LIFE? WHAT MAKES YOU AS RENEWED AS THE BLOOMS ON THE TREES?

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