Spring cleaning is the most perfect time to pull a Sharpay Evans and say, "Out with the old and in with the new." Some people, like myself, don't look forward to spring cleaning as it can be extremely overwhelming, especially when you don't even know where to start. Should you start with your desk? Your nightmare-ish closet?
And god forbid, maybe even your bathroom? I get it, it can be extremely overwhelming and a painful process. Although, the most important step is to allocate a couple of hours and just get started.
Let it be the first thing you see! Play your favorite spring playlist, put your phone on do not disturb and get started! Let me give you a few tips on how you can reinvent your room in a minimalistic, yet classy manner!
The Bed
This may not be the section you were initially expecting, but I wanted to take a second to reinforce the value of making your bed daily! I’ve heard this more than once, but people say: if you want to change the world, start by making your bed.
While that may seem strange or unfamiliar, here’s the rationale: making your bed is the most trivial, yet important first task that you will have accomplished in the day, hence inspiring you to keep going.
If everything in your day seems to have been going poorly or you made several mistakes on a certain day, at least you will come home to one thing you were able to do: making your bed. Plus, of course, it’ll make your room one step closer to being perfectly organized!
The Closet
The only way that has truly worked for me in the past with my dreaded closet is starting from scratch. I force myself to take all of my clothes from all hangers, shelves, and whatever piles that I have, and create a huge (yes, very messy) pile on the ground. I find that once my clothes are all in a huge pile, I am more motivated to put it away as it makes my room look extremely messy and unkempt.
From this point, I make several piles: donation pile, “potentially sell pile”, winter pile, Indian clothes pile (this pile may be different for everyone), and spring/summer pile. Depending on where you live and the temperature, your piles could vary. After sorting my clothes, I allocate space for each of my piles to be organized inside of my closet.
For those that have dressers, you can set aside a drawer for each of your piles and fold them in an organized manner. For me, it’s also absolutely pertinent to put my phone away and play some good music! Here are some photos to show you how I’ve done it:
The Bathroom
Your goal in your bathroom, according to me, should be to leave your countertop absolutely clear. As the organization titan Marie Kondo says, never estimate the power of hanging things on the wall; it saves space but can also be very aesthetic! Allocate drawers for each type of thing that you may own: from make-up to jewelry to extra soaps/sanitary items. If you tend to hoard makeup (like I tend to, sometimes), then go through everything, check the expiration date, and you will find yourself surprised at how much you end up throwing away. Clean your sink (bonus points if you use reusable cleaners), wipe down your counter, and simply decorate your countertop (keep it classy)! I find that in the bathroom, the closet technique doesn’t actually work, because it can get demotivating for me. Instead, go drawer by drawer and take everything out. I find that through that technique, I end up throwing a lot of things away instead of storing them. Although the goal is to keep a clear counter, make sure you don’t stuff everything to your shelf below. Also, clear out the trash and spray one of your favorite scents just to spruce things up a bit!
The Desk
The goal for this part of your room is that your desk should make you want to work and be productive. If this means that you need to have your desk facing another direction or have it not facing the window to prevent distractions, this is the time to do it. When it comes to your desk, you want it to be super clear so that you have space to work and simultaneously be able to place things.
First, start with your drawers. Though it may be super messy, don’t get intimidated! Instead, do the “take it all out” method and begin.
Now’s the time to recycle old notebooks, random papers you have lying around, throw away old calculators, and just get rid of things that you don’t absolutely need. Then, allocate each of your drawers for a certain thing. For example, since I have two drawers, I set aside one of them for stationary and extra paper and the other for college information and resources.
I frequently organize them so that they never build up to a point where I can’t organize them. Once you take everything off of your desk, wipe it down, let it dry, and then place everything back! Bonus points if you add a pretty plant and a fragrant candle.
The Aesthetics
As each person’s go-to aesthetic varies (and heavily depends on the room), this section can be taken with a grain of salt, as it is customed to my own aesthetic. My room consists of grays, whites, and subtle pinks, so I wanted to add a little pop of color to my room.
From my years in high school, I had several AP review books, textbooks, and current notebooks that I needed storage for, so I bought a gray and white striped bin from Target (you can get it online, as well) just to add some flavor to my room.
After I purchased that, I still felt like my room needed another little “aesthetic boost,” so I bought a pretty inexpensive shelf on Amazon and built it myself. After building it, I used a bunch of the stuff that I used to cram on my desk and in the drawers and organized it into the bookshelf. If you’re in high school or college, especially, you will have several books that you read in school that you may find the need to cram.
Instead, you can organize it here in an organized manner. This was just the pop that I needed to spruce up my room. The best part is that completely reinventing my room was so cost-efficient.
The Result
Although this process was a tad bit strenuous, the result was totally worth it. My room quickly became my safe space and sanctuary and it was such a calming place for me to be in. I also added a couple of candles to my room (one from Anthropologie and the other from Capri Blue), which added to the comfort of my room.
Overall, I think that this would be something I would repeat in the winter as it gave me a sense of achievement and made my room so much prettier! Now’s the time to start, don’t procrastinate! You got this.
