Spring Cleaning Routines That Actually Work

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Spring Cleaning Routines That Actually Work—Because We’ve Got Better Things to Do

Okay, so we could pretend that spring cleaning is this magical, fresh-start kind of vibe—and hey, maybe for some people it is. But for the rest of us, it’s more like staring down a mountain of chaos and wondering how cleaning one drawer somehow led to every surface being covered in stuff you forgot you owned. It’s less “refreshing reset” and more “where do I even start?” 🙃

But here’s the thing: spring cleaning can feel good. It can even be fun (or at least tolerable) if we ditch the all-or-nothing mentality and embrace the power of routines that actually work for real life—yes, the one where the dog sheds on everything, your kids leave all of the forks in their rooms for sport, and you’d rather do literally anything else.

Here’s the routine that saves my sanity and might just save yours too:

1. The “One Room Per Day” Rhythm

Instead of destroying your entire weekend trying to Marie Kondo your entire home, give yourself permission to slow it down. One room per day. That’s it.

Monday: Kitchen
Tuesday: Bathrooms
Wednesday: Living room
Thursday: Bedrooms
Friday: Entryways/hallways
Saturday: Bonus round (closets, laundry room, garage—pick your poison)
Sunday: REST. You earned it, sis.

Set a timer for 45 minutes max. Once it’s off, you’re off duty. You’ll be amazed at what you can tackle in focused spurts.

2. The “Keep / Toss / Donate / Relocate” Rule

Don’t overthink it. If it’s not useful, not beautiful, or not something you actually like—why is it still in your house?

Set up four bins or bags labeled:

Keep (belongs in this space)
Toss (hello, expired spices from 2012)
Donate (things in good shape but not your vibe anymore)
Relocate (belongs in another room—don’t get distracted by re-homing it now, just collect!)

Trust this system. It keeps you focused and stops the “I found this in the drawer and now I’m cleaning the garage” spiral.

3. Cleaning Playlists & Bribery

Yes, we’re adults. No, we’re not above a good bribe. Turn on a playlist that makes you feel like the main character in a cleaning montage and promise yourself something nice when you finish. (Coffee? Target run? A 30-minute scroll in peace? Go wild.)

Spotify even has cleaning playlists, if you’re feeling uninspired. Or you can just play some hip-hop and pretend you’re in a music video. I do.

4. Reset Daily—Just a Little

Here’s the secret sauce: once you’ve done a big spring clean, the way to keep it from slipping back into chaos is a tiny daily reset. 10 minutes. Every evening. Put things back where they belong. Wipe the counters. Toss out the junk mail.

It’s not revolutionary. But it works.

5. Give Yourself Grace (and Maybe a Margarita)

Listen, your house is lived in. It’s not a showroom. Your version of clean and tidy might look different than someone else’s, and that’s okay. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re “behind” because your pantry isn’t labeled with color-coded bins.

Progress > perfection. Always.

So here’s to a spring cleaning routine that actually fits into your real life. The one with sticky floors and messy buns and lots of love. You’ve got this.

And hey—if you finish one room and feel like lying in the middle of your freshly vacuumed carpet just soaking in the peace? Do it. That’s a win.

xoxo,
Mandee 💕