Spring cleaning tips and tricks
With March 21 marking the first day of spring, and mandatory health and safeties forcing students to do their monthly deep clean, the time for re-organization and new beginnings is here.
Maybe you have been maintaining Martha Stewart levels of mess-free living, maybe your space looks like Residence Life has you rooming with the Tasmanian Devil or maybe you are the Tasmanian Devil.
Regardless of your room’s current state, spring cleaning can be a fun and refreshing way to add order to your life.The big question is: Where do you start?
You can start anywhere! The trick is to avoid getting distracted. If you want to clear your desk first, don’t start organizing your closet halfway through.
If you have problems keeping yourself on task, set a timer! If you give yourself 15 minutes to complete each part of your cleaning, you will be more likely to actually start what you finish.
If you feel like the layout of your room is hindering your spring cleaning potential, experiment with moving your furniture. Moving your desk underneath your bed or getting rid of that shelf you never use could add more space and make your room feel brand new.
If you’ve been drooling at pictures of color-coordinated closets and bookshelves, try it yourself! Arranging your closet by color can make it easier to find and put away clothes.
Is your closet bursting at the seams? Hang multiple pairs of shorts, skirts or pants on one hanger, and try the same with folded T-shirts. Living in a dorm means struggling to find space, so
create a pile of clothes you no longer wear to donate to your local Karm or GoodWill store to give yourself more room.
When looking for new storage pieces for spring, think vertically. Opt for a tall, standing drawer, rather than a wider one. This will save that precious space needed to open the door all the way without knocking over a stack of books and a laundry hamper.
Are you regretting those pineapple-themed decorations you bought in August but don’t have the money for an extreme makeover? Don’t worry, you are not alone! You can print 25 4×6 photos from Walmart for $6.25 for an easy wall collage. This could also be the perfect opportunity for some roomie bonding with a craft night. Pool together your canvases, paints, markers and other craft supplies to create custom decorations.
Everyone has a different idea of clean, and everyone has their own routines and practices to keep their space in tip-top shape.
“I just clean regularly,” said MC freshman Andrew Amburn. “I don’t see the point in cleaning once a season. Just do it often and it gets the job done.”
Listening to music can also be a great way to stay motivated while cleaning.
“Make sure you have an appropriate playlist,” said freshman Eleanor Forester. “A good playlist changes everything.” You can follow Forester on Spotify.
Freshman Jinming Chen offered his views on the activity as well.
“Spring cleaning?” he said, surprised. “I never do it. Maybe I did once, but I can’t remember. Basically if I don’t have a health check, I’m not going to clean.”
Though it may not always seem like it, your MC Resident Assistant (RA) likely doesn’t enjoy cleaning any more than you do.
“I fix my room so it doesn’t look as if I haven’t been taking care of it for two months,” said Junior Cassidy Mayhan, who is an RA in Davis hall. “I’m the one who does the health checks, and I don’t even clean.”
Whether you like it or not, you will have to clean, eventually. So take some of these spring cleaning tips and, when health and safeties comes around, get out your broom and dustpan and get to work, you little Tasmanian Devil you.