I love what Spring symbolizes – a fresh start and a clean slate! For me it’s a time to be mindful of where I can simplify and clean things out in various parts of my life (plus I’ve been taking this nesting thing very seriously). I chose the following 11 ways to basically Spring Clean my life this month in an effort to live with a cleaner home, diet, mind & body.
1. Cleaning out and re-organizing my pantry. I’ve been finding the most random stuff in my pantry- old, stale chips anyone? Going to go through and get rid of anything that is expired and find ways to use the things that are still good but have been sitting in there for what feels like forever! Container store and Amazon have great organization products to help sort snacks, baking ingredients, and back stock beverages.
2. Switching all my cleaning products to non-toxic. I really like Branch Basics but larger stores like Target also have tons of non-toxic options. This is such an easy swap IMO. Also incredibly toxic? Laundry detergent and dryer sheets. Another easy swap! You can even using Baking Soda in the meantime with some essential oils for detergent!
3. Saying NO to diet soda. I used to enjoy the occasional Diet Coke (although I prefer regular Coke/soda) but I’m saying never again and switching to sparkling water with fresh fruit juice or yummy swaps like Olipop. Regular soda instead of diet if no other options available. And the smallest portion 😂
4. Who doesn’t love spring shopping! It’s so fun seeing all the pastels and pretty prints coming out. I’ve decided for every 1 new clothing item purchased, I’m pledging to get rid of 2-3 things in my closet. Look for a local places to donate to.
5. Moving my body 5 times a week (4 of those outdoors). This doesn’t mean it has to be an intense HIIT class or 2 hr cardio boxing, it can simply be a 30-60 minute brisk walk outside. There are so many benefits to walking! Not only do I want to soak up the Spring weather for my mental health, but walking is great for boosting energy, improving mood and circulation, strengthening your heart, etc.
6. Getting our air vents professionally cleaned and replacing filters throughout the house. Dirty air filters mean low air quality and we are all spending a lot more time at home so it’s more important than ever to stay on top of changing filters and cleaning vents!
7. Drinking only clean, filtered water (and no bottled water). A good filtration system is important because sadly our drinking water isn’t the cleanest. At the very least a Brita filter is an easy fix, but we are considering installing an under-counter sink filter where fresh, filtered water comes right from our kitchen faucet. I think it would be worth the investment!
8. Buying all organic produce (when it makes a difference). Some produce doesn’t need to be organic – like onions, avocados, bananas, oranges, grapefruit, mangos, sweet corn, and asparagus. But other produce, like apples, berries, celery, grapes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and lettuce, has super high pesticide residue and should always be organic if you’re able to do so. If you want to look more into this you can research “The Clean Fifteen” or “The Dirty Dozen”.
9. Reading for 30 minutes before bed. One way I can clean my mind/simplify my thoughts is spending less time on my phone and social media at night. Going to start reading a little each night instead of scrolling! Send me book recommendations please!
10. Cleaning our hood vent and dishwasher filter. I recently saw @gocleanco talk about this and YIKES you guys we are not cleaning our kitchens well enough haha. This goes back to what I said above about being home more than ever. A lot of us are cooking more than we used to and that means we need to keep up with cleaning the kitchen too! @gocleanco has highlights saved on Instagram if you’re looking for a tutorial. We also just changed out our HVAC air filters and holy cow they were dirty! If you have allergies buy the allergen friendly ones, I definitely notice a difference!
11. Non Toxic makeup 95% of the time. I posted recently about W3LLPEOPLE which is a clean beauty brand I recently found and love! I also like ILIA a lot! If you are trying to learn more about clean products, I highly recommend looking into EWG Verified products. You can find a list on their website!
