The final week of the winter blues challenge

It’s here, the last week of our winter blues challenge! Thank you to everyone who has come along on the journey. I’ve found this gentle challenge really helpful for shaking myself out of the winter blues and getting in the right mindset for spring, which is nigh upon us.

A quick recap

Before we jump into this week, lets look at what we’ve covered.

Week one was all about morning routines, setting us up to succeed from the moment we got out of bed. I hope you’ve found a new routine that works for you and makes you feel good each morning. I think this has been my favourite part of the challenge so far, as my previous morning set up left a lot to be desired!

In week two we got our evening routines sorted. We focused on things that would help us wind down well for the day, but would also set us up to achieve whatever our morning routine was going to be. I found this helpful, especially laying out clothes and meal prepping the night before to reduce time wasted staring at my wardrobe or the pantry.

Last week we looked at adding a little challenge. Mine was push ups, and I’m happy to report that I have definitely improved my push up count. I’m heading towards 30 push ups in one go now! That might seem like a tiny achievement to some, but for me it feels like a great win. After all, that was what week three was all about: giving ourselves small wins on things that challenged us.

This week’s challenge will get you ready for spring

In this last week, we’re going to turn from improving ourselves to improving our surroundings with a good old fashioned spring cleaning. Just don’t forget to keep up your morning, evening and challenge routines too!

Believe it or not, how tidy our space is does have an impact on our physical and mental health. A clean, organised and uncluttered space helps us to think better, feel better and work more efficiently. Spring cleaning is also a wonderful chance to get rid of things we no longer need and reflect on our shopping habits. A good cleaning can also make us appreciate the things we do have too. When things are organised and tidy, we are able to see and appreciate the things around us, rather than feeling flustered or being ‘blind’ to our belongings.

I love a good clear out, so I’m really looking forward to this part of the challenge. During the last few lockdowns, things have definitely piled up in the ‘to donate’ cupboard. In the gloom of winter, a lot of deep cleaning jobs and household fixes have been left by the wayside. As we get closer to warmer days, now is the perfect time to roll up my sleeves and get down to it all. Much like the small challenge week, this is a way to get a win under your belt, without feeling totally overwhelmed.

Spring clean your way

 

 

Everyone approaches the spring clean differently. You may already be a minimalist master, and have very little need of a clear out. Perhaps you’re someone who regularly cleans behind the fridge. That’s great, no need to add those to your list. But I’m sure there are things that you’ve been putting off around the house, and now is the time to tackle them.

By way of example, I’ll run you through how I’ll be approaching this challenge. Firstly, I’m going to start by going through each room of the house and clearing out unwanted, unneeded or broken items.

As I sort items in each room, I’ll also look at re-organising what I am keeping to ensure it works well and looks attractive. I’ll also wipe down cupboards while I’m doing this, since I’ll have all the items out at that time.

I’ll sort unwanted items into piles for selling, donating/gifting and throwing/recycling. Once I’ve got the piles sorted, I’ll make sure that I really do donate/recycle/bin or list for sale within a few days. This is the step that I usually get stuck on, having big ‘to donate’ bags sitting in the house for absolutely months before I do. But now is the time to break that habit!

Finally, I’ll go through and do a deep clean of each room, as required. For example, I’ll do a clean cycle of the washing machine and clean out the laundry basket. I’ll scrub out the oven and sweep behind the fridge (which will also get an internal clean).

Once that’s done, my house will be squeaky clean, and we’ll be free from clutter (for a few months at least!). Obviously, this is a lot of work, even though I have a tiny apartment. The room-by-room method is helpful because it means I can look at doing one room a day/evening, rather than trying to do the whole house at once. If you’re house is much bigger, you might need to try two rooms a day, or extend this challenge into next week. Maybe you’ve got some family members you can enlist to speed up the job. Whatever works for you, remember!

Build on the momentum

I hope that you enjoy this last week, and that the rest of this challenge has been beneficial for you. If this challenge has been working, you should have found yourself with more energy and feeling that each day has a structure that gently makes you a better person.

The trick now is to keep using that momentum. Don’t stop just because winter is gone! Keep finding little things to improve, gentle ways to break bad habits and start positive traditions. As you can see, it only takes small changes consistently applied to achieve a difference.

I’ve certainly found it very helpful for a very dark and gloomy winter. Let me know in the comments below how you found it. Anything you learnt about yourself? What would you do differently?