The sweet, floral, refreshing season of spring is undoubtedly the only time ‘cleaning’ is painted as an exciting prospect! This misunderstood self-care technique might sound more dusty than delightful, but the art of refreshing your space and mindset is actually more beneficial than you might think. You shouldn’t need an excuse to step back, assess your priorities and say “out with the old and in with the new!” But, let’s be honest, most of us most certainly do.
Today we’re sharing our top tips on how to indulge in a halcyon state of mind as you explore spring cleaning as a form of showing your life some love. The best part? You won’t need a feather duster or a mop for any of them!
1. The People You’re Following on Social Media
It’s no secret that social media is a highlight reel – With each swipe you’re witnessing someone’s successes and hardly ever their lower moments. We know that online everyone can conceal anything to create a filtered (pun intended) persona, but according to the International Psychology Clinic, this ‘pressurises us to maintain unrealistic standards created by those people’. Cue: high stress and low self esteem. No thank you!
Spring cleaning your social media is not only satisfying as you start out on the platform from scratch, but it also helps you to reconsider whose posts are prompting comparison and insecurities. This makes curating a social media experience that empowers and uplifts you a whole lot easier. Think of each platform as your own personal magazine, and design it however you desire.
Plus, don’t forget that the “mute” button exists, if you don’t feel comfortable hitting “unfollow” just yet.
2. Your Closet
Sorting through your closet at the start of the season will help to create a more usable space and an invigorated sense of your personal style – what’s not to love?
Upload unwanted pieces to a fashion resale platform for extra eco credits, or simply donate it to your local charity shop to support those in need. However you decide to give a garment its second home (or third or fourth, if you’re a preloved shopping pro!), protect the planet by avoiding throwing any clothes away. If a piece isn’t sellable or wearable, a fabric recycling bin is best.
Here are our top tips to ensure your clothing evokes a more halcyon state of mind:
- If you haven’t worn it in six months, you probably won’t wear it in six months. Get rid of it!
- Do you style it in multiple ways with your current collection? If not, it isn’t a versatile investment! Someone else could get more wear out of it, and you could spend your sales earnings on a piece you’ll wear a whole lot more.
- When you’ve worn a piece of clothing that month, turn its hanger to face the other way. Within weeks you’ll start to see which pieces you love and which pieces can be handed to other stylish eco advocates.
3. Your To-Do List
What is your weekly ‘to-do’ list, if not the previous week’s ‘to do’ list persevering? Spring clean the boxes that don’t get ticked and feel the weight of the weekly unending errands lift from your shoulders! If a task really is essential, you’d have prioritised it and completed it swiftly. Some chores are exactly that – mundane activities that don’t serve your self-care journey. Restructure your task list with those that push you towards your big goals – even if they’re tiny steps – and ignore those which simply distract from your destination of success.
4. Your Home Fragrance Collection
Is your candle collection more paraffin than planet-friendly? Are your room sprays lacking a spritz of sustainability? Is your diffuser ready for an eco renewal? Switching out scent which don’t align with your vegan values or affinity for aromachology is a simple but significant way to elevate your everyday.
The toxic ingredients hidden in scent products can even affect health and wellbeing, with the average perfume product said to contain 14 of these potentially harmful unfriendly additives. If that isn’t enough, many products available on the market are dangerous to the planet, too. From unethical production to unsustainable packaging, we suggest sticking to vegan-friendly essential oil scents, like ours at Halcyon Naturals, instead of the standard (and pretty suspicious) formulations.
If you’re looking for the perfect way to refresh your space and motivate yourself as you clean, our Cleanse range is just what you’ve been looking for. Combining lavender, peppermint and rosemary, it’s brilliant for reinvigorating any room.
Our Cleanse candle is particularly brilliant in the kitchen to help rid your cooking space of any leftover food smells and it’s also a great eco alternative to toilet fragrance in its diffuser form.
5. Your Handbag
Have you ever met someone with an organised handbag? Neither have we! From month-old receipts to used chewing gum wrappers to crumbs from that pastry for the pre-corona commute, your handbag is far too sophisticated to be filled with scraps. Break the mould this season with an effortlessly immaculate everyday accessory – one where your phone is actually in reach. Spring cleaning the contents of your bag makes finding a pound for the trolley as tranquil as our Release Signature scent.
Which self-care spring clean are you going to indulge in this season? However you decide to reinvigorate your mind and lifestyle, we’ve curated the ultimate playlist to enjoy throughout! Discover the Halcyon Naturals Playlist now.
Further learning…
Social Media’s Impact on Self-esteem, The International Psychology Clinic
Learn about the KonMari method (Mari Kindio’s philosophy on cleaning)
Scent of Danger: Are There Toxic Ingredients in Perfumes and Colognes?, Scientific American