Romantisize Your 2025 Spring Cleaning
There’s a trend popping up on social media that is glorifying the idea of “romantisizing” your life and I am gooey over it. The idea is that you are mindful, grateful, open to enjoy the simplest of pleasures, and find beauty and meaning in daily activities. I’ve even heard it framed in the sense that every day life is actually an adventure: going to work, interacting with people, raising children, cooking meals, cleaning and organizing, getting ready for bed, everything. It’s a mindset that allows joy to fill you and leaves little room for complaint. It is the perfect antidote to negativity, and very well-suited for those softies who were die-hard “Pinteresters” when it first came out, who read blog posts before anyone knew what a blog was, and watched Downton Abbey as it was released in the US. Yes, I have always been a little dreamy.
One night, when I was a starry-eyed school age girl, I sang to the sunset from my California childhood home’s backyard, I decided that my one-day love was probably looking at the same sunset at that very moment. I was lovey-dovey and pretty much doomed to be a hopeless romantic. I journaled my entire tween years because I fantasized that, one day, my journals would be discovered in an attic, nestled in an old trunk, found by my great great grandchildren who would be delighted they found a long lost treasure. And in my late teens, I loved poetry, old black and white romance movies, antiquing, and anything by or inspired by Jane Austen or Louisa May Alcott. As an adult, I still carry the love for romance by finding simple pleasures in life, savoring chocolate, admiring flowers, and celebrating Valentine’s Day (even if it’s just hitting up the chocolate clearance the day after).
Society is finally coming to the delicate side. We all loved the “mindfulness” wagon and are finding that if we can also inject some unrealistic appeal into the mundane, we’re on board with a trend teaching us how to do that. Hence, “romantisizing your life” is the new fashion.
But I’m not here to tell you how to romantisize your life; there’s actually enough of that already on Pinterest (enjoy that rabbit hole). Neither am I going to give you a Spring Cleaning Checklist (Martha has you covered). I am here to share how you can lace beauty, inspiration, and small pleasures in your upcoming Spring cleaning and organizing tasks. While working through some of the following ideas, I recommend you put away your phone for the day so you can find purpose and love in each task at hand. Enjoy!
Get Ready for The Day
Even if cleaning and organizing are the only things on your agenda for the day, there is something to be said about “dressing for productivity”. You can be comfortable yet confident, and feel genuinely good about how you look as you go about your day. You don’t need to make a lot of effort, but attention paid here has proven to pay off. Besides, the theme of finding meaning in everything you do is key to romantisizing your to do list. Fuzzy socks or comfy slippers do apply.
Set The Mood
Start your day with small habits that make spring cleaning feel like you’re in a Rodgers and Hammerstein film. These tasks are simple, but can fill your morning with inspiration.
Make your bed and neatly place your journal and pen, or current book on top of your nightstand.
Open all your curtains and blinds to let daylight in (think Cinderella when she’s waking up her stepsisters).
Make your morning drink a ritual. A Keurig cup of coffee is my go-to, but on days when I want to be more blissful, I love drinks that take more than a push of a button: Vietnamese coffee, French press, Matcha latte, cold brew with vanilla infused cream. Whatever drink you decide on, choose a mug or cup that brings you joy.
Enjoy your coffee outside to set your intentions, plan your day, do your devotional, read the paper, or just prepare your soul for the day to come. If it’s chilly, sit by a window with a cozy blanket or bring your blanket outside with you.
Light a candle (with an actual candle match instead of a USB charged lighter).
Sweep your front porch, pull a weed, water a plant, clear a web, or any single task you can complete outside. You can skip this step if you are working outdoors for the day, but I recommend at least one small task outside every day now that winter is behind us.
Pour a glass of water to sip while you are working. Choose an attractive water cup or bottle, or use a goblet or wine glass. Add berries, cucumbers, or citrus fruit to your water for added allure.
Put on some music while you work. When I want to feel extra charming, I go for French cafe instrumental, but I also feel the same way about Norah Jones. Bonus points if you have a record player (I do not, but how nostalgic would that be).
Equip Yourself
As unromantic as cleaning a toilet is, you can still equip yourself with items that make icky housekeeping feel a little bit better.
Use indulgent seasonal cleaning scents. I love Myers or Method seasonal all-purpose cleaner scents, they actually make me want to go around the whole house cleaning with them. Switch up laundry detergent, toilet bowl cleaner, hand wash, or other products around the home to feel more inspired by Spring.
Pick out an attractive cleaning caddy.
Choose a Spring style apron and/or rubber cleaning gloves.
Get a cute broom and dust pan that brings a smile to your face. Whether it’s an unexpected color or it suits your aesthetic perfectly, a plain ol’ OXO broom isn’t that romantic.
Fold your cleaning cloths the KonMari file style so it feels more glamourous when reaching for one.
Treat Yourself with Special Touches
You’re welcome to leave an actual love note for your significant other to find, but these special touches around the home feel like loving acts of service for yourself.
After you make your bed, put a mint on your pillow (or under it if you have munchy children).
Set out a fresh bouquet of flowers.
Change your sheets or towels out for Spring colors or prints. If you had fuzzy sheets on for winter, switch to a cooler material.
Fold a point in your toilet paper and leave the toilet seat up after you’ve cleaned so it feels like a hotel the first time you use it.
Make all your hangers match. I love using the felt hangers in my clients’ closets.
Put up a single valet rod in your closet to use for picking out your outfit the day before.
Dedicate a drawer entirely to your period. Fill it with all the nice things you’d love to have within reach when that time of the month rolls around.
Have a large candy jar of epsom salt, a bowl of bath bombs, a cute dispenser for mouth wash, or beautiful contact paper in your bathroom drawers.
Reward Yourself
Even though romantisizing your cleaning and organizing can feel like a treat, you deserve the cherry on top! Don’t forget to indulge in a reward solely meant for you.
Stop for a delicious and attractive lunch. I love making cafe-style meals for myself at home: things like a pink sauce pasta, caprese crostini, strawberry and feta salad, potato dill soup, or pear and pesto grilled cheese sandwich. I also love presenting them to myself in an attractive way, so I put them in restaurant-white dishware. Extra self-love if you happen to have fabric napkins.
Plan a get together. Now that your home is all clean and you didn’t lose your mind doing it, you can consider inviting over a friend or throwing a day party. I personally love hosting brunch or afternoon teas, it has become my favorite thing to assemble for get togethers and special occasions.
Get your nails done, hair cut, or buy yourself something sweet like a new sweater, a book, or a treat.
Have dedicated leisure time. When I’m treating myself, it is usually in the form of an at-home facial or an epsom salt bath with a good book playing on Audible. Perhaps you’d like a handcrafted cocktail, or watch a movie with truffle butter popcorn.
While I know the actual acts of scrubbing your fridge, wiping your walls, and scraping your stovetop aren’t especially pleasurable, I’m convinced that leaving room to find an intimate purpose and meaning in these tasks make them borderline enjoyable — sometimes it’s as whimsical as telling your dishes it’s “bath time”.
I hope these ideas help you glide through your house like you’re waving a Thomas Kinkade magical wand, or at least a touch better than before. Have a lovely day.
