We’ve all got plenty on our everyday To-Do Lists – things like, put on pants, brush teeth, don’t lock your keys in your car. We usually nail it, we’ve gotten good at this. Then there’s the Weekend List that’s usually a bit more fun and may or may not involve pants. There’s also the To-Email list that is well… just deeply stressful. And the To-Dust list that we willfully ignore because of the All The Things You Can Do Besides Dust List which is suddenly very relevant every time dusting crosses our minds.
I’m here with a new submission. Our Springtime Is Great And WE GROWN To-Do List. A list of things that help us feel like we’ve set ourselves up for success in this new season. A list of things that let us know we’re independent, capable, versatile, self-caring, plant-caring, generous, and just very human humans.
Ok? Here’s my list. Perhaps this will resonate in your brainspace.
1 • Come April, my purse likely has an extra clean-ish shirt, a bag of mostly empty toiletries, an assortment of lip glosses I impulse bought, a half eaten bar of chocolate, and a weird amount of loose papers and pencils. Springtime me says – change out your purse for the season. Don’t buy a new one, just go into the closet and resurrect a purse you haven’t thought of in a good while. Changing out our purses will freshen our routine, our look, and will force us to clean out all of those random pen caps because gosh those get away from us fast. With all the junk cleared, add a little something extra: a tin of Altoids and an aromatherapy roller.
2 • Similarly – clean out your wallet. Remember George Castanza’s wallet? We can do without carrying around all the paperwork and Irish money.
3 • I get tired of apologizing for things I just should have taken care of. Saying ‘I’m sorry my car is a mess’ everytime someone gets in my car? Listen… I just don’t want to do that anymore. Clean the car. Take 45 minutes and mostly… throw out, recycle, wipe down and WE GOOD WE GROWN. Clean your car if you’re sick of apologizing for a dirty car. If you’re not, then seriously – do you!
4 • One of the surest signs of successful adulthood I’ve ever known – a candle in the bathroom. Put a new candle in the bathroom even if that means swapping out another used candle from a different part of the house. Get a fresh scent and a fresh start in that very grown human bathroom!
5 • Baking related: Buy new baking soda and baking powder for the kitchen. I do this twice a year, in Spring and in Fall. It’s cheap and these two ingredients are important in the kitchen. Just do it. Also… the baking soda we discard can be used to for all our Spring cleaning. See? Thinkin’.
6 • If you’re anything like me, there are surely some dusty shelves and neglected corners around the house. I splurge on a deep clean cleaning service a few times a year. It helps with things like, cleaning the fans and walls and baseboards behind the couch. Listen… living an adult life is a whoooole thing. I’m just trying to help.
7 • Plant something! Anything small or large. Invite something new and living into the space and watch it grow. I’m keeping it simple with herbs and marigolds.
8 • Purge some books. I find that books stack up around me quickly. But the best part of having a book is sharing a book. Give away books to a Free Library near you and treat yourself to a new cookbook! I’m excited to cook through Syke McAlpine’s A Table In Venice. It’s such a gorgeous book!
9 • Good sunscreen and a brimmed hat are my anti-aging strategies so get a hat and carry a scarf in the purse for extra coverage. I don’t like getting caught in the sun without protection. Girl Scout- style. Be prepared.
10 • Revisit your New Year’s Resolutions. Um… remember those!? Spring is a good time to refresh those intentions with compassion for yourselves. We’re doing great. Let’s just remember our notes to ourselves.
I hope this list helps you continue to thrive. What do you to do refresh this time of year? I’d love your suggestions, too!
Be well.
More soon!
xo J
Jacquie Gariano
We are just having the kitchen floor done. Awful, dust everywhere, I mean everywhere. So a cleaning service is coming next week to do a “deep cleaning” Love that. A clean house and little effort on my part. I do dump my purse out once a month but everything seems to go back in. I’m getting out a smaller summer purse I use when I travel and going to use that for a while to see if I can cut down on the purse clutter. I love all these tips, it encourages me to get to the car and under my bed.
anupreetkaur
I love this! Thanks for the reminders and smiles.
Christine
I love the idea of just dealing with something instead of apologizing for it! For me it’s my office… oy. Too many old binders (BINDERS?!?) and random things that “I might need someday.” My Saturday-self knows I won’t… now I just need to hold on to that feeling till my Monday-self is reunited with my desk (and my recycling bin).
Is it inappropriate to say how much I miss your podcast? :D
Brittany
Love your list!! I just de-cluttered and did a deep clean of all of my kitchen counters and I’m SOOO happy! Added a vase of colorful and cheery tulips and it makes me smile every time I enter the kitchen.
Leanne
Yes! The car!!! I actually had that on my list of things to do today but only because its going in for service and if it’s de-junked they vacuum it. I pretty much live in my car (long commute) so I tend to collect a lot of random stuff in there.
Teri I
I am “treating” myself to every Friday off in April to attack the spring purge and get my whole house clean. It’s amazing how wonderful the house feels when the windows are clean! Love the new candle idea. Many thanks!
Kimiko
This is a great list! Love a fresh start in Spring. The inner “Changling” in me craves change all the time so these little things will definitely make a difference this spring!
Chloe (Musings on Dinner)
I definitely, definitely feel you on number 8. I love reading and I love cookbooks and I live in a small flat and…the three things do not always go together. I am currently engaging in some decluttering activity. Clothes and cooking/baking stuff, too. It’s amazing how much dust these things can gather. And I really don’t need that cardigan I haven’t worn since I was 23 anymore.
Chrissy
#1 and #2…it’s like you’re seeing what I’m seeing. Thanks for the reminder- the Costanza wallet is no more!
kcf
It’s small, but I love swapping out my sagey velvet living room curtains for natural white cotton panels. I pack the old season’s curtains away dirty and wash the incoming season’s, hang them and let them air dry (and no ironing!). Makes the room smell delicious and really triggers “fresh start.”
Ashley H.
I love this. So many times I find myself reading articles along the lines of “how do I organize…declutter…get my life figured out…whatever.” Which leads to me being overwhelmed with the steps and helpful hints and not doing a. single. thing. about anything. Yours reads more along the lines of “You got this. You’re capable. Just do it.” which is refreshing. In my life overthinking=no productiveness.
Tina
Me too, Ashley!
Claire, UK
I’ve been washing plant-pots from my garden in my bath, ready for the growing season to come. Yesterday, a slug poked its head out of the drying pile of pots next to the tub. I’m not sure that adding a candle is going to have a big impact on the ambience right now! :-D Maybe once all the pots are washed…
emma
Great list! I really need to clean my car haha! I also love to hire someone to do a deep clean. We just had someone do our carpets, and my home feels so clean! Also I really need to get a plant! Thanks for this list!
Katie
Do you have a recommendation for a NOLA company to do a deep cleaning?
Marlena
I love this! Thanks for the reminders and smiles.
Emily Bartnikowski
…and now I want “we good we grown” on a t-shirt. :-)
joythebaker
Hahahah it’s accurate!
Carly Lanning
Absolutely loved this post! Now I’m off to finally buy that mint plant for my kitchen and about 82 new candles I’ve had my eye on :)
Molly Staggs
Thank you for this list: I like it, especially the one about hiring out for the deep clean!
Liz
Can I just take a moment to admit that I have food magazines that I’ve held onto for over a decade resting on a bookshelf? Yes, I indeed do. What for? I have no idea. At the time, I was thinking, “I might wanna make that bumble bee cake from Living magazine, etc. etc. I need to throw out or donate all those magazines (over 100!) Pronto! thanks for the encouragement Joy. I’m inspired :) Also, now I have room for books!!!!
Susan
So many times I’ve botten recipe magazines and only ended up being interested in a couple recipes from them. I’ve gotten in the habit of finding the ones I want online (if available) and copying them to a document or scanning them and saving them in a labeled file folder on my computer. Then every once in a while, I can check those recipe folders. It’s east to sort them as to when the document or scan was made and when it was last opened. If I saved something then never opened it again (a good sign I never actually made it,) I consider deleting the file.
Sara
Love the idea of scanning the promising recipes! My giant pile of magazines needs to be tackled soon.
Courtney
This idea could bring me into the present day – I have every issue of Food & Wine since 1994, plus a few years of Gourmet and Saveur. I actually do go back to them often and cook from them, but so much space could be saved by consolidating a doc of what I use.
Sarah Garcia
I’m just like you! I just got rid of my stack of Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple magazines I had been holding on to for over 10 years! They moved with me from place to place too. I donated them all to a local library! It was much easier to let go that way, the thoughts of someone else getting to make a recipe I never made, lol.
Janabelle
Love all your tips! :)
I took a week off work last week and did a Spring purge in my house. Cleaned out two closets, my mudroom cabinets, and several shelves and boxes of just random crap that have been cluttering up my house since I moved in almost nine years ago. Donated a car load of stuff to the local thrift store and reorganized several spaces. It’s amazing how good a clean and organized closet can make you feel! My car, though…hopelessly covered in dog hair, country road dirt/grime, and church bulletins. I need to just take it somewhere and have it detailed.
joythebaker
You’re on it! Well done. And yea… take that car to get detailed! It’ll feel so good!
Karen B.
Thanks, I needed this. Spring is one of my favorite seasons and I’m usually on top of my ‘to do’ list, but we moved last July and getting into the swing of where I’ve stashed everything is still an adventure in discovery. I will begin with my purse, I truly need to purge some expired coupons and the like.
Happy Spring! I read your posts faithfully…comments? Not so much. But I do love you and your delicious recipes!
Karen T
I need to stop apologizing, not for a dirty car because my car is clean, but I need to stop apologizing mindlessly for things that I am not even responsible for…. it’s a ridiculously bad habit! Probably the New Year’s resolution I never made! Thank you for the reminder! I rarely make resolutions as I have a pretty good lifestyle eating, working out and gratitude in play already! 2 resolutions I made and do religiously I need to mention in case anyone wants something easy to add to their spring refresh: floss daily and drink 16 oz of water upon rising
Tina
Check to all three of these, Karen! Thanks
Amy W
I’m not sure if you’ll see this but I read something recently that talked about showing gratitude instead of apologizing all the time. Instead of saying “Sorry I’m late.” say “Thanks for being patient.” Instead of saying, “Sorry my house is a mess.” say, “Thanks for being understanding/accepting of me.”
Heather
Love this! The “cleaning your car instead of apologizing” tip really hit home haha and I know my purse could you a clean out / refresh! I think I have the same assortment of random in mine.
Kaleigh Sanio
I love this! I don’t have a car, so that will probably be skipped, but I may replace it with declutteing my underbed drawers – that needs to be done before I move again. But I will for sure be doing most if not all of these, they’re all so smart!
Codrut Turcanu
Hey joy,
My girlfriend is a fanatic when it comes to reusing old items, her hands work like Chopin is playing the piano… :)
MaryEllen
Hat!! Any suggestions?
joythebaker
I found the one pictured at Target!
Liz
Oooo good plans, will definitely steal some of these! I do do many the same, have a proper clean and clear up the house, clean the car (yes, I am also an apologiser…) and then try to look at at least one way we can have less environmental impact this year. Last year we switched cotton buds from the plastic stick ones to cardboard stick ones, which are all biodegradable, and switched our toilet paper to recycled bamboo. We also tried to reduce our electricity consumption by turning things off standby and recycle more. This year I think we are aiming for reducing water consumption, reducing plastic waste, eating more vegetarian food and trying to, like you, reuse/refashion old items rather than buying new clothes/accessories. Every little helps, right?