Spring Cleaning

I know spring officially started a couple of weeks ago, but with a little April Fool’s Day snow in my area, it wasn’t until this past weekend that it actually felt like spring. Note that my ice scraper/snow brush will stay in my car for a couple more weeks as April sometimes likes to play jokes with the weather.

After a long winter cooped up inside by myself for the most part, it is wonderful to have the windows open and to get outside without having to bundle up. I have actually been able to wear shorts on my last few bike rides. Shedding the winter gear was liberating! I am finding that I have to re-tune my brain though. During the winter I got used to being inside and picked up some lazier habits because of it.

For me the physical spring cleaning started with just opening the windows to get fresh air in the house – something we do as much as possible when temperatures allow. Next up, uncover and clean the deck table and chairs. Bring on the hose and scrub brush and set them back up on the deck. After having the last fire of the season the other night when it was below freezing, today it was time to cleanout the wood stove and pack away all the fireplace paraphernalia. That’s always bittersweet for me as my wife and I enjoy sitting by a nice warm fire – very relaxing, especially with a beverage or two.

Of course there is a growing list of spring chores to get the yard back up to speed, schedule home maintenance, and transform to spring and summer mode. But, while addressing home and property, this year especially, with ongoing Covid restrictions, we need to address our mental state as well. As I wrote above, I am working to re-tune my brain after it became winterized. As much as I love to be outside playing disc golf, riding my bike, playing roller hockey and softball, I find that I have to give myself a little kick to get going on any of those activities these days. Part of that is the mental hangover from winter but a bigger part is shaking off the more sedentary habits I developed while spending months indoors.

Habits take time and energy to break, which means we need to work at changing them. Part of my spring cleaning is to push myself to get back into the activities I love but didn’t get to do much during the winter months. Some of that push is needed because it’s been over a year now that I’ve been doing most things by myself while my wife works and Covid hovers overhead. One thing I did not have to push myself to do was to get on the field for our first softball practice of the season. With last season cancelled it was the first time getting together with the guys in a year and it felt great to rekindle the friendships and work off the rust (it’s a 55 and over league, so there was lots of rust!).

As you do your own spring cleaning around the house and yard, make sure you take time to spring clean your brain. By focusing on the enjoyment you get out of activities that you may not have been able to participate in for a long time due to weather and/or Covid, you can re-tune your brain and shake those sedentary habits. Give yourself that kick in the pants to get off the couch and get active again now that spring is finally here. It may take some doing at first but keep at it. It’ll get easier and you’ll feel better mentally and physically.