Top Tips for Spring Cleaning
Beyond your basic spring clean.
At some point, you’ve probably scrolled over the famous Mr. Rogers quote, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” There’s good reason the sentiment has become ubiquitous of late; our instinct to search for those helpers is in high demand. Whether it’s watching taxi drivers drive Ukrainian refugees to Madrid over five days or the sweet way in which Italian schoolchildren greeted their new Ukrainian classmates, our faith in people continues to find its way toward restoration. And as action-prone grown-ups, these stories have ignited our own inner helpy helperton. If you, too, are ready to give an assist, we’ve rounded up some avenues worthy of your attention.
Pep up your pantry.
We said this was going to be non-basic, so what are we doing in the pantry, you might ask. Well, when the queen Ina Garten takes you on a tour of her pantry, attention must be paid. First on our tidy-up list (thanks, Ina) is to rid ourselves of old oils—because, yes indeed, they can go bad. Old baking powder’s out the door as well; it becomes ineffective over time (a cake that won’t rise is nothing short of tragic). And just maybe, one clear path to endemic life is to just let go of foods we once overstocked in fear of bare cupboards.
The replacements.
We pride ourselves for getting to an almost seasonless closet, but there are still some items that are decidedly for winter months. As we rotate them out this year, we’re taking note of items that need to be replaced (or things gone missing altogether) and actually purchasing them now while winter items are on sale. Our success rate is so far high, save for some low-inventory items. For the things we can’t find, we set a calendar reminder to look for them in early fall.
Good service.
The time to find out your bike needs repair? Hint: It’s not 10 minutes before heading out for a ride. Think about all the equipment you might use in warmer weather—bikes, grills, paddle boards, lawn mowers—and make sure they’re in good working order. Getting things serviced now, before summer starts in earnest, will keep your wheels turning and burgers flipping all season.
Book it.
If, like us, you tend to load up on books in winter—whether given as gifts, stocked up for holiday vacation or purchased from the year’s “best of” lists—you might want to give them a second look. We’ve been gathering up some unopened tomes and depositing them at our local Little Free Libraries. As grown-ups, we know by now that if we keep passing over a book, it’s a sign we’re probably not going to read it—and if we ever feel so compelled, that’s what the library is for. The end.
