With spring right around the corner…. Ahhh, who are we kidding? Spring is here, folks! Spring and fall, while not talked about as much as summer and winter, are very pivotal seasons nonetheless. They are the gatekeepers to warmer and cooler months. Once we spring forward, the hope is each day will be a little warmer than the last. Warmer days are proven to increase productivity, and that’s not all!
Here’s a list of reasons why spring is good for our overall health:
• More sunny days lead to an increase in the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin.
• During the sunnier months, people are more likely to take up a more active lifestyle.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a direct effect of how long the day is and happens
mainly in the winter due to the shorter days.
• Studies found that being outdoors in enjoyable climates boost our creative skills, and
invokes more positivity.
• Warm weather can improve memory and cognitive style.
With these warmer days ahead, we can see the patios opening back up at our favorite restaurants and the parks, hiking trails, and pool days are calling our names. However, these days would not be complete without being spent with even better people, so cheers to breaking free of our cocoons to be social butterflies again. But before we can whip out our tank tops and shorts, we need to find them first; so in preparation for nicer weather, we need to spring clean. Some researchers trace the origin of spring cleaning to the Iranian Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which falls on the first day of spring. It is traditional to clean the house thoroughly either right before or during the first week of Great Lent, which is referred to as Clean Week. Like all good trends dating back to the B.C. era, even the stars can get behind this age-old practice. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite neat freaks to show you; you’re not alone in
cleaning your broom when you’re done using it. Oh wait, that’s just us? But, but, it gets dusty too! Either way, here are some faces as popular as Mr. Clean and some tips so you can tidy up with the best of them. We can’t all be Monic Geller’s (from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.), notorious for being a neat freak. Even though, as it turns out, Courtney Cox isn’t much different than her on-screen persona, when it comes to cleaning, that is.
Healthy Habits
When you wake up in the morning, what’s one of the first things you do? Hopefully, making your bed is apart of your morning routine, and if not, it’s not too late to make it an important step. Just like you wouldn’t skip a step in your skincare regimen, don’t sleep on making your bed. The queen of mourning bad breakups in bed, Taylor Swift, can’t stand an unmade bed, and it’s one of her biggest pet peeves. It takes approximately 90 days to get into a consistent routine; if you start now, you’ll be making your bed every morning like T-Swift by the summer. Shake off those sheets in the morning and start every day with a made bed, so every night when you crawl back into bed, there’s no need to have bad blood with yourself for your bed being a mess.
Tips for good morning habits:
• Sets you up for success with a clearer, calmer outlook.
• Better nights rest, lowering stress.
• Makes your parents proud.
Spring Cleaning
After you make your bed, what’s next? Do you know what always seems to need a good condensing once a year? Hint, they’re probably filled with a bunch of Tupperware you got throughout this past holiday season. Next up on our spring cleaning cleanse, those pesky kitchen cabinets. According to Charlize Theron, she has “a problem with cabinets being messy and people just shoving things in cabinets and closing the door.” And that’s not all. “I will
literally lie in bed and not be able to sleep because I’ll be like, ‘I think I saw something in that cabinet that just shouldn’t be there,'” she said.
Tips for decluttering your kitchen and mind:
• Choose one cabinet or shelf only.
• Take everything in that one area out.
• Clean inside of the cabinet.
• Evaluate the items you’ve taken out and make each one “earn” its spot back.
• Repeat until you run out of cabinets.
How is it that we can’t keep socks in pairs, but we’ll keep someone else’s hand-me-down dishware until we move out? Well, we don’t know about you, but the lifestyle guru, Reese Witherspoon knows how to keep her socks and organize them too! Witherspoon has admitted she likes to nest at home. While you won’t find her in the kitchen, she loves reorganizing her bookshelves and sock drawer. Heck, she’s even spent four hours reorganizing her underwear.
If that’s not organization dedication, we don’t know what is. She and Marie Kondo must meet if they already haven’t. Speaking of Marie, she has a specific way she recommends folding each type of clothing, including those pesky undies. Personally, my underwear drawer has never been folded and is a collection of all shapes and sizes. If you were to close your eyes and stick your hand in the drawer, you wouldn’t know what style you’ll pull out. Perhaps, it is
time we follow Marie and get our panties out of a bunch this spring.
Tips for folding your panties for maximum organization:
• Begin with the backside facing up.
• Fold the sides over the crotch and roll.
• Then fold the crotch up towards the waistband.
• Turn over to show any decoration on the band for display.
Don’t worry, gentlemen; Marie has a recommended way to fold your boxers too! Here’s her tip on how to prep your drawer’s drawer. Fold the edges across the middle to make a rectangle; fold in half and then in thirds. Bing, bang, boom!
Whatever your list may be this spring, we hope you find the growth you are looking for. While spring can be scary because of all the changes it brings, it is a time best spent to rebuild, rebirth, and rejoice! To no surprise, the spring season gets its name from the verb “spring” as a nod to the flowers and plants springing up, springing open, and bursting into blossom.
The expression “bloom where you are planted” means a person should take advantage of the opportunities they have in their life and be grateful for the present situation. So whether your spring cleaning list involves Lysol wipes and rubber gloves, or it is a list that can only be worked on from within, with a little sunshine, all of us at Boomer Naturals suggest you find what puts that pep in your step this spring.