Paper Clutter, Credit Reports, and More Adult Things We All Have to Spring Clean

With Spring Cleaning for Your Mood, we’re helping you get your housekeeping done no matter what state of mind you’re in. For 20 weekdays in April, we’ll focus on cleaning a new area of your space, with three different ways to get it done—so it’s easy to stay on track even when you’re busy, tired, or away from home. Sign up with your email now and enjoy a better space by the end of the month.

Not everyone has a proper “home office” at home, but we all have areas where we like to Get Things Done… specifically mundane things like paying bills, making doctors appointments or, most recently, finishing your taxes. You might like to settle in at your dining room table with your laptop and a storage box. Perhaps you work out of your backpack most of the time. Or maybe you like to keep everything digital. Wherever your everyday home operations work happens, that’s where we’re going to clean today.

Everyone has such different ways of doing things that it’s tough for me to describe the assignments today in a way that’s general enough to apply to everyone, but specific enough so you know what it is I’m suggesting that you do. So, basically, keep an open mind and remix the day’s assignment to suit your unique flavor of home life.

So what are you in the mood for today?

All the mail, unpaid bills, records you’re keeping, magazines yet to be read—today’s the day to go through them with gusto. My method is always to grab a laundry-basket-type container and take up every bit of paper lying around, then sit in one spot on the floor to sort through it piece by piece. Put trash in the recycling bin, things that need to be shredded through the shredder, and file away relevant paperwork wherever it belongs.

If you’re reasonably on top of your paper piles, but still want to do a deep dive today, set your sights on your file cabinet—even if it’s well-organized, I bet you could go through it and find some things you no longer need to hang on to. Or use today as an opportunity to go through and declutter a digital area of your life, like your email inbox or online file storage.

Take a quick minute and clean some of the spots you touch and use the most in your home workspace.

• Wipe down your computer or laptop’s screen. Use a mix of equal parts water and vinegar, and spray it on a microfiber cloth (never on the screen itself!) before wiping the screen gently in a circular motion. Be mindful of the edges and making sure moisture doesn’t seep around and under the screen.
• Disinfect your keyboard and mouse or laptop. You can use a disinfecting wipe according to the instructions on the package (most suggest you need to leave the surface wet for a few minutes for them to really work), or use some rubbing alcohol on a rag or cotton swabs to get intricate areas.
• Disinfect any other devices or surfaces you touch often, such as the printer, shredder, headphones, charger, speakers, task lamp, pens, or cabinet handles.

It’s tough to find time for those boring adult things we all need to do each year. So try and commit yourself to the task by scheduling it in. Put a future appointment on your calendar—choose a time you know you’ll be at a computer—to review important documents, like your home inventory, credit report, or insurance policies. Those things need spring cleaning just like anything else in your space; if something looks amiss, like an error on your credit report, address it right away.

Visit the Spring Cleaning for Your Mood page to check out all the assignments so far. Download the PDF calendar so you always know what’s coming. And sign up with your email so you’re always on track: