Spring Cleaning- For Your Closets and For Your Finances!

“Spring is the time of plans and projects”, Leo Tolstoy reminds us in Anna Karenina. For many of us, the coming of spring feels weather-wise more like the depths of winter — and the thought of a new season that brings about new projects feels as far away as the summer sun. But before we know it, the snow will melt, the gloves and boots will be put into the back of the closet, and the darker days of winter will be a distant memory.

As a kid, we did spring cleaning the old fashioned way. My mother has always been a very thorough house keeper and she was a believer in things like washing windows (inside and out!), washing walls, and other “heavy lifting” to get the house ready for spring. I didn’t know anyone when I was growing up who had a cleaning lady or any other “help” in the house- we assumed that was what kids were for, and we got after it with my mother. I confess that as an adult, the ritual of doing a deep clean on the house has gotten away from me- although it appeals to me a lot (at least on a theoretical basis!!).

One year — almost a decade ago, I was quite ill and had to take a few months away from work to get better. As I was recuperating, I began to really delight in taking a lot more ownership in managing and maintaining my home. The one resource that I truly loved discovering at that time is Fly Lady — your “personal online coach to help you gain control of your home and get organized”. There is definitely something about having a system to help you get on track- and stay there- when it comes to having your physical space organized. I liken it somewhat to the good feeling you get when you are eating healthily and exercising regularly- all feels right with the world!

I also think that getting your closets in order, as a traditional spring cleaning task, is both a great thing to do in reality, as well as a strong metaphor for what spring is all about. It is the rebirth and the new chances or fresh start. The same is true about your finances- spring is the best time to take stock of what you are doing, what is working and what new habits it would be great to develop. And just like having a personal coach for organizing your home, or a trainer to keep you exercising- there is nothing better than taking stock on where you are in managing your finances — having a financial plan that is designed for you, that comes with ongoing advice and ways to stay on track. (Check out a sample financial plan from Pefin- which comes with your Pefin subscription which you can get FREE for a limited time (no credit card needed!)).

Spring also harkens in tax season- which is both a burden in terms of managing the filing and potentially writing a check to the IRS, but for some also the time of enthusiastically awaiting the much anticipated refund! Having a clear picture of what to do with the refund — use it to pay down debt, squirrel some of it away to increase the emergency buffer, save it for retirement or some other future goal- or investing it in your 401k or into a taxable account — is something to really get clarity on. Getting answers that you need for this is a great way to set yourself up for the best year ever — and to be able to achieve what matter most to you.

I hope that no matter what the weather is where you are, you take this season of renewal to refresh all areas of life. Spring brings an inherent sense of joy and anticipation- just as in immortal words of Robin Williams’– “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’”