A few months ago, I moved into a new apartment. At the time I had a bunch of boxes I hadn’t seen since I moved back from Southern California. So since I haven’t seen a lot of my stuff for the past year and a half, it seemed like the perfect time to go through my clothes, shoes, and just stuff in general. I cleaned out my makeup, skincare products and it felt great. But now it’s been five months and spring is finally upon us in the northeast so I am back into full spring cleaning mode.

The past week I’ve really enjoyed coming home from work, opening all the windows in my apartment, and cleaning my life up. (Old lady excitement.) But if I’m being honest, sometimes staying motivated and on track and be a little rough. Here are some tips on how I get through my spring cleaning list:

Make a list: Lists work for me. I use them every day: at home, at work, it’s how I get my shit together. I write down everything. Like everything. Do laundry, fold laundry, put laundry away. I know this could all be covered in one line (laundry) but the more steps I cross off the more motivated I feel.

Take away distractions: Instead of having the TV on I play my Amazon Echo and blast some fun music. Or lately I’ve been listening to podcasts to keep me moving. If the TV is on I cant help but sit down and start watching whatever show is on, so I eliminate that possibility all together. And to avoid the phone distractions, I keep in on it’s charger, in my room, where I can’t be distracted by group messages or Instagram. (Both of which I was scrolling through a few minutes ago.)

Think outside the box: Your house isn’t the only part of your life that needs some spring cleaning. This is a good time to once a year go through your finances, take a look at your insurance, make doctors appointments and all of that other stuff no one ever looks forward to. Here I made a list of all of my “spring cleaning” to-dos.