If spring cleaning is in your plans this season, use caution. Traditional spring cleaning can be wonderful, but it can also fool you into thinking that getting rid of “stuff” is a finite project or an annual event – or even the goal. It can also set you up for disappointment if you try to take on too much and then don’t make as much progress as you hope. Take baby steps.

If you feel energized by the emergence of Spring, go ahead, give an extra push to clear out “stuff” at home, clean like crazy…. just remember that creating a beautiful “feel good” home requires thoughtful attention and action – every day. A home filled with love and “good energy” is the by-product of a gentle, loving, continuous process, not just a Spring push. And that gentle, loving process begins with your thoughts. It begins within you.

The most effective spring cleaning you can undertake is to release thoughts of worry, doubt or overwhelm. If you hear yourself thinking, “This place such a mess and I have to get it under control,” notice the undertone of frustration – and take a slow deep breath. Feeling like there is something “wrong” that needs to be “fixed” will only keep you stuck.

Instead, consciously choose thoughts that help you to feel hopeful and excited – like Spring! Feel what it’s like to think (and really mean!): “I release all that no longer serves me. I clear the path for good things to come to me, with ease. I choose to live in love and beauty, beginning in my own home. I am worthy of everything good in life.” Spend a few minutes in that powerful vibration every day and notice what happens next time you open a cupboard, a drawer or your closet.

Here are some tips to help make sure your Spring Cleaning leaves you feeling energized:

Begin with a project you know you can finish.

Don’t try to be a hero and clean out your basement or your garage or even your closet in a weekend. The bigger the project, the more “stuck” energy will be there, so tread lightly. Instead, go for your cutlery drawer, your refrigerator or your linen cupboard and get some instant gratification.

Imagine the end result.

Especially if you have a big project in mind, begin by imagining what it will look and feel like once it’s completed. Close your eyes and picture every detail. Feel relief flow through your body before you even start. Make a plan and get excited. And then take baby steps….one at a time.

Create a peace zone.

Choose one area of your home that is important to you for your daily functioning. Maybe it is your kitchen, your bathroom, or your bedroom. Don’t think about getting finished – just spend 15 minutes a day making progress in that area. Let it feel like a meditation. Clean out a cupboard, a drawer, clear one section of counter space. Wipe the walls, the door frames, the baseboards. Keep going into deeper and deeper levels of cleaning and clearing until your 15 minutes is simply maintaining what you have accomplished. And enjoy your place of peace!

Encourage yourself with kindness.

Most important of all, be nice to yourself. Listen to your thoughts, and make sure you are giving yourself constant encouragement. As you begin to clear out self-criticism and bring in thoughts of genuine self-kindness, you will find that unwanted “stuff” in your home, whatever it is, will be cleared out as if by magic – Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall.

Happy Spring!

Sara Brown Crowder is the Award-Winning Author of HouseHeal: Transform Your Life through the Power of Home. To order your book today or to find out more about how to live in love and beauty beginning at home, visit the HouseHeal website.