A Personal Fall Cleanse

Spring cleaning; an annual “cleaning” craze that usually occurs when the weather starts to warm up. But have you ever heard of Fall cleaning?

We all get back to campus at the end of summer eager to get into a routine and reunite with our friends. We pack our schedules with every possible social and extracurricular event in hopes to do it all. I don’t know about you but my brain has been a million places and I’m eager for fall break. Does this sound like you?

The upcoming break presents the opportunity to not only relax but reorganize. Here are some ways to do some personal “fall cleaning” and get you back on the right foot:

PRIORITIZE YOUR INVOLVEMENTS

Start by writing down a list of all the things you are involved in: sorority, clubs, whatever it may be. Don’t leave anything out, no matter how important or how occasional. List ALL the things you spend your time doing. Ask yourself: am I putting 100% into everything?

Being a college student is a lot on its own, your personal workload and class schedule takes some getting used to. Give yourself some credit for being able to handle that alone! If you have too many activities on top of academics, you’re not giving your full commitment and character to all your endeavors.

Identify the things 2-3 you can’t live without and circle them. Are these the things that take up most of your free time? If so, do you have time for all the other things? How do they align with your passions and your future? Or do you feel obligated? Is it a time-suck? Think long-term. See if you can eliminate something that evokes mostly doubt.

Look at the rest of the list and see what you can eliminate. It may be hard, but once you do this you’ll enable full attention to all your endeavors and also allot some more free time. Because yeah, we all NEED some unplanned time.

SCHEDULE SOME SELF CARE

We’ve all heard about the benefits of mediation, reading, and overall down time is beneficial to our mental health. Actually, finding the time to this can be very tricky. Choose one thing that makes you feel good in some way.
We often feel pressure to constantly be with others, especially on a college campus, being with friends is very accessible. Choose an activity that you will do on your own. We all need at little bit of alone time. Sometimes we don’t realize it until we actually make the time for it.

Set a reasonable time for yourself weekly to participate in this behavior. Be mindful. Focus on how this makes your body feel.

CLEAN YOUR SPACE

At the beginning of the school year if you schedule becomes a mess your environment usually suffers along with it. Put on your favorite Spotify playlist and get cleaning! Do your laundry, reorganize your drawers, closet, shoes, makeup and notebooks. A clean space can motivate productivity and limit distraction if you’re doing school work at your desk.

Have fun with it! Order a new candle or tapestry to give your space a person vibe. A cozy environment gives you a comfortable place to come back to after a long day.

It’s important to give yourself time to reevaluate, relax and organize once midterms pass. We are all a little stressed right now. You’re not alone! These tips can help you put your best foot forward the rest of the semester.