I’m Lucie Fink and this week is 5 Days of Spring Cleaning.
Yes, even though it’s spring, it’s currently snowing in New York City.
Hey everyone!
Welcome back to Try Living With Lucie.
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I cut my hair.
And got bangs.
I even spring cleaned my hairstyle.
I know that it’s already technically been spring for a few weeks now and it’s snowing
outside,
so this is a weird spring.
But no matter what time of year it is when you watch this video, it is never too late
to start cleaning.
I don’t know about you but in the wintertime, everything seems to pile up around my apartment.
I don’t know why, but it always becomes a mess.
So each day in this five day challenge is gonna be dedicated to a different physical
space of mine, whether that be my kitchen, my bathroom, my bedroom, and more.
Before we start, I just want to point out, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be purely
physical.
So, if you’re looking for a mental clear out of sorts,
here are a few other things you can do.
Cutting out toxic relationships and drama.
Cutting all the negative talk and gossip.
Ending the negative thought about yourself.
And finally, eliminating your bad habits.
I’ve actually done a ton of mental clearing recently with Five Days of Self Care and I’ve
been working on my bullet journal.
And because of that, I wanted to focus this video on the physical spaces.
But just know, spring cleaning can happen up here too.
My bedroom.
My bedroom is the first thing I see when I open my eyes in the morning and it’s the
last thing I see before I go to sleep at night.
And Gretchen Rubin, the author of "The Happiness Project," wrote a whole piece about how outer
order contributes to inner calm.
So here’s what I did today.
I started out by dealing with the clutter on the side of my bed.
For some reason, a ton of stuff tends to pile up right there on the window sill.
So I cleared all of that away.
Next I got to work on my closet.
A Refinery29 article that tells you where you should be focusing
your spring cleaning efforts based on your sign tells me that since I’m a Leo I should
be focusing on my closet.
And as you guys might know from Five Days of Capsule Wardrobe I already dealt with that
big problem.
I already donated 75% of my clothing, so my closet’s not that bad right now.
It’s just a little bit messy.
I refolded all the clothes.
I also removed items that were really wintery like heavy sweaters, hats and scarves, and
added some swimsuits back into my closet for spring and summer.
In my wall closet, which has a storage space up above, I removed all the items that I’ve
begun accumulating there and I put them into a storage unit in my building.
I vacuumed my entire carpet, took my studio lights that have been clogging up my bedroom
and put those in the storage unit as well.
When I was done with all of that I stripped everything from my bed.
All the pillowcases, the blanket cover, the sheet, the mattress pad, everything.
And then I put all the linens in the wash
and side note, don’t jump on your bed because you might break something like I did.
Now I need a whole new casing for my outlet.
And while everything was in the wash, I wiped down the window sill, I washed the windows,
which is something I can confidently say I have never done since I moved in here, and
I also cleared out the drawers on our nightstand and put anything that was on top that didn’t
need to be out on top in the drawers.
And when the laundry was done I put it back on the bed and it all looked so fresh and
new.
And for each of the spaces I cleaned this week,
I’m gonna give you a few Lucie leftover tips, which are things that I myself didn’t
do, but you should try.
So for the bedroom, one thing you can try is flipping and rotating your mattress if
it’s not too heavy.
2.
Cleaning your light fixtures and replacing the bulbs.
And 3.
Wiping down any artwork.
I’d say that for me, the kitchen is the place in my apartment that always has the
highest risk of getting dirty.
I love food.
Pizza and cupcakes.
Mostly pizza.
And if you follow me on Instagram Stories you’ll see that I’m very active in my
kitchen.
So I love to cook, I love trying new recipes, and it’s pretty much always a mess in there.
Oops!
Also, throughout the five day challenge, I wanted to make sure that not only was I using
safe and non toxic cleaners,but that I was also doing my part as best as I could to reduce
my waste.
So I connected with Lauren Singer, the zero waste girl, and she sent me a few of her favorite
items from her Package Free Shop in Brooklyn.
Firstly, this glass spray bottle,
which has right on it the directions for a three ingredient non toxic all purpose cleaner.
Just vinegar, water, and essential oils.
And also these reusable cloths to reduce my use of paper towels.
I started out by clearing out the items that had begun to accumulate on my counter space.
And once that was all clean, I moved over to the stove top and oven region.
Then I moved on to the appliances on my countertop, so the toaster, the coffee machine, my blender,
and then over to the sink area.
One area on my sink that I never remember to clean is the backsplash so I did that very
diligently today.
And then I cleared out my pantry.
This cabinet becomes almost like a dumping ground for food that I don’t think I want
right now but I think I might be hungry for at some point in the future.
And eventually the cabinet is sort of bulging out, the doors don’t really close properly.
So I gotta fix that.
I went through everything shelf by shelf, I even wiped down the shelves as I went,
and I discarded all expired food.
At the end I restocked it very neatly with food that I actually eat.
Remember that cabinet that I organized in my kitchen during 5 Days of Adulting?
Well, I gave it a little upgrade today by changing some of the food in it to fit my
current taste, and I also replenished all of the empty containers.
And then it was time for the fridge and the freezer.
I set my food waste aside for composting and then I took out all expired foods.
Lastly, I cleaned up the floor with a dustpan.
And then I got to work on my hands and knees,
and I scrubbed the floor very meticulously.
In terms of the kitchen, here are three Lucie’s leftover tips. That I didn't get around to.
Number one clean out any of your glass jars and use them as reusable water bottles or
for meal prep.
Number two, replace any of your saran wrap with plastic free beeswax wrap.
And number three, reorganize your pots and pans because I know how cluttered that space
can get and it is not fun.
The living room is the main
hangout area of our apartment so most of our friends that come over sit on the couch or
the kitchen table and let's be real, The whole vibe of an apartment can pretty much be determined
based on that living space.
So for that reason, and also for my own sanity, I had to clean that place up.
Starting with the couch, I re-fluffed all of the pillows and then folded the blankets
neatly.
Then I moved on to the coffee table, which was cluttered up with mail and books and papers
and all sorts of things.
I also had my bullet journal supplies
scattered all over the floor so I cleaned everything up and put it into my supply box.
Another one of my lights was cluttering the living room so I moved back into storage too.
And then it was time for the bookshelves.
The bookshelf.
This is a big moment everyone, wait until you see what I did here.
He loves buying books.
He loves reading books.
I love that about him.
But it has become a messy thing.
We have books in the bookshelf.
We have books in between the bookshelf.
We got books behind the TV, on the window sill,
on the coffee table.
So I was inspired by a place I went to this weekend to take all of my books out of the
cabinet and then reorganize them by color.
I know that it sounds really intense but when you have enough books to do this, it looks
really good.
I made a white shelf and a blue shelf and a black shelf.
Then I put a few gray books on my table, and then I made a red to yellow gradient on the
windowsill.
And all of the extra books that didn't fit into any of these categories were put behind
the TV in a neat stack.
Next I took out the vacuum and I got the entire area rug.
I even got under the couch and also under the rug.
Then I washed the window sills and the windows, and I straightened out the paintings on the
wall and that was it.
So Lucie's leftover tips for your living space.
Number one, try washing the couch cushions and the pillowcases.
Two, clean your television screen.
And three, sanitize your remote controls.
When I was done I opened all the windows.
Then I saged down the entire apartment.
And now it looks so clean, and it smells so fresh and I am so happy.
Happy Thursday.
I read a Refinery29 article that says having a messy desk could be a sign that you're a
creative genius.
Now if this is true, this is very good news for me.
Some people love working in messy environments
where their ideas are scattered around on paper all around them.
When things are neat and tidy and orderly, I can let my creative flag fly.
But when they're not like that I am just jambalaya.
So today was a day for a major desk clean up.
My desk was especially messy today because I had a ton of props floating around on it
from shoots, so I had papers floating on my desk, a lot of food, a ton of makeup props
for Snapchat, old boxes that I hadn't broken down, and so much more.
I don't even know what this is.
First things first before I even started to tackle this.
I got rid of things that I didn't need.
I actually had to keep a little bit more than I wanted at my desk because a ton of these
items are props that are used for everyday shoots, but I started out by going through
my items and I separated out a donation pile.
And then based on what was remaining, I put things into four bins.
One bin was for food when I'm hungry at work, one bin was all of the beauty products and
makeup props, one was for my markers and writing supplies, and the last was just
I separated everything into those bins and then for some leftover props, I brought them
over to the Refinery29 prop closet.
Next, I went through my desk and I cleared out things and I did not need it before I
organized everything else.
Not sure how that got there.
When it comes to clearing out your office space it's really the little things that help
put your mind at ease.
Like finally replacing that tape dispenser with some fresh tape. Or pouring out month
old candy that's just clogging the place up.
Wiping down your computer screen, cracking the window open.
And here are three Lucie's leftover tips for cleaning your desk area.
One, create new desk organizers.
Two, spruce up your space with some plants and greenery.
And three, make a bullet journal.
You guys know that I love my BuJo.
Happy Friday.
I completely take back what I said about the kitchen being the place that's the most prone
to getting dirty.
The real place in my apartment that's the most prone is the bathroom.
I'm really good about cleaning my towels regularly and keeping that sink area neat.
And I also love taking baths.
So I'm pretty diligent about cleaning the tub regularly, but I'm a maximalist when it
comes to products.
So spring cleaning my bathroom for me is about pairing down.
Starting with the sink I cleared off whatever was on top,
then I scrubbed all around the rim and the inside of the sink.
Don't forget the handles.
Then I completely cleared out the area underneath my sink, which has all of my hair tools and
my makeup and my towels.
Then I moved onto the shower.
I recycled all the empty bottles, cleaned around the rim of the tub, and then I got
into the nitty gritty tile grout using a toothbrush.
I also, for the first time ever, cleaned my shower head.
Then I moved on to the medicine cabinet.
I cleared everything out to wash the shelves.
I threw away expired medicines
and I put back only what I needed.
And I made a shopping list for first aid essentials that I needed to replenish.
Next, I scrubbed the mirrors and then the dreaded toilet.
Ahhh!
I cleaned up the area around the toilet and then I also replaced the straight toilet paper
roll with a little container.
And then I went to town on that toilet using a toilet brush that I got from Package Free
Shop.
I cleaned the inside,
Ergh!
I cleaned the outside,
the top, the bottom, the whole shebang.
I put a new fresh head on my rose gold Quip electric toothbrush, and replaced my empty
toothpaste with a new one.
And lastly, I mopped the floor using washable and reusable mop pads from Package Free Shop.
I'm out.
And just like that my entire apartment was spotless.
Lucie's leftover tips for the bathroom.
Number one, clean or change your shower curtain.
Number two, switch to all natural and zero waste soaps, shampoos, and body washes.
And number three, unclog your drains because we know how much hair gets stuck in there.
Comment below to let us know how you clean your place in the springtime.
And as always let me know what you want to see me try next time for five days at a time.
I am not going to do my typical kiss because glove was recently in the toilet.
Even though I cleaned it, it's always going to be tainted.
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See you next time.
Bye!