Spruce up your Spring

With winter far in the rear view mirror, we’re welcoming warmer weather, the resurgence of leaves on trees and spending more time outdoors.  A popular part of spring is sprucing up, whether it’s where you live, work or play.

Let’s go through some easy ways you can spruce up your spring.

At Home

The ever-popular de-cluttering is a rite-of-passage at my house every spring.
If you’re doing a wardrobe review, consider putting some of your items up for sale if they’re in good condition to make a bit of extra cash.
What I do is take all of my clothes I haven’t worn in the past 12 months to Value Village to create some extra closet space. Pick your donation location of choice and give your clothes a second life.
Alternatively, holding a garage/street sale on your own or with neighbours/friends is another route to refine your closet space. It’s also an efficient way to move seldom/never used items in your garage, kitchen and basement.
Got a ton of stuff? A junk removal company is a good option if you don’t have the time to do it on your own.

On-line

Another constant for me is reviewing and updating my social media accounts. Since we can spend up to hours a week on social media, updating your friends/connections lists, pages you like and curating your newsfeed is something worth spending time on.
It’s a great way to discover new local businesses that would appreciate the digital support, delve into something new or find unplucked gems both near and far.
I’m getting better at this but still not quite ritualistic – I try and clean up my phone on the first of every month. From offloading pictures and video to updating contacts and creating more space, I try not to have too much on my phone in case something happens to it. My worry is that if I have a year’s worth of memories on one device and it breaks or gets lost, I’m without it.
Yes, there’s the good ol’ Cloud system but knowing I have it in a different location reassures me that I won’t lose my memories.

Experience the new

Whether it’s checking out new live music, visiting an art gallery, a new restaurant or retail store in the city or strolling through a new neighbourhood, there’s value to be had in experiencing new things.
You may find a new favourite spot that recently opened or stumble across an existing spot that you become enthralled with.
From rediscovering Malton to dining at the hidden gem that’s KAGE Restobar, our city has plenty of pockets that are waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

Setting/resetting aspirations


Creating and or refocusing on aspirations has been a crucial part of my personal and professional growth. You could be considering finding or creating a new job, new hobby, new experience, traveling, or anything else.
What works for me is creating attainable aspirations as part of a master matrix.
If I’m looking to, for example, improve my Instagram network for Modern Mississauga Media by 50% by year end, I’ll break it down into weekly and monthly realistic targets.
Looking to improve your daily step count? Add a bit weekly opposed to going from 3,000 to 30,000 right away.
Failure can be tricky and discouraging but by creating a sustainable, strategic and manageable plan, you’ll maximize your success rate.
Taking stock of where you are, what you want and what you need is helpful on various aspects and it’s greatly helped me continually move forward.

Let us know your tips and techniques for how you spruce up spring.