Spring Clean Your Life: Give Your Pantry (and Your Body) A Fresh Start

They say spring is coming. I’m not sure I believe it, but if history repeats itself, in a few weeks, the weather will start to warm up. The tulips will be popping up, the rain will come, and the grass will turn green. Spring is nature’s renewal. After a dark, cold winter, spring is a fresh start. A new beginning. A new cycle.

And it’s also a perfect time for us to follow suit. It’s the season to lighten up, shed layers, and clean our body and surroundings. Here are a few ideas to spring clean your life.

Start with Your Surroundings

Why not throw out or give away food that’s been lurking in your pantry, on your shelves, and in your refrigerator? Some rainy spring morning I suggest spending a few hours taking out all of your food items, putting them on the counter, and figuring out if they are still edible . . . or something you will ever eat.

If you’ve ever wanted to cut down on sugar, this would be a good time to get rid of the cookies, candies, or sweets that have been tempting you. Before putting the food away, clean out your refrigerator and pantry.

Spring Eating

Eating seasonally is a great way to get in tune with nature. Spring foods are naturally cleansing to the liver and help remove toxins that you may have accumulated over the winter. I always get excited when spring foods start popping up at the grocery store. Not only do they become more affordable, but they’re also more abundant and fresh. They also contain a variety of nutrients and antioxidants. Here are some foods I suggest reaching for this spring.

Asparagus: My favorite spring vegetable is delicious roasted, sautéed, or even boiled. Add to fresh salads, quiche, pasta, or fish.

Lettuce, arugula, spinach: Eat your greens! They support many systems in the body and are an excellent way to get a massive health kick.

Radishes, carrots, and beets: I can see an amazing salad in the works here. Roast the beets and finely slice the radishes and carrots. Add some greens, nuts, a protein, and a salad dressing—and voilà, the ultimate spring salad.

Rhubarb: This sour fruit is delicious when cooked with a sweetener and a little lemon, and then added to strawberries. Put it in a pie or top it on yogurt. Delicious!

Berries: As spring comes to a close, berries start popping up everywhere and become way more affordable. The best are the strawberries that you can get at farmers’ markets. They’re small but they pack a serious sweet punch.

Spring Allergies

If you start sneezing, your eyes start itching, and your nose starts dripping at the first sign of spring, you’re in good company. So let’s try to alleviate some of these symptoms.

Start drinking nettle tea before your symptoms erupt. Nettle tea is a great anti-inflammatory herb that can help calm hay fever allergies. It has a subtle taste and can be added to peppermint or another tea if you’d like.

Clean up your diet. Allergies are an immune response to the pollen that’s causing inflammation. Help out your body by cutting out sugar (now!) and dairy. Sugar is inflammatory, and dairy causes mucus in the body. Ideally, you’ll want to cut out sugar a few months before allergy season starts.

Diffuse essential oils in your home. Not only will the oils help keep the pollen and mites at bay, but many have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy properties. Some suggestions for diffusing are lavender, chamomile, peppermint, eucalyptus, frankincense, and lemon.

Spring Rituals

Now for the fun stuff! Spring is a time to celebrate and to welcome the changing season.

  • Go outside! Walk in the woods, bike, and put on a raincoat (or not) and dance in the rain.
  • Bring flowers into your home and put them in different rooms.
  • Burn some sage to purify and clear out your home.
  • Sort your clothes and air out any spring and summer clothes that have been hiding away all winter. Maybe it’s time to donate some you don’t like and find a few new spring outfits!
  • Have a spring party with friends or with yourself. Write down dreams and goals for the new season and plant some seeds in an indoor pot. Drink tea and eat berries.

There you have it! I’ve just touched on some of the things you can do this spring to welcome the new season. I hope this has sparked your imagination and you come up with your own fun rituals to try.