10 Realistic Spring Cleaning Tips (That Won’t Make You Lose Your Mind)

Tips from @TidyDad

This weekend, I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t want to catch up on work. I didn’t even want to doomscroll. All I wanted to do was deep clean and redecorate my kitchen and finally finish cleaning up the garden. And honestly? It felt like the most productive, grounding thing I’ve done in weeks.

There’s something about the chaos of the political moment, the headlines, the hearings, the constant churn, that’s made me crave order in my own space. I’m not trying to create a Pinterest-perfect home. I just want my house to feel like it’s on my side. A place where the vibes are calm, the mugs have a home, and I can breathe a little easier.

So I turned to someone who actually knows what he’s doing: my friend Tyler, aka

Tidy Dad

@TheTidyDad. He’s a dad of three and public school teacher living in a New York City apartment, which means he’s basically a wizard when it comes to making small spaces feel functional, livable, and even joyful. And unlike most organizing advice online, Tyler’s tips won’t make you feel like you’ve failed if your pantry doesn’t look like a color-coded showroom.

I asked him to share his best realistic spring cleaning advice, the kind that won’t make you lose your mind, or spend your entire weekend deciding which matching bins to buy. Whether you’re feeling the urge to reset your space or just want a few small wins around the house, these 10 tips are for you.

If you want more you can also check out Tylers awesome book, Tidy Up Your Life.

Tyler’s 10 Realistic Spring Cleaning Tips

1. Declutter without negotiation - Don’t start with your kid’s toys or your partner’s closet. Start with your stuff. You’re the easiest person to make decisions for, and once you build momentum, you’ll be in a better place to help others get on board.

2. Anticipate the season - Go through your spring wardrobe now, not at the end of the season. Let go of anything you didn’t wear last year, anything that doesn’t fit, or anything that feels like a chore to put on. Future You will thank you.

3. Use a timer - Set a 10-minute timer per category: socks, mugs, cords, cleaners. If you can’t get through it in 10 minutes, the category is too big. Break it down. A timer helps you stay focused and keeps things moving.

4. Create zones, not chaos - Forget Pinterest perfection. Think function: a drop zone for bags, a joy zone for things that make you smile, a donation zone so it’s easy to let things go. Zones stop clutter from migrating.

5. Declutter, then shop - The organizing aisle is full of false promises. Don’t buy a single bin until you know what you’re keeping. First, declutter. Then measure. Then shop.

6. Go vertical- Hooks, shelves, over-the-door racks - vertical space is your spring cleaning sidekick, especially if you’re working with limited square footage. (Shoutout to fellow apartment dwellers!)

7. Separate cleaning from tidying - Tidying is putting things back where they belong. Cleaning is wiping, scrubbing, vacuuming. Do one before the other, not both at the same time, or you’ll get stuck in the overwhelm spiral.

8. Rage organizing isn’t a strategy - Tearing through your space in a fury might feel productive, but it rarely leads to sustainable systems. Lasting organization comes from calm, intentional choices, not chaos in motion.

9. Establish your criteria - Before you start organizing, get clear on what deserves to stay. Do you use it? Love it? Would you buy it again? Without criteria, everything feels essential, and nothing gets edited.

10. Establish boundaries - and ruthlessly defend them - One basket per person. A limit on mugs. No more than 10 kids’ water bottles (you know you’ve got 17). Boundaries are your clutter control system. Protect them.