’Tis the season for spring cleaning! Today is March 29.

Amidst a series of obscure and unconnected dreams, I woke up to the beauty of a blue sky and the pastel yellow glow of morning sunshine coming through my window. After sleeping in until 10:30 this morning, I took my time waking up. I had no major plans, so I didn’t think twice about my late start to the day. I enjoyed a slice of banana bread and chilled in my room until the rest of my family started moving about.

I quickly realized the theme for today was “spring cleaning,” so I decided to join the chaos by doing a deep clean of my room. On the first day of this “break,” I had organized my room a bit, but I could still see the piles of clothing and papers strewn haphazardly around me. To walk from one side of my room to the other, I had to dodge teetering towers of books and shoes, which made walking in the dark quite a challenge.

I started with my closet first. I hung up and folded the clothing on my floor, sorting clean from dirty items and putting them back in their proper locations. I then rearranged the order of clothes in my closet by moving my spring and summer apparel closer to the center (where it is easy to reach) and moving my fall and winter outfits to the sides (so they aren’t in the way). I also boxed up some of my winter pajamas and moved my heavy coat into a hall closet where it will stay for about another six months. My room looked slightly better after these changes, but there was still a long way to go.

Next I decided to tackle my bookshelf. My brother and parents were sorting through the old childhood books we have around the house and deciding what to box up for storage and what to sell since we no longer want or need them. I am somewhat of a hoarder, so I have a hard time getting rid of anything (especially books), even when I no longer use the objects in question. I am proud of myself, though, because I cleared out some space on my shelves. I was even able to mostly eliminate my doubled-up stacks of books and precariously balanced novels. As I was sorting through old boxes of books, I came across some of my childhood favorites, which took me down memory lane to when I would read the stories with my parents as a little girl.

As I was sorting through the odds and ends of my room, I discovered an abundance of paper. Apparently I’ve murdered a small forest in the last four years with how many papers I’ve printed off notes on. I took countless trips to our recycling box as I sorted my findings into “save,” “school” and “scrap” piles. Needless to say, “school” was overflowing, especially considering the number of college letters and brochures I put in it. I ended up making a separate box just for them.

I enjoyed getting to look back through the secreted away piles making up the last four years of my life. I found old notebooks and agendas I used to use as well as gifts from friends and birthday cards from my grandparents. I organized everything I came across, doing my best to declutter my room and be merciless with what I chose to keep.

By the time I finished, I had been working for nearly six hours straight. I was tired and hot (because no matter how hard I try, the lights in my room somehow make it the warmest room in our house), but I felt a sense of pride in my accomplishment. My room looked virtually spotless. Every available surface was organized and my floor was clear of debris instead of looking like its usual hurricane aftermath. I’m not sure how long this will last, but I’m going to savor it for now. 

With my room in order, I feel slightly more prepared to take on the stress of the upcoming school week. I’m still trying to wrap my head around exactly how due dates and deadlines will work, but for now I’m going to try and have a laid-back attitude about online education. I am hoping teachers understand students will need time to adapt to this new system and will be patient as we adjust. Here’s to hoping I can make it until the end of the school year without losing all semblance of sanity. 

“Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don’t have to live forever. You just have to live.” ― Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

How did you spend your twelfth day of social distancing? Let us know in the comments below.