Spring Cleaning!

Spring isn't just for scrubbing baseboards and decluttering closets—it's also the perfect time to “spring clean” your work life. As leaders in the home visiting field, you’re often carrying a lot: managing teams, adjusting to changing policies, staying responsive to family needs, and constantly trying to meet new benchmarks with limited resources. The arrival of spring—and with it, the impending fiscal year end and the start of another—is a natural time to pause, reflect, and tidy up the behind-the-scenes systems that support your mission.

Here’s how to give your professional environment a mindful refresh that helps you enter the new year with clarity, energy, and purpose.

1. Declutter Your Processes

You've heard the phrase "a cluttered space equals a cluttered mind?" There is major truth to this! Are there workflows that feel more complicated than they need to be? Maybe a form that no one enjoys filling out, or a protocol that eats up hours with little return?

Try this:

• Identify 1–2 key processes that could use simplification.

• Ask your team: “What’s one thing we do that feels redundant or inefficient?”

• Audit your reporting systems—can anything be automated or merged?

• Look at your meeting structure. Can any be shortened, better focused, or replaced with a quick check-in email?

Streamlining isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters better.

2. Dust Off Your Schedule

We tend to fall into calendar habits that no longer serve us—recurring meetings, scattered to-do lists (you know what we will say about a to-do list), or overbooking our weeks with no white space to think.

Spring clean your calendar by:

• Blocking out regular time for focused work—no meetings, just you and your priorities.

• Reviewing your “default” week: What drains you? What energizes you?

• Removing commitments that no longer align with your goals or values.

Bonus: Leave space for strategic thinking. Leadership isn’t just about putting out fires—it’s about making room to see what’s next.

3. Refresh Your Physical Space

Whether you work from an office, hybrid setup, or on-the-go between home visits, your physical environment matters. Remember: a cluttered space can lead to a cluttered mind.

Take a few hours to:

• Purge what you don’t use—old handouts, broken supplies, outdated flyers.

• Organize your digital desktop and folders. (Yes, that “Downloads” folder too!)

• Add a touch of inspiration: a plant, a quote, a picture of your team or the families you serve.

You don’t need Pinterest or Instagram perfection. Just a space that helps you breathe a little deeper.

4. Polish Your Team Culture

Spring is also a good time to reflect on your leadership and how your team is functioning. Are there unspoken tensions? Miscommunications? Morale dips?

Use this seasonal reset to:

• Reconnect with each staff member—ask what they need to feel supported.

• Review team goals and realign around purpose.

• Celebrate wins from the past year, no matter how small.

You might even host a “Spring Reset” meeting where everyone shares one habit they want to stop and one they want to start. Small changes, big results.

5. Reboot Your Vision

Amid constant change - budget shifts, new regulations, evolving family needs, challenges with immigration - it’s easy to lose sight of your deeper why. A spring clean isn’t just practical; it’s also a time to recenter.

Try journaling or reflecting on these questions:

• What did we learn this year?

• What are we proud of?

• What do we want to carry forward—and what needs to be released?

• What is our most important goal for the new fiscal year?

When your vision is clear, your energy becomes focused—and your team feels it too.

Clean Space, Clear Mind, Fresh Start

Spring cleaning doesn’t mean doing more. It’s about creating the mental, emotional, and physical space for what matters most. In the home visiting field, your clarity sets the tone for your team, and ultimately ripples out to the families you serve.

So take a breath, roll up your sleeves, and do a little tidying. Not just for the sake of being organized—but to make room for creativity, strategy, and renewed purpose.

After all, growth needs room to bloom.