The time is finally here: spring cleaning season. Spring is a time of renewal and growth. It's finally warm out, the flowers are blooming and with the holidays behind you, you're free to rid yourself of the expanding mountain of clutter you've accumulated since the last year of spring cleaning. According to the blog site Mopp, 70 - 80 percent of dust particles in any given home are made up of dead skin cells, but there's a lot more than dead skin and particles you need to be worried about cleaning. Most people focus on the aesthetic aspect of cleaning and tend to stop after they are pleased with how their space looks. There's more to polish and shine in your life than the materials you have or are doing away with. With the yearly buildup of dirt and grime, you've also been meeting new people, exploring new ideas and accumulating new interests. It's time you take a backseat and look at a broader array of things that could use a little TLC this spring.

1. Go through and clean up your social media of unnecessary followers, friends or subscribers

It may sound like a broken record playing in your head, but hear me out on this one. Over the course of a year, you're certain to add new people you've met on social media and also lose a few people as well. By going through your social media and cleaning up the people who you rarely, if ever, talk to and connect with, you're more likely to keep in touch with the people you actually want to share life events and news with.

2. Do away with old ideas that no longer serve you and hold onto new and practical mantras.

Don't be like Alice. It's easier said than done, but giving yourself useful pieces of advice and holding onto it will have a greatly profound impact on your overall mood. In retrospect, also cleaning out and letting go of damaging thoughts and ideas will change your life. Spring cleaning can have a whole new meaning if you try to do everything with a more sound mental state. If you've lived by a toxic way of thinking for too long, it can lead you down a road you don't want to end up on. Clear your mind and clean up all the negative energy clouding it up. Discover what principles have led you to success in the past year and which have been detrimental to your positive vibes.

3. Pursue something new and break a bad habit.

Just as spring is seen as a time of renewal and growing, it also has aspects of fall's mantra of change (due to the changing color of leaves on trees). We can often get set into our old, boring routines and forgo the possibility of trying something new. Make a good change in your life by breaking a really bad habit you've been hanging onto. Instead of continuing that habit, try finding something else to occupy your time in a more fulfilling way. It might surprise you what you can accomplish and learn from doing so.

4. When you get something, give something back.

OK it doesn't have to be an apple, but the simple idea of "paying it forward" or giving to someone else if you get something is still relevant, especially regarding spring cleaning procedures. According to Melissa Maker of Clean My Space, a YouTube channel dedicated to cleaning and home improvement tips, the "one in one out" rule works wonders for maintaining the amount of clutter you have, rather than continuing to add more things to your space. If someone was nice enough to give something to you, you can return the favor by being nice and doing something for someone else. It doesn't have to be a gift, but can be a kind gesture. Sometimes helping someone jump start their car, holding the door or even paying them a nice compliment is worth a lot more than buying them flowers and a card.

5. And for Pete's sake, clean your room.

Whether you are a college student or a fully grown adult, cleaning any space is never a completely fun task. It doesn't have to be totally dreadful, either. Play some music, take 5-minute breaks occasionally and just get it done. Your mindset will improve and you will thank yourself for doing it later. Be methodical and plan to start with a corner or pile of stuff and work on it until its clean. Once you're motivated to start, you've accomplished half the battle. The other half is just putting your plan into action. Do it for spring cleaning, do it for your mom, but most importantly, do it for yourself and your own well-being.

Cleaning out anything in your life can seem like an extremely daunting activity. As previously stated, accumulating a year's worth of anything can be difficult to sort through once spring cleaning time hits. The most important thing is to stay motivated to make things better for yourself and to grow (like the flowers in springtime!). If you don't grow from cleaning some part of your life, you're doing it wrong.