Spring Clean Your Relationship

Now that winter is coming to an end and the first day of spring is here, it’s time to get to the spring cleaning. No, this isn’t a blog about chores and cleaning out the garage, but rather a great time of the year to do some spring cleaning in your relationship. The winter months can be cold and dreary. With the decrease in sunshine comes an increase in depression. The bad weather mixed with a lack of vitamin D can significantly affect your psychological health, and that can impact your relationship.

The first day is spring is a great time to do spring cleaning for your relationship and do a “relationship check-in.” Relationship check-ins provide you and your spouse the opportunity to talk and make sure everything is going as it should be.

How do I spring clean my relationship?

On Psychology Today, it’s discussed how important a relationship check-up is, just like maintenance on a car or an annual doctor’s appointment. So, how do you go about checking in on your relationship?

Here are the 5 steps to spring clean your relationship:

Evaluate the daily life

During this spring cleaning, it is a good time to check in on things like chores, finances, bills, sex, work, family, dating, faith, etc. It’s important to answer and ask your partner, Do we like how they are going? What do we do well? What do we slack on? Do you feel overwhelmed by one specific chore? Is there something you could be willing to do more of?

Discuss potential emotional hang-ups

It is important to ask yourself and your partner some of these questions to get the conversation going: Can we solve our fights? Are there issues that seem to come up a lot this year? Are there fights we still feel hurt by? Do we look forward to seeing each other at the end of the day? Do you feel criticized? Does it seem or feel like you are constantly blamed for issues? Does life seem chaotic? What positive praise do you have for your marriage?

Rate the following strengths in your marriage on a scale of 1 to 5.

Rate the following concerning factors about your marriage on a scale of 1 to 5.

Identify one thing in your marriage you would like to improve.

Use any of these talking points to decide on something that you want to improve. List the ways you intend to meet your objective, hear each other’s ideas, and identify how you will measure your success.

Spring clean your relationship by adding positive feedback.

Close out your check-in conversation by each of you sharing something you appreciate and admire about the other. Make a pact to incorporate this relationship tool into your weekly or daily routine.

What are some goals you have for your relationship this spring?

https://www.psychologytoday.com