Spring clean your pleasure routine

Written by Abby Lee Hood

It seems like every spring we start reading posts about closet organization, cleaning tips and even ways to rejuvenate those forgotten New Year’s resolutions. But what about our self-pleasure and masturbation habits?

Pleasure routines can be just that: routine, mundane, repetitive. Our bodies and minds deserve more, so how about spring cleaning your pleasure routine, too? Don’t stagnate, keep exploring!

We’ll talk about how to properly clean your toys, when to let go of the ones you’ve loved most, and how to pick up a new trick or two during solo or partner play.

Listen, we get it. After an intense partner or solo play session it’s easy to pack away the toys with a lazy wipe down and go to bed. But sex toys, accessories and pleasure devices are rife with bacteria, and they can harbor germs. If you’re sharing toys between partners, it’s even more critical to clean them properly to prevent the spread of STIs.

If possible, opt for toys that are marked “medical grade” These toys will be the safest and highest quality. Avoid toys made of porous material like PVC, which can foster bacterial growth even after cleaning. Medical-grade silicone, glass, and even stainless steel are much easier to keep clean.

Clean motorized silicone, glass, stainless steel or wood toys with a simple antibacterial soap and warm water. Wipe clean after rinsing and let dry.

Clean non-motorized glass, Pyrex, stainless steel or stone by placing it in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. 

Clean cyberskin with a little bit of soap and water, using only gentle scrubbing motions to protect the sensitive material.

Protect hard plastic, jelly rubber and other porous materials with a condom.

Some crystals, like moonstone and selenite, turn toxic or disintegrate in water. If you’ve purchased a crystal sex toy it’s important to check with the shop for proper cleaning instructions. Otherwise you could seriously injure yourself!

Toys with nicks, tears, or other signs of wear and tear can more easily harbor bacterial growth. And if a toy is discolored, there’s a reason. Leather, silicone and other materials can warp or change over time, and you don’t want to go putting that in your body!

It can be hard to ditch a trusty favorite, but letting go is often good for your body, especially when it protects your health. 

Often when we spring clean our closet, it’s to make room for something new, right? The same is true of your pleasure! If you’ve cleaned up your toy arsenal and ditched a few oldies, try something fresh and exciting you’ve never used before.

You may want to give a double-ended dildo a go, or try a warming vibrator for the first time. We’re loving clitoral suction toys, too, because they’re so much more dynamic than standard vibrators. These are a few examples you’ll love, but you can check out our full list of 2021’s Best New Sex Toys for more inspiration!

Apart from toys, there’s also the act of intimacy itself. Toys do not an orgasm make! If you and your partner are used to missionary, doggie style or any position you use over and over, we highly encourage you to explore. A little role play never hurt anybody, nor does kinky, consensual BDSM. If you’ve never tried a threesome but would like to introduce some ethical non monogamy, we encourage you to explore with your loved one. 

Variety is the spice of life, they say, plus it keeps intimacy fresh. More importantly, it allows important conversations about desire, trust, and pleasure with someone you care about. Your relationship will benefit from exploring new positions and situations together.

Did you know humans have multiple sensitive erogenous zones? Those are the places that bring you pleasure to touch, and you probably commonly think about things like the nipples or vagina. But, there’s more than meets the eye! 

People have reported having orgasms from stimulation in or around: 

It bears repeating that getting outside your comfort zone is important for self and partnered exploration. A lot of people with vulvas rely heavily on clitoral orgasms, and we get it; they’re powerful and don’t require penetration. But a G-spot orgasm can be liberating if you’ve never experienced it.

For people with penises, if you’ve never tried anal play, maybe now is the time to introduce a new intimate and relationship dynamic. Or simply go for the gold and try to achieve a new type of orgasm. However, orgasm isn’t the end goal, trying new things and sprucing up old routines is the real destination.

No matter how you go about spring cleaning your pleasure routine, we encourage you to think outside the box and play with yourself or others. Orgasm fatigue is real, and you deserve excitement and exploration. Onward, pleasure seeker!