Spring-clean your relationship

Break bad habits.

Take stock of anything you and your partner could do (or stop doing) to improve the relationship. Avoid simply accusing each other of bad love etiquette; instead, make a list together of anything you feel could be enhanced. You'll be working together as a team, rather than one person feeling responsible for the relationship's success.

Put a stop to old patterns.

Take note of negative patterns and put a stop to them. For example, maybe they're the arguments about finances at the end of the month or about your continual re-loading of the dishwasher you say he loads incorrectly. You don't have to keep having the same old fights over and over. Take control over your relationship and make positive changes, rather than getting stuck in old patterns that clearly don't work.

Spice up your sex life.

Sex is usually the first thing to fall into a rut once stress and too many to-dos take over, but now is your chance to change all that. Put a little spring in your step (and his) by making sex a priority this season. As the weather warms up, heat things up between the sheets, too: Amp up the bedroom fun factor, try a sex toy or start things off with a sexy massage.

Try something new.

End a long, boring winter with a new activity you can do together. Sit down and discuss what you'd both like to try -- maybe photography, martial arts, rock climbing -- and figure out where to take classes. You'll learn something new together that will provide conversation starters and bonding opportunities.

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