Monday, March 26, 2012

THE CHALLENGE DAY 19 - SPRING CLEANING!


Spring is officially here and I decided that this past weekend would be the perfect opportunity for some 'Spring Cleaning'.  I started to mentally prepare for the process over a week in advance knowing that I had a relatively open weekend and I needed to set aside some serious time in order to thoroughly organize and cleanse.  The idea of 'Spring Cleaning' is an incredible mental shift if you really allow yourself to embrace it.  I felt a wave of excitement to uncover old things that might feel new again because they were simply mixed with the clutter of the good and bad.  Believe it or not, I actually started applying the concept of 'Spring Cleaning' and de-cluttering to my entire life and in a matter of days it felt like fresh oxygen was coming into my lungs. 

I have a tendency to lean on my regular handful of close friends and family members and not make time for the other friendships in my life that, while not as consistent, can be just as meaningful.  I was thrilled to have dinner with a girlfriend on Friday night, whom I hadn't seen in nearly 4 months, and we ended the night laughing and wondering why we didn't get together more often.  De-clutter move #1.

I then decided to change up my Saturday routine and made time to ease into the day with coffee, journaling, yoga, and then some time on the couch to just 'veg' (not something I do too often as a hyper A-type personality).  This fresh start allowed me to ease into Saturday night with a light heart and smile on my face as I had slowed the RPM's down a bit and not stressed over the little things that could be done another day.  De-clutter move #2. 

Sunday was the bigger challenge and if you aren't already inspired to perform some 'Spring Cleaning' of your own at this point then continue reading because I am about to compel you to literally get out the trash bags.  I took on the task of cleaning my closet.  I've decided that this could be considered the Recessionista's version of a shopping spree as I uncovered items that hadn't been touched in months and (gasp!) some of them still had tags attached to them.  There were trash bags of dingy hangers, faded t-shirts, and shoes with holes in them hauled out.  There were also 4 bags of 'give away' clothes to be dropped at Goodwill.  What was left behind was a color coded (don't judge) and lightly packed closet inspiring all sorts of new outfits for the week ahead. De-clutter move #3.

I encourage you to de-clutter at least one aspect of your life in the weeks ahead.  Think of it as if you are treating yourself to a facial -- only once all of the 'junk' is gone will you be able to truly glow.  Your challenge:  Make the Time!

"Instead of making up excuses for why something is impossible, it's far better to come up with reasons why it could be possible. One reason why is more powerful than all the reasons why not."
 - Jackson Kiddard


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