Clean-Up Time

With spring just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get serious about “cleaning up” to restore our sanity, peace-of-mind and energy. Are you sitting at a desk that desperately needs to be cleared off? Or have a closet that’s stuffed with clothes that are no longer relevant? Or drive a car that’s a dumping ground? Well, we all have areas in our lives that we keep saying we’re going to tackle but often those tasks seem just too overwhelming. So we keep tolerating the clutter that continually distracts and annoys us.

The clutter in our lives draws our attention, focus, and energy away from the more important things –the things that we all want more of, like time, patience, order and simplicity. Clutter sabotages our commitment to our well-being. The truth is we can significantly improve our health (both mental and physical) by cleaning up our environment. Unlike my mother’s grueling ritual of spring housecleaning that took days and days, you don’t have to make a huge time commitment or take on a big project. It’s more important that you just do something, start somewhere…….begin.

I started with my clothes closet. It was an incredibly depressing place to start each morning…..clothes were crammed so tightly I even couldn’t see what I had, so I usually picked the same things over and over again. But that didn’t stop me from adding more (I never pass up a bargain). I just couldn’t seem to carve out the time to clean the whole thing out, so I procrastinated. One day, I got the idea of putting a large garbage bag on the closet floor. The bag sat empty for a week and one morning I added a couple of things to it. Each day, I’d see things I knew I’d never wear again, so I added them to the bag. My new mantra was “when in doubt, throw it out.” It didn’t take very long and that bag was full, so I hauled it to the garage (we won’t be talking about my garage clutter) for donating and put another bag on the floor. It took awhile but I began to see some space, I could breathe and it seemed like an easier way to start my day. Now there’s always a partially filled donation bag on my closet floor.

Here’s a “clearing the clutter” challenge for you. Decide where you want to focus your de-cluttering energy. Start with an area you see on a regular basis (your entryway, your desk, the space next to your bed) so you’ll experience immediate relief. If you need ideas, there are tons of books on organizing and an easy one is “Clearing the Clutter for Good Feng Shui” by Mary Lambert. So go forth and clean up so you’ll have more time and energy to enjoy this spring.

"Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow more bewildering and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities."

--Woman's Home Companion, 1935

Sandra Wright, Executive & Personal Coach

"Partnering with those ready to create a significant change in their personal and professional lives."

PO Box 1852
Gig Harbor , WA . 98335
253.857.8602
Email:sandra@coachsandrawright.com
www.coachsandrawright.com