Spring cleaning- Better late than never.

Is it time to do some de-cluttering?  Is spring almost gone and you didn't get a chance to have major spring cleaning?  Well it is not too late!

Today I want to talk about 3 types of things we need to de-clutter.

1.  Thoughts- do you have some negative thoughts that you need to clean out of your mind?  Are you letting others opinions, ideas, comments or actions take space in your mind that is not healthy?  Are you holding on to past pain, or grudges?

2.  People- are there people in your life that do not help you grow or foster a healthy lifestyle?  Are there people around you that bring you down and bring out the worst in you, either by their negative influence or maybe even abusive behaviors and actions towards you?

3.  Things-  I don't know about you, but I have so many things that are given to my kids, plus all the things that we already have, that I am starting to feel sophicated by it all.

De-cluttering-cleaning-maintaining, or whatever you want to call it, can be easy for some and extremely challenging for others.  Well, in my experience, as a single- working person, I was able to keep everything perfect, kitchen perfectly clean before I went to bed, my Franklin-Covey planner kept my work load and other projects well organized and on time.  However, when I got married things changed a little bit.  Little by little I allowed for one single space in the house to have the loose ends.  This was like the junk drower in the kitchen.  Because I have always valued relationships and for years have entertained tons of people, adding to my exhaustion from work, I have found it easy to leave a little pile of something un-done to get done on Sunday.  Growing up, on Sunday we took time to catch up with those projects that we were not able to finish during the week.  Well, for hubby, Sunday cleaning was not a priority.  

Now, I am getting ready to downsize and after not having done an in-depth decluttering, I find myself overwhelmed.  Don't get me wrong, I can handle it!  Give me a big project at work and I do it.  But now give me a room full of toys, laundry to fold and paper work to shred and I get overwhelmed, because there is so much to get done and it's never ending.  So, I decided that the TO DO LIST was not going to work for me, tried it and it is not going to work in this season of my life.  I tried one room at a time approach- not going to work either, because I want to get it all done and with the limited time I have, I couldn't do it in one block of time.  

My approach:  Every day, I cut out a small amount of time, I start with 15 minutes, realistic for me, remember I have small kids and don't have too much time alone.  If I am able to work longer that's ok.  During the time that I allocate, I work in a room of my choosing and even though I may not finish the whole project, I feel productive that I accomplished something during my goal time, and if I had time for more, even better!  I am also trying to maintain certain things as a daily routine, i.e. beds made, bathroom clean up, laundry washed, every night straighten living room and kitchen. 

I invite you to dedicate time (realistic time) to decluttering your life.  

Is it your thoughts?  Spend 5 minutes each day giving God those thoughts that are holding you back.  Read the Bible, pray, talk to a mentor or a friend (but not to complain), pick up a book that can help and/or seek professional help.  Do not expect to do it all at once, start little by little. Kind of like a diet, no one can loose weight in one day.  It's a daily thing.  

Is it the people around you?  Every day take time to see if you need new friends or to set boundaries and not allow people to hold you back and to take away from your happiness.  Today it may just be not answering that phone call, or trying to make a new friend by investing in someone at work, school or neighborhood.

Is it the things in your house?  Allocate some time and get a plastic bag in one hand and put things where they go, if it's garbage then pitch it. (like little trinkets that people give us that take up space and make things look messy.) If it really doesn't give you joy anymore, give it away.  I believe that by doing this daily (however many times you want) little by little you will be able to have your house clean.  Or if you can take a whole Sunday to do it, more power to you and I wish I could do the same.  But for now I am embracing this method, as I still have so much to declutter.  Please feel free to share how is it going or to give some ideas on what works for you!