The Joys and Benefits of Spring Cleaning

Every year we say we are going to go through our closet, or finally organize our garage yet inevitably we find something much more interesting to occupy our time (like video games, or Facebook). It’s hard to go through all of our old “stuff” or “crap” as I like to call it, because it takes time, energy, effort and thought. And who wants to use our sacred leisure time to do more “work” right? Although we LOVE buying new things! We just buy, buy and buy. Until one day we HAVE to get rid of some stuff or we will end up being like that creepy person who ends up on a de-cluttering reality make over show, and we don’t want to be “that guy.” So we finally do it. And when do we do it? We do it in the SPRING. Spring cleaning baby! There’s something so special about the spring. Winter’s over, the sun starts to shine, the flowers start to bloom, and bam! The world universally says, “let’s clean out our old crap and jump into this year!” In a lot of ways my new year’s starts to feel like it’s truly beginning when I feel de-cluttered and done with my clearing out rituals. As daunting as de-cluttering might seem everyone has that nagging urge to do it. Why is that? There are so many tangible and intangible benefits to de-cluttering that justify our nagging feeling, here’s a few. Benefit #1: The opportunity to make money.rnOne man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you hate it or aren’t using it, and it’s in good condition then sell it! You can sell it at a yard sale, on craigslist or at a second-hand marketplace. Benefit #2: The opportunity to be a good person.rnYou can donate some of your unwanted items to people who will need it and cherish it much more than your dingy garage. It is also tax deductible if you get a receipt. Booyah. Benefit #3: It’s a great work out.rnForget the gym, just clean out your garage! Trust me you’ll be sore for days. Benefit #4: The opportunity to more effectively relax. rnIn my opinion this is the most important benefit. Clutter is stressful, whether you realize it or not on an unconscious level it takes up emotional and mental space. When you look at it, how do you feel? My guess is sort of stressed or heavy in some particular area of your body. So when you de-clutter and organize your space you are literally opening up room for your mind, body, and soul to relax with more ease. In this busy fast paced day in age we definitely need this. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, that’s the best and easiest way to get it done. Whether you pay someone, or have a family weekend to do it together rest assured it’ll get done when someone else is holding you accountable. And it’s a great way to spend quality time, in fact I just did this.rnMy mother had a garage full of disorganization, chaos, and 30 years worth of stuff. There were boxes inside of boxes, of bags of things that hadn’t been looked at in years. My sister and our significant others gave her a Christmas gift voucher to clean out her garage (and of course we waited until the spring to cash it in). Here is the before and after picture, pretty good right? When we were done, my mom told me that she was so relieved. She said every day she would drive into her garage and think, “How will I ever retire and move anywhere with all of this stuff?” Interesting right? Her clutter in her garage was making her feel like she couldn’t move forward into the next stage of her life. What’s the next stage of your life? What might your clutter be holding you back from? Clutter whether we realize it or not will drain us of energy, and creativity. It blocks our fulfillment and freedom. Take inventory of all the clutter in your life, that could be poor lighting, a dinged car, a messy desk. What will you do this week to improve your space and make room for your energy to be freed up? The sense of accomplishment you will feel after tackling the garage, or that desk is priceless. Make yourself a priority today, and put it in your calendar to do your Spring cleaning. Make the date, pick your playlist, and invite your friends. After you are done visit me at www.fulfillmentandfreedom.com and let me know how it went. May you feel fulfilled and free for the rest of your de-cluttered days. Thanks for reading.