Spring is in the air. The air is warming up, the trees are turning green, and there's a restlessness inside of me. It happens every year, and it's one of the reasons springtime is a favorite of mine.
This restlessness makes me want to try new things, and create change in some way. It makes me realize I'm tired of the same old stuff in my life. I want some newness. How does this manifest in my life? It starts with a stirring that comes from deep inside of me, which leads me to clean out the clutter in my home. I call it my "De-Clutter Flutter" and it gets the whole ball rolling.
Now, I'm not a clean freak, though I often wish I were. I don't have that organizer gene, though I think it would do me some good. I'm more of a Call To Action cleaner. I wait until I'm called and then I act. Spring usually brings the call and when it does I feel a remarkably strong drive I can't put off for one more day. I have to clean. Nothing else matters, I'm tired of all the #%$# in my house!
And so it begins. Picking my first target, I approach the closet door and just as I'm about to open it, I stop and take a deep breath in order to just "be" with my feelings. At first, I feel overwhelmed by the task at hand. It's then I hear a little voice inside me saying, "Just close the door, it's been this way for years, why clean it now? Who cares, no one's going to see it with the door closed, anyway!" And just when that voice is starting to make a real play for its point, I get tough and override it with, "I care! I don't like it anymore and I'm going in!" But right before I do, I think to myself, "I should probably call someone and let them know so they can send in the St. Bernards if I'm not out in a couple of days, I mean hours." And in I go!
In no time at all I've taken everything out. From top to bottom everything comes out and lands on the floor, or what used to resemble a floor. It's at this point I start finding things I haven't seen in a long time, I had forgotten about them. Many times I'll think, "Why on earth have I held on to this?" And out it goes.
Occasionally, I'll find something I really do like but forgot that I had it. These little goodies get collected and put in a place where I'll remember I have them.
When I'm done I stand there and reward myself with a long look into the closet and I notice its lovely bareness. It now contains only what I really want and truly need. A deep sigh escapes me-relief in the job that's done and pride in what I see. And I think, "Why did I leave it this way for so long, I should have done this sooner."
Every year, when I come to this point in the process, I notice something else, a remarkable change in my mental and emotional state. I feel lighter and freer. Not only is my closet decluttered, but my mind is, too. Maybe that's the real reason I love spring so much. Once I get started clearing out the outside, I notice the inside clearing out too. The same little voice that originally told me to let go of the #%*& in my home, is now telling me to do the same thing in my mind. Time to bid adieu to those beliefs and thoughts that have never served me or had a real purpose in my life. Like the junk I collected in my closets, these thoughts and beliefs are just junk taking up space-not helping me move forward and not helping me be happy.
This is the time I find myself taking "inventory" of what's going on in my mind (as well as my home.) This clearing allows me to make room for new possibilities and new opportunities to enter my life. As I look out my windows and see nature in all of its freshness and budding hope-inside of me I feel that same hope and freshness about my life.
So next time your feeling overwhelmed-go for it-clean out your closet. Maybe then you'll have more room for new possibilities.
