THE HABIT - SPRING CLEANING
Farewell to All the Things.
It’s around this time of year when I find myself in the same headspace of many:
Over It.
Over winter; Ready for Spring. I'm ready to step out of my cave, deeply breathe the fresh spring air, and step into a brighter, shinier, NEW version of me. I need to shake off. Clean up. DECLUTTER.
It’s time for Spring Cleaning.
We always start with the garage. The garage has for many years been a place where we put things until we have time to sell them on kijiji, and then never take the time to do so. We stand in the doorway (you can’t get any further than that), and when my husband says “Let’s just get rid of it”, I inevitably respond with “I could get at least $500 for this stuff!”
So I move to the bedroom with the aim of pillaging my closet. I stand in front of the rows of too big shirts and pants and dresses (I lost 30 pounds last year thanks to this), and hesitate. This is nice stuff. What if I gain the weight back? I’ll wish I had these clothes. Better keep em.
Ok, how about something easier? The kids toys - yup - that definitely needs an overhaul. I head to the toy bins and start sorting. There’s the octopus puppet they never play with… but we bought it on that trip to vancouver, it’s special. Ok this bowling set can go for sure… but great grandma gave it to them… I’ll keep it a while longer.
I try to let out a sigh… to exhale. But there’s no room to breathe in this mess.
This doesn't feel good you guys. We’re being suffocated under the weight of our stuff.
The stuff that’s “worth money”. The clothes that “maybe I’ll wear again one day”. The toys that fill each corner of our home to the point of over-stimulation of all parties involved.
I’m over it. So here’s what went down this year:
The garage stuff is gone. We donated it. Allllll of it. And do you know what it feels like to have given away easily 500 bucks worth of stuff that no longer held any worth for me? It feels like a million bucks. It feels like a million pounds of weight lifted off my shoulders every time I open the garage door. It feels like a million square feet of space for me to actually park my car in.
The clothes are gone. Passed on to friends, and donated too. And am I sad that I don't have those little reminders of the possibility that i might go back to the weight i was at last year if I don't take care of myself??? NOPE. In fact it feels like I just let go of that fear altogether. I feel lighter in my body, and also lighter in my environment. I didn’t need to hold on to the weight.
The Toys are gone. Passed along. I’m sure we still have much more than we need (we are forever a work in progress here people), but no more overflowing bins or any items they don't actually play with from time to time. We don’t need the ‘stuff’ to remember the fun adventures we’ve had, or how much we love great grandma.
And now here I sit - Full of emptiness. And I’m so relieved.
We live in a totally overstimulated state. When you’re always taking in, taking on, doing, gathering, experiencing with every sense possible…. It becomes impossible to enjoy it.
In Ayurveda we are taught about SPANDA - the dynamic pulsation of energy. They say that in order to experience the fullness that life has to offer, one must also create space for emptiness.
In letting go of the “stuff” in our lives that doesn’t serve us, or “Bring Us Joy” as Marie Kondo put it in her book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, we make room for more joy.
So this Spring I ask you, what is it time to let go of? And better still, what is it time to make room for?