Whenever we shift from Winter to Spring, many of us get the urge to declutter, clear the air, freshen up our living spaces, and dig ourselves out from under all of the stuff we’ve managed to accumulate in the cold months of Winter. Perhaps it is an intrinsic sense that leads us to mimic the motions of springtime- where we grow and bloom into a whole new sense of being.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? And yet, when we think about actually tackling this idea, we quickly run to the nearest sofa with our favorite snack in hand to catch up on episodes we missed from our current show list. Thoughts of “It can wait until tomorrow” or “I don’t even know where to start” or….”It’s not even that bad” tend to skew the desire that we innately have to clean out our closets. So how do we overcome this barrier?
1. START WITH DECLUTTERING YOUR THOUGHTS. There is a belief that our external environment mimics what is going on inside of our heads. If we have clutter in our space, that can only mean we have a head full of jumbled thoughts as well…which makes the job of spring cleaning way more challenging than it’s supposed to be. Let’s start with decluttering our headspace. Consider the idea that as soon as you wake up, thoughts begin to fill your head, as if a TV has been turned on. We spend our days listening to these thoughts as if we’ve lost the remote to change the station or just turn the darn thing off. Awareness is your ability to FIND the remote and do something about the thoughts. A first step is to notice a thought that overwhelms you (hooray, you found the remote!), then simply imagine turning off the remote or “changing the station” to a more pleasing thought. The more you catch your thoughts, the greater the ability you have to change them.
2. Notice how you’re breathing. Or if you’re not. This is a BIG deal people! Taking a few moments to slow down your breathing allows you to become more relaxed, assisting with decluttering your head (see step 1), and perhaps even enjoy spring cleaning! For the time you’ve dedicated to clearing out your space, start with a breathing ritual. Sit down somewhere cozy, close your eyes for a moment, breathe in deeply and as you exhale, let go of any thoughts of overwhelm, stress, and inability to tackle this. And if the negative thoughts stick- breathe into them. Breathe deeply and notice how these few moments of slowing down really support the project you are about to take on. Which leads to…
3. Strategize with a Chunk & Check In! This is the secret sauce to an awesome and productive spring cleaning bonanza! We tend to get stuck in overwhelm and avoidance because of our internal chunking strategy. Meaning that what we are focusing on is too big of a piece! Take chocolate cake, for example. I LOVE chocolate cake! But if I think about eating about the whole cake- I feel overwhelmed. If I think about eating half the cake…I still feel stressed. When I chunk it down to eating a slice, I feel that is way more manageable and enjoyable. The same strategy applies for decluttering. Sort your project into more digestible chunks, and check in with how you’re feeling to see if the chunk size is small enough to get the job started. Perhaps starting with the garage is too big of a task. But focusing on one box that can go to Goodwill is do-able. Which brings us to step 4.
4. Focus on what inspires you. The key word here is FOCUS. When you think about spring cleaning and clearing stuff out, do you visualize a messy space that needs to be cleaned or a space that is already clear of clutter? One difference between those that are successful with organizing and those that struggle is the visual image that is mentally being played over and over again. Those that have an image of the job already completed find it much easier to get started with a project. One way you can play with this technique is to compare something you enjoy doing with something you’d rather not do. Notice if you were to make a visual picture in front of you of each scenario, where the picture is actually placed in your line of sight. Chances are, they may be in different spots. Once you figure out where these two images are, shift your unpleasant task to the spot where your enjoyable task is, and notice how your feelings may change.
5. Treat yourself! Oh chocolate cake, where are thou? Seriously though! Have fun, and create milestones in your spring cleaning frenzy to appreciate how far you’ve come! If you manage to get the one box to Goodwill- hooray! Time for a chai latte! If you’ve tackled your entire garage, whoop whoop! Binge watching your favorite show is in order! When we give ourselves moments of appreciation for what we do, we actually create an energy boost to keep going.
**BONUS TIP**
6. The Joyna Method Oh la la- what could that be? For some, a hands-on practical approach might be super helpful in getting started with any project. So here is a strategy you can apply and tweak as you go. Grab a pen and paper for this one!
STEP 1- Choose one project/task that you have a hard time getting started on.
If it feels “too big” of a project, focus on just one part of it and chunk it down.
STEP 2- Write down all the possible options you have in tackling this task.
For example, if you have a bookshelf you would like to declutter, what are all the things you could do with the books? Sell them, donate them, gift them, leave them exactly where they are, reshuffle them, place them in a different spot, throw them away, etc… Get creative with this list, and write down even some silly ideas! The purpose is to get the ideas out and your creativity flowing.
STEP 3- Rank your List
From a scale of 1-10, with “10” being that you absolutely love the idea and “1” being something you’d most likely never do, place a number next to each task, asking yourself, “How much joy do I feel by taking action in this way?” Feel free to use numbers multiple times, there is no right way or wrong way to do this. The main tip is to write the number that first pops in your head, rather than spend too much time thinking about it.
STEP 4- Circle your high-scorers and do a gut-check
For any tasks that scored 8 or above, circle them and then ask yourself of these top scorers, which one do I want to do most? Sometimes one just pops up above all the others, and other times, you may have to rank them again to see your top contenders. So let’s say for the book example, the tasks that give my the most joy are to donate the books or place them in a different spot. Now I know, that of ALL the different ways of decluttering, these two options give me the most joy AND are the tasks I am most motivated to follow through on. Perhaps my final decision is to donate half of the books, and place the other books in a spot where I will be more intentional about picking them up and reading them.
STEP 5- Give yourself a deadline to complete this task.
As a last step, ask yourself when you would like to have this done, and check to see if it is a realistic timeframe or an overwhelming one. Once you find a date or amount of time that feels good for you, jump in and have fun decluttering!
Alright, you’ve been armed with some incredible strategies to tackle this thing called Spring Cleaning which…when we take a closer look at it, doesn’t seem very daunting at all! Stay tuned for next month, there are always some goodies to add to your toolkit! If you like a challenge, go forth and start putting these ideas to practice. With practice comes permanence, and that is one of the best ways to start rewiring your brain with healthy thoughts!
I remain surprised and amazed with how helpful feedback is, and I welcome your feedback to this article! Feel free to respond to this newsletter with your comments or email me and let me know what you think about this month’s theme. Additionally, I’m curious to know which topics you’d like to hear more about, knowing that practical solutions help support the pathway to a healthier lifestyle. Thanks for stopping by!