As we approach the new year, many people are doing the annual cleaning. Okay, so most people do it BEFORE Christmas to make room for more stuff. I, on the other hand, seem to work better doing the annual clean just before the new year. It clears my head and gets me focused on my goals for the upcoming year.
Cleaning out (or purging) is what getting organized it all about…
And purging isn’t just for stuff, although that’s a big piece of it. Purging is also about letting go of the past, forgiving yourself, and even discarding thoughts which no longer serve you.
So, here are some things that I never thought about that I hold on to:
Pictures – So many pictures. Do I need them all? Do I want them all? And more positively, which of these pictures brings me JOY? I cleaned a lot of the pictures out when we sold the house in South Jersey but I still have a lot of them. Mostly the ones that do bring me JOY! Now to just get them in a format that will allow me to look at them and fondly remember those times..
Clothes – What is the rule? If you haven’t worn it in 6 months, get rid of it. With the change in seasons, I usually do the “if I haven’t worn it in 2 seasons – get rid of it”. Or what about those “just in case clothes”. You know the ones that are too small or too big – just in case you lose weight or gain back the weight you lost.
Negative thoughts – This used to be a HUGE problem for me. I have found that with the help of a good life coach, I am practicing extreme gratitude and radical compassion for myself. I am squashing out those inner gremlins that haunt me.
Saying YES even when I don’t want to. That is the people pleasing side of me. Come on, be truthful, you do it too, right? What if we were to choose to spend five uncomfortable minutes now saying NO so that we are not regretting our YES for the next several months.
Office supplies. I can say that I used to hoard office supplies. Having a home office, I found myself shopping on impulse when there is a sale. Time to donate some while those that are too old will be tossed in the garbage!
Belinda used to say when I got in “clean mode”, if you aren’t tied down or have a purpose, you get tossed. It is so true. I used to need to do this more when we lived in the bigger house but now in the condo I try to keep things simple.
There really are good feelings that come after the initial hyperventilation of actually beginning the purge, freaking out, and thinking, “I can’t do this!”
Purging is a practice – and a good one when it is done thoughtfully, consciously, and from a mindset of love and abundance (I am enough, I have enough).
Go ahead, try it. Do it and let me know how it feels when you’re done (or let me know why you started and never finished).
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 