Life Cleanup

It’s time to look at spring cleaning from a different angle.

Put away the gloves and Windex for a minute and take a step back. Are there areas in your own life that need some freshening up? While organizing the shelves packed with boxes in the garage can be therapeutic (and I’m not saying you shouldn’t still do that) cleansing internally can bring a brighter outlook on life.

Recently, I’ve decided to do a deeper cleaning in different areas of my life.

I’ve committed to small changes that will make a big difference to me: Turning off my phone for an hour and enjoying the outdoors; replacing a kneejerk reaction-negative judgment with a positive one; and going for a run instead of sinking into the couch after a long day.

I’ve noticed that my life cleanup sometimes involves going “shopping” for better habits and choices too.

This year, I’m freshening up by committing to give more compliments, tell people I love them, and offer to help out when I normally wouldn’t.

Make Your Life Cleanup List:

1. Write down the habits and lifestyle choices that are not directly benefiting you. Are these holding you back from living a more fulfilling life?
2. Identify the biggest negatives, and determine which ones you are ready to shed.
3. Make room for the new and unexpected.
4. Go shopping for better habits.

If there is one thing I’ve gained from doing this, it’s having a fresher perspective on what is important to me. I see everything in a brighter, more positive light. With the dust and cobwebs cleared, I wake up every morning more motivated and ready to see what the new day will bring.

“What you pay attention to thrives, and what you ignore or let go of fades away.” – Wendy Wolf. From “Feeding the Wolf,” Bella Grace Issue 11.

Gazing out my window, I see the rosebuds starting to blossom in my front yard, the dark clouds slowly disappearing. I think about my new budding habits, just as the old ones fade away.

What areas in your life do you feel might need a little sprucing up?