Spring Clean-Up

With fresh flower buds opening up, the sun rays warming our skin and green bright leafs popping out - spring is in the air and a new cycle begins. After the cocoon of winter time it can be a big treat to go through our material belongings, let go of unnecessary things and step into this new season with a clean environment that supports your flourishing.

Don’t keep anything for anybody else

If you would eliminate all the things that you keep for someone else, what would be left?

The sweet gifts people gift to us can stay with us for years. Sometimes in a box, coming with us with every move to another home. Never even unpacking it in between. What if you would let those things go?

And besides other people that we keep things for - we often keep things for a past or future version of ourselves.

An emotional bond with a stuffed animal can keep it with us for years - we keep it for the memory, even if it sits in a box that whole time. Or, we think someday we will definitely wear this dress at last, or create a fun project with this paint, or we will make use of this beautiful fabric that we bought on our travels. Will we, really?

A great line I came across once while cleaning up, is: someday is never or in Dutch ‘ooit is nooit’. If you think ‘someday this thing….’, it’s probably never going to be used. Do you want to keep that thing with you for the imagined possibility of using it one day?

Information overload

Of course, memories and all these emotional things - can be lovely. But what if, having all these things around, creates distortion of who we want to be now?

I noticed when I put away half of my bookshelf, I suddenly saw and read more of my books than ever before. When I gifted more than half of my clothes away, I suddenly wore a lot more different outfits. Just the information-overload of a lot of stuff, can make it so that we only wear or read the same things - we do not see the rest of the bookshelf or outfits anymore.

What supports your present-day identity?

If you, like me, feel life is quite busy and full of things to do and be, then it might be helpful to eliminate detractions and gain focus. Keep the things that support the person you want to be now. Do the things that align with the values you want to live. Spend time with your relations, and minimalize the time you spent with organising stuff.

Who is the person you want to be? And what things in your space support the thoughts, the feeling and the life this person lives?

Wishing you a lot of clarity, space and a refreshing clean-up!

🌻