‘Every year I resolve to be a little less of the me I know and leave a little room for the me I could be.’ ~ Wendy Wasserstein
I think Spring stirs up the desire to make changes in our lives. For me, it acts as a signal to clear out things that I don’t want, need, or no longer serve me well.
Are you looking for some inspiration or improvement in your life?
Why not use the beginning of Spring to your advantage in your journey of self growth and development?
I realize Spring cleaning is not exactly a motivating topic, but hear me on this: Research studies reveal that clutter does in fact impact our mindset. And improving our mindset is the first step to creating positive change and growth for ourselves.
UCLA did a study on this and reported that cluttered homes led to increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, particularly among women.
Another study by Dr. Joseph Ferrari, PhD found that cluttered workspaces were associated with increased emotional exhaustion and occupational stress, leading to decreased job satisfaction and employee engagement.
Lastly, Verywell Mind shared the findings of a study that concluded cluttered environments are associated with increased stress levels, difficulty focusing, and decreased productivity, all of which can negatively affect one’s mindset.
So it’s time to get serious about picking up the clutter in our house. Stop dropping your clothes on the floor that is 3 feet away from the dirty clothes bin. Start hanging up your coat in the closet instead of draping it over the kitchen chair. And start putting your dirty dishes inside the dishwasher instead of placing them in the sink.
None of these take any amount of time. In fact, I would argue that they are all time savers in the long run.
And you get the extra benefit of less stress, more focus and increased energy. Which in turn will help you create the personal improvements and change you are looking for.
When you clean up the clutter, you are clearing your mindset so you can show up in a better headspace in your day for those you care about. Including yourself.
This is also a great weekend to tackle a project. You can go big and start with the garage. Or you can start small, like a junk drawer in the kitchen or your closet.
Personally, I like to start with the kitchen junk drawer. It takes about 4 minutes to do and I feel so accomplished afterwards.
Seriously….try it.
I also truly love clearing out my closet. A friend organized my closet for me years ago (like 15) and I’ve kept her organizational system ever since. Here’s how it works:
- Hang your clothes by category. Jeans, Pants, Skirts, Blouses, T-shirts, etc.
- Within each category, hang them in color order: ROYGBIV, like the rainbow. I start with white, cream and then rainbow colors. You will be blown away by the difference. It looks amazing!
- For tops, within each color, start with sleeveless, short sleeve and then long sleeve.
- Hang all of your clothes on the same type of hangar. Not PLASTIC! Invest in the velvet hangers that are thin. You can get them at the Container Store, but they are also on Amazon and in HomeGoods for a cheaper price. My friend advised me to get the tan color so it doesn’t show lint/dust.
Seriously, my closet has never been the same. These little tricks make all of the difference. And here’s the thing: you will have better visibility of what is in your closet. You may even find something you didn’t know you had! And making outfits becomes so much easier. So in the end, you are saving time. Not to mention brain power and stress.
Habits are the other thing we need to tackle in our spring cleaning. We need to look at what we do daily or weekly that is no longer serving us. This could be that extra glass of wine, going to bed too late, hitting the snooze button, binge-watching Netflix, eating junk food, not exercising, etc.
All of these things create hurdles to what we say we want in our life.
In order for us to become the person we want to be….that best version of ourselves…we must be willing to let go of our bad habits and replace them with ones that are aligned with the person we want to become.
I don’t advise trying to tackle them all at once. We need to be gentle with ourselves and take one at a time. You can start with the one with the largest impact (I highly recommend) or you can start with one that is super easy that you know you can accomplish quickly. It will start momentum.
We should ask ourselves: what is in the way of me becoming the person I want to be? Is it our health? Our finances? Our relationships? Our spiritual life? And once we know that, dig further into what you can do to improve it.
This is spring cleaning for our true selves.
You are here on purpose. And you are here with a purpose. Why settle for anything other than living a life you love? Why not make an effort to be and do more while you can? Think about how you can create positive impact for others, which always leads to a better you.
Time makes up our life. And it is fluid and fleeting. Don’t wait to begin. Make your well-being and personal growth the number one priority in your life.
I guarantee it is something you will never regret doing.
It’s not selfish. It’s not a waste of time. It’s making this and every moment better. And isn’t that what we should be doing with our time here?
You can Emerge Positive!
Positively,
deanne
