Spring Cleaning Can Blast You Out Of Winter’s Black Hole!

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Spring is here at last and spring cleaning is a tried and true ritual!

Why do we still associate spring with spring cleaning?

Certainly, in prairie cabins a century ago, when the wind blew dust through the chinks between the logs, spring was the first time the sun was warm enough to dry those curtains and rugs that needed to be cleaned and hung outside after a long, cold winter. [After reading Prairie Fires, a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, I have a new appreciation for the hardships of prairie life.]

In the 1800s, most homes were heated with coal stoves and furnaces. I recently learned that even in the finest homes, the burning coal left a film of soot on the walls that needed to be cleaned after the weather was warm enough to turn off the stoves. With cleaner heat, many homes don’t need that kind of deep cleaning today.

But I still think of spring as a time for fresh air, both literally and figuratively. The winter cobwebs of my mind need to be swept clean, and the windows of my soul need to be thrown open for sweet breezes and warm sunshine.

Are you still stuck in winter’s grip?

Our inner moods and mindsets often pay no attention to the calendar.

Two years ago, even the change of seasons couldn’t stir me out of my mid-winter non-writing rut, and I could spend hours at my desk with little to show for it. I was getting enough sleep. I was eating fairly well. Yet I was just slogging along without motivation or any flow of creativity.

I didn’t know why until these sentences jumped out from an article by Amber Black on Tsh Oxenreider’s blog:

Clutter is a black hole for freedom, living life, getting things done, and inspiration. 
The same is true for mental clutter.

Winter may be over, but sometimes we’re still in a black hole of our own making! Amber’s words were a call to action then and they were again this year.

Winter may be over, but sometimes we're still in a black hole of our own making!Click To Tweet

First I tackled the physical clutter: Marie Kondo strikes again

Inspired by Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo’s recent Netflix episodes (“If it doesn’t spark joy, let it go.”), I’ve ruthlessly attacked my linen closet, chest of drawers, office desk, and bookshelves, making a pile of books to take to the library and hauling off huge bags of clothing and linens for Goodwill and trash for the landfill. I had done this several years ago, but the clutter always creeps back. Now my desk is clear and my office is an inviting place again, infinitely more conducive to work and productivity.

Then I tackled a cubbyhole/corner of our guest bedroom where I not only had two full wooden filing cabinets of old papers (taxes, statements, memorabilia…) but also three storage boxes full too. When I had finished with this, I had 90 pounds (yes, you read that right) of paper to take to the shredding service company in Winchester. It was worth every penny of the fifty cents a pound they charged me to shred it all. 

 

The mental clutter is much more challenging.

With the physical decluttering, my mood began to lighten and become more hopeful, but there was still too much swirling around inside my head.

And it’s no wonder.

I’m chairing a bank board, active at church, working for a few clients, polishing up a book, keeping an eye on two family nonagenarians I love dearly, and carving out cherished time with my beloved husband. We’ve both had a rough winter health-wise, and that’s never conducive to positive thinking.

As a voracious reader, perpetual student, and curious seeker of truth and knowledge, I’m almost always in a state of serious information overload. I want to know it all and learn it all and remember it all.

I want to finish my devotional, write my book, create content for my blog, submit articles to other magazines, and help you, my Heartspeaken friends, who—like me—are on a journey to learn new and better ways to live life to the fullest at any age.

In spite of my best intentions, the phone keeps ringing, the email Inbox keeps filling up, and the siren song of Facebook and social media keeps playing in the background. Besides the things I want to do myself, there’s another list of things others would like me to do too. Many days, there doesn’t seem to be enough of me to go around.

I can’t do it all, and neither can you.

At least not all at the same time.

You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?

I know you do because many of my friends are struggling with this too. “Burnout”  is a common word in our conversations lately. There’s an ebb and flow to it, but just like physical clutter, every now and then you have to stop and get ruthless with all that stuff swirling around in your head and in your life and say, “Something’s got to give.” 

The author I mentioned above, Amber Black, suggests a way to get unstuck:

Make a decision.

This is when I remember my friend Laura West’s wonderful advice:

“Say NO more often and YES more fully.”

'Say NO more often and YES more fully.' (~Laura West)Click To Tweet

Here’s an approach that has helped me: Make a list of all the activities or issues going on in your life right now. Pay special attention to the ones that are draining you. Then make a decision about whether to continue each one or not.

The answer might be NO if:

• Thinking of it makes you feel heavy or sick.
• You can’t see a reason or purpose for it.
• You can’t say YES fully.
• Someone else can do it better or more easily than you.
• At the end of your life you’d regret having spent your life’s energy doing this.

The answer might be YES if:

• Thinking of it brings you joy.
• You realize it’s an investment in your future.
• You realize it’s a step towards an important goal.
• At the end of your life, you’d be glad you did this.

There’s a third answer that might be a modified YES that involves restructuring the task or project to minimize the burden.

A fourth answer might be some version of “Maybe later.” Attach a future date and make note of what needs to happen before it can become a YES or a NO. Remove it from your worry list until that date.

This Yes/No/Maybe approach has helped me reprioritize, re-schedule, and delegate.

How do you manage mental clutter?

I’d love to know and so would others in our community. Your solution may be just what someone else needs, so please share your best mental de-cluttering tip in the comments below or on the Heartspoken Facebook Page. 

The need to declutter, whether it’s spring or not, is clearly a recurring issue for me because I’ve written about it in the past. If this is a topic you feel called to explore, you might enjoy these earlier posts:

• “De-cluttering isn’t just for closets and inboxes” 
• “Find Yourself When You Remove the Clutter”
• “7 Ways I’m Going To Be Kind To Myself This Holiday Season”

And don’t miss Gretchen Rubin’s new book Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness. In fact, everyone who leaves a comment on this blog by the last day of April will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Gretchen’s book! Clicking the book cover image will take you to Amazon for more information (affiliate link).

And here’s a simple guide I think you’ll find helpful called “Free Yourself From Clutter.”

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This article has been significantly updated from its original appearance on this blog in 2017.