Spring Cleaning and Letting Go

Anyone else feel like spring is the time of year to not only to go all-in on spring cleaning around the house, but also to clean up your life in general?

It’s different than that fresh start feel in January or September. Spring feels more like a time to come out of my comfort zone and reassess my life and overall happiness. To detox in a sense. And no, I’m not talking about juice cleanses or weird food detoxes. Stop that shizzy.

My type of spring detox means getting rid of things that are bringing me down so I can make room for those that fill me up and bring joy to my life.

Freedom and Letting Go

I remember back in high school and college, spring was a popular time for breakups. I think we all crave freedom this time of year so I get it. Not the breakup part, just the freedom part. Mike and I will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary in less than a month and wouldn’t change that decision for anything.

Spring makes me want to feel happy and light. I wanna get outside as often as possible. I’m excited to spend more time connecting with new friends and reconnecting with old friends. And less time connecting with the couch. I want to smile more and complain less. Even though, I’m not a complainer in general, I think this winter brought it out in all of us.

Basically spring makes me wanna spend time doing what makes me happy with the people who bring me joy. And, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, time is a limited resource. If you wanna do more of what makes you happy, you have to do less of something else, right?

Enter the Spring Detox

It’s crazy how attached we get to people, places, thoughts, habits and emotions simply because they’re comfortable and familiar. We fear that if we get rid of an established behavior or relationship, we will never replace it. That’s usually not the case, but it can feel that way when things are routine and familiar.

Spring is an awesome time to let go of material goods, relationships and habits that are bringing you down. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be outside sipping a cocktail than wasting my time on areas of my life that aren’t serving me well.

This spring, I urge you to do a different type of detox. Spend some time identifying items, relationships, habits and emotions that aren’t adding value to your life. Then, take action to de-prioritize, or totally ditch altogether, those things in lieu of people, jobs, activities and emotions that fill you up and motivate you to grow.

Spring Clean Your Life

Some things to think about as you’re spring cleaning your house.. and your life.

De-emphasize, distance yourself from or throw away:

• Friendships that feel one-way or drain your energy
• People who complain non-stop
• Pointless meetings at work
• Anger
• Clothes that don’t fit or you will likely never wear again
• Constant worry about things you can not change
• Your goal of running a marathon if you hate running
• The workouts that leave you with no energy to actually enjoy your life
• The nightly ice cream habit that’s making you sick
• The endless hours of TV you’re watching instead of sleeping enough

Here are some things to prioritize instead:

• Friendships that leave you smiling and craving more time together {hang with people who let you be YOU}
• Family time
• Time with people who make you want to be better {at your job, at being a friend, at being a mom, happier overall, etc.}
• Love and kindness
• Clothes that might cost a bit more, but make you feel amazing
• Workouts that leave you feeling better afterwards, not like a bag of poop
• The one salad a day habit
• The cocktail on Friday afternoon with your husband to unwind
• Salt baths
• Weekends away
• High priority work tasks
• Date nights

What’s weighing you down?

Are there friends you spend time with who leave you feeling kind of depleted? Are you wasting precious moments with people who you you can’t truly connect with? Can you distance yourself a bit in order to make time for the friendships that leave you laughing and smiling for days?

Maybe your relationships are all in check. Perhaps this spring you need to detox something in your work life. Is the work you do every day crushing you? While you may not be able to ditch it altogether, you can take small actions towards finding something new. Or even start by finding way to turn work off when you’re not there.

Or, perhaps you have some nutrition and fitness habits that need to go? Are you trying to force a lifestyle that just doesn’t fit? Remember, consistency and sustainability are key. If what you’re doing right now isn’t working, take one step to get better. Keep asking yourself two things as you make changes, is this working and adding to my life? Is this something I can do forever?

Let’s Go!

Look, you don’t need to ditch all of your friends, go on a crazy-restrictive diet, find all new favorite hangouts, or fire your entire staff. I just urge you to look at your life and determine what relationships and habits are really working for you. Prioritize those. Begin to distance yourself from the others.

It’s time to let go of the winter blues, put away the millions of mismatched mittens around your house, and spend a bit of time reflecting. Get really honest with yourself. Reprioritize.

You just might be surprised how free you feel when you let go of what’s comfortable to make room for what’s amazing!