Yvonne Glasgow
The arrival of spring offers a great time to start thinking about personal growth, spiritual growth, and the growth of your business life. Instead of only spring cleaning your home, sweep away the metaphorical cobwebs and dust as well.
Here are some great ways to integrate spring cleaning into your life, and not just your home, and help you start the new season off right.
Let Go of the Old
Spring and cleaning is traditionally a time of letting go of old belongings you no longer need. It’s a time to dust off the layers of dirt that have accumulated over the winter while your home was all shut up, and the windows were closed. Before we talk about letting go of the old belongings that no longer are needed in your life, let’s look at letting go of some of the old thought patterns you don’t need anymore either.
Ditch the Negativity
Some negativity is a good thing and can be a great motivator. But if you see things negatively more often than you see the positive in stuff, it could be leading to a pretty miserable life.
To celebrate the coming of spring, find ways to see more in your life in a positive light.
- Use positive affirmations.
- Keep a gratitude journal, where you write down anything you’re grateful for each day, even if it’s just having running water.
When you’re getting rid of stuff, try the Marie Kondo way of keeping only what brings you joy. Don’t just do that with the stuff you own, though. If you have friends, acquaintances, and even family members who bring negativity and toxicity into your life, consider spending less time with them.
Let Go of Things with No Purpose
It can be hard to let go of your belongings. We find ourselves holding on to things that have a history, that we got from a certain person, or that we just have a memory attached to. If all of the memories attached to an item are good ones, and looking at or using that item brings joy, consider keeping it if it has a place to belong. If you don’t have a special home for it where you could see it and use it, then maybe it’s time to let go.
Let go of people who no longer serve a purpose in your life. And I’m not talking about using people; I’m talking about the people who are only there because they want something from you. If your relationships aren’t built on mutual respect, find a way to make them that way or walk away.
Plant Some Seeds
Spring is the time when you start planting seeds indoors so that they can germinate and be ready for transplanting in your gardens outside as soon as the weather is warm enough and the ground is thawed.
Even if you don’t have a garden in your yard, consider growing potted herbs in your kitchen in a sunny window. Growing your own food is an amazing thing to do to save money and give you a feeling of accomplishment when you get to use something you cultivated with your own two hands.
While you’re planting seeds, think about the other parts of your life that could use some seeds of intention and some cultivating. Consider how your home life is going, think about what types of friendships you have and want, and even think about what kind of seeds you can plant in your career. These things that you think of will help you in the next step.
Start Making Plans
Bring along those seeds of intention and start making plans with them. Make a goal list and consider new projects to undertake and various changes in your life you want to make.
When it comes to home life, consider whether you are happy where you’re at. If you’re single, maybe you’re comfortable being on your own, or perhaps you want to start making plans to find someone to share your life with. Maybe you feel like you no longer fit in your home, your family has expanded, and you need more space. Think about what you can do to make plans to get a bigger house.
When it comes to your career, you have a few things to consider depending on whether you work outside of the home for someone else, you run your own business, or you work from home. Perhaps you’ve been considering leaving your job to venture on your own entrepreneurial pathway. Start a list of goals on how you can make that happen. You’ll need to have start-up cost money (if needed), a business plan, products or services to offer, and more. Now is the time to start making those plans and planting those seeds.
Set Up a Wellness Program
Of course, don’t forget that life is about more than work and relationships, you need to take care of yourself, too. A great way to celebrate the Spring Equinox is to start a wellness program that works for you. Maybe you want to eat healthier, work out more often, or take more days out for self-care. Start scheduling these things as part of your daily doings, and they’ll become habits.
Depending on the weather on the day of the Spring Equinox, get outside and enjoy some sunshine and take a walk. A little bit of time in nature will allow you to clear your mind and think of all the things that you want to do and clear away during the spring cleaning of your home and your life.
Walking offers a great meditation practice, especially for those who don’t like to sit still. When you get home from your walk, do a few yoga positions, eat a healthy lunch, and enjoy knowing this spring, you started on a new path.
