spring cleaning

when i lived at home (which let's be honest - was not that long ago) i always got an itch to rearrange my bedroom around the summer months. i had a twin sized bed all through high school, and always wanted it right next to the windows. why? to hear things and to see things. to be like one of those writers we all see on tv and in the movies, who sit in their bay windows and write all day and all night. (and okay - i also did not have an air conditioner during my high school years, so the idea of the summer breeze while i slept was my intention and goal).

and so - i would rearrange. move my bed from here to there, move my dresser from there to here, hang up some new no doubt posters, and call it a day. as i grew older, my rearranging of the furniture obsession diminished (i got a larger bed, an air conditioner and no doubt had broken up and stopped touring). with no furniture to move, i learned what does need a good spring cleaning. something i never thought would need a spring cleaning that can be so emotional and so difficult at times.

me.

now i am older. and live in an apartment. a home that truly does NEED spring cleaning, and not just the rearranging of furniture and the obsessive cleaning of a kitchen floor. it's this time of the year that i, and you, need to rearrange our minds. take the dust bunnies out of our brain and let out the past. let out the anger we may hold, the hostility, the grudges, the tears - let it out. write it out. sing it out. draw it out. dance it art. YELL it out. just get it out! spring clean your mind so it can blossom and start afresh. 

for me - probably the hardest part is letting go of the physical things. i go through my wicker basket that i keep everything 'important' in. by 'important' it ranges from cards, receipts, ticket stubs, bank statements, stickers, scrap paper, wrapping paper - fun napkins. you name it. i for some crazy reason, keep it. i clear them out, throw out the old, the meaningless. keep the happy things. notes from disney world from manda, get well cards from teresa, a sticky note from rachel. the little things that bring me to a happy place. always. (psssst - this does not mean i am throwing out your cards! this means i am throwing out a reminder postcard my obgyn sent me months ago!). 

i de-clutter, and have a sigh of relief. 

i let go of people who cause me pain, despair, or who i just dont speak to anymore. yes, i get on facebook and spring clean. say bye to those faces of individuals who i cant even tell you how we met. hit delete. say goodbye to people with a negative aura and personality. people who dont fit me. people who just dont get it. people who are jealous. hit delete.

i de-clutter, and have a sigh of relief.

i go on itunes, discover old favourites (hell-o jaymay) and replay them. i smile. re-organize. delete the songs from the past that hurt too much (or, if you're brave, hide them in a file, so you can relive those negative moments for meditation/therapeutic purposes). delete the songs that i really just dont understand why they are even on my computer to begin with (justin timberlake...sorry bud). move along, move along.

i de-clutter, and have a sigh of relief.

i go into my closet. tell myself how crazy i am with all of the clothes i own, and take out what i realistically will not wear. so many girls would love my closet. so many girls need my closet. i load up trash bags with threads, and bring them to the salvation army. one woman's trash is another person's treasure. one woman's trash is another woman's wardrobe on a budget.

i de-clutter, and have a sigh of relief.

at the end of the day, with a clutter-free mind and home, i am not a writer who sits in a bay window with the sun gleaming on her face, writing brilliant prose. in fact, i am not a writer at all. i am however, strong enough to de-clutter, to let go of the past with a notion that tomorrow is another day. tomorrow is a new day. tomorrow brings along new things to clutter my mind with, tomorrow brings a new day to relive a mistake, or to learn another lesson. tomorrow is precious. a gift.

this spring, let go of it all. start anew. clean out your drawers, go through your memory boxes. remember the good memories, hold onto them. look those bad memories in the eye, and tell them that you learned from them. you grew. 

reflect. 

and let go of it all. the good. the bad. open yourself up, for of course, more good and bad.