Spring Cleaning with A Spiritual Twist
This Spring, in addition to the usual reset, it is marked by a historic convergence — Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all fell in the same time this Spring. This only happens every thirty years or so.
While those of us in the organizing world mark Spring in a very practical sense, this year, with three of the world’s major religions celebrating at once, I want to honor it from a spiritual perspective as well.
Action Planning for Recurring Tasks
Re-occurring tasks need a plan, but don’t require all of the steps written out like a formal action plan for, say, reorganizing a garage or arranging for a big move. If we plan for re-occurring tasks in a strategic way, then we never have to plan for them again. They become automatic and easier and easier every time we do them. This frees us up for the magical, not planned, lovely moments of our lives.
Vision - Decluttering Sentimental Items
My goal is to give you two concrete tools to craft a vision that can guide you in minimizing your home. First, those of us with too many sentimental items are often multidimensional idea people that don’t always have room in our homes and our calendars for all of those ideas. By recognizing that, we can release some of the items, but actively keep the ideas. Second, sometimes our visions compete, and when they do we can often find solutions that can allow us to maintain those visions.
Designing Systems & Creating New Habits
…don’t try to force yourself or your family into a new system. ….learn more about yourself and the people around you, then use that to manipulate the space to ensure that the space works for the people.
How to Action Plan
An action plan powers your dreams. It combines your to do list with a timeline and a goal. You are now taking action with a purpose and in a timely fashion. And I love them. So. Much. .
Minimizing Sentimental Items
Here is where the problem came in — everything made me feel a deep joy — but some of my treasured mementos had to go.
Joy, for me, is in so many items I own. But the joy that I really need is the joy that will move my vision ahead.
Baby Steps
In this phase of my life, my home is not the organized, minimized shrine it once was, but I am working through this phase to build new systems for this phase of my life.
I call this phase baby steps.
Designing Systems
Organizing isn’t about forcing people into doing unnatural, unsustainable, or even new patterns. True organizing is about finding your already existing patterns and using them to make your life function for you.