Spring Into Clearing Your Clutter!

Spring is traditionally the time that homes were cleaned from top to bottom.  It was when windows and doors could be thrown open to let in the fresh air, and open wood burning fires were no longer being used, so smoke could be cleaned from the walls. 

These days Spring is still a wonderful time to get busy and clear away the Winter cobwebs. There's a natural instinct to have a good clean out as the weather starts to improve and there's new growth right outside your door.

The hardest part is always getting started, but once you do you'll find that all the stagnant energy trapped in the clutter will be released for you to use in other ways. 

So where DO you start?

Step 1 ~ Get motivated.  Sometimes easier said than done... motivation can come and go in a fleeting moment for me... but if I need some prompting I always go back to my favourite book "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston.  Check out the bagua diagram and read up on how physical clutter affects all aspects of your life, health and wellbeing... that should be a good start!

Step 2 ~ Open your curtains, blinds, windows and doors and let the light and fresh air flood in!  It's amazing how light can change the way you feel about the space... it also allows you to see things that maybe have been hidden in the gloom of those dark Winter days.  Sometimes just re-arranging the furniture can make the space feel better!

Step 3 ~ Prioritise... if you're like me you'll need to start small and get some "instant" results or boredom will set in quickly! Make a list of what is bothering you the most... which area of the house is the most cluttered?  Or which area of a room is the worst?  If in doubt TAKE PHOTOS of the room / space.  It's amazing how things become clearer and you can be more 'objective' when you see the space in a photo.

Step 4 ~ Use "sorting boxes".  This is a great time saver that I use.  Grab a few cardboard boxes, label them with categories like... "charity", "rubbish", "keep but relocate"... and make sure you have one labelled "decide later" for things that you can't make a quick decision about!  Using the boxes saves you from wandering around the house putting things away because if you're like me you get distracted really easily.

 

Step 5 ~ Get the "clutter" off the premises!  If the stuff is for donations, then stick it in the car and drop it off at the charity the next time you go past.

Step 6 ~ Give the space a really good dust and vacuum... maybe even use a bunch of sage to "smudge" the house after you've cleared and cleaned.  It's amazing to feel the energy change after this process is completed.

Step 7 ~ Celebrate!  Take some "after" photos and compare them to the "befores".  Treat yourself, share your success with a friend, invite someone over to show off your new space, be proud of your efforts!

"I love you because you always trick me."

So Father's Day has rolled around again.  Last year there wasn't really any issue.  TJ was at playgroup, there was no pressure to make anything special for anyone... I don't seem to remember us making any special effort to contact his dad.  It was just the two of us... I don't even remember if we made a fuss of Grandpa...

This year he's at Kindergarten, and the children have all been busy making special pictures with typed messages on them for their dads. 

My heart almost broke when I saw all the kids collecting their artwork and proudly sharing their stories about what they loved about their dads.  I wondered what I was about to read... I expected TJ to have some fabulous fantasy story about his dad's farm, or about driving the tractor, or even something about his dogs that we occasionally see via Skype.  I smiled at the drawing & glanced at the words and saw "... I love you because you always trick me."  Then I suddenly realised that it said
"DAVID, I love you because you always trick me."

  

Not DAD!  Wow.  Now I had tears in my eyes! 

I did the whole big thing about how wonderful & special it was, and we made a big production about it when we got home, and David put it on the window next to his desk, and TJ was very proud of his work... but I still wonder what he makes of the whole Father's Day thing. 

At only 4 years old, and having been in a single parent family since he was 6 months old, does he even understand the concept of what a 'DAD' is or does?  What was the context of the activity that they did at Kindy?  Was he prompted to choose the male role model in his life who was most significant?  Was he given a choice about participating in the activity?  Was he encouraged to write about his actual father? 

Lots of unanswered questions from an ex-teacher who was always so careful to be inclusive of all family situations and arrangements! 

And then today, I asked him if he wanted to do something special for his dad... his answer... "Nah... it's ok." 

Does that mean that he doesn't love his dad?  Does it mean that he doesn't care?  I don't think so.  Does it just mean that as far as he's concerned the "activity" was completed and now it's time to move on and play?   Maybe there's something there that I can learn from him... do the job and move on perhaps?  Feel the love, and 'let go' perhaps?

Dad is still 'dad', but we rarely see him or even hear much from him.  He certainly doesn't play a significant role in TJ's life.  Apart from 'Grumpy Gramps', David is the significant male role model in his life who plays soccer with him, takes him for bike rides, digs in the garden with him, watches TV with him, cooks for him, disciplines him, and yeah... does a fair bit of "tricking" too!

Time to let go of the idea of some of the guilt around his dad not being around... he has wonderful male role models in the shape of Gramps and David.  I think we'll be celebrating "Grumpy Gramps' Day & David's Day" on Sunday!