A health, fitness, and weight-loss story.

4.04.2011

Oh, The Possibilities...

Lots of different possibilities in my life right now.

Diet--reading tons of diet books trying to put together a plan for myself that is heart and kidney healthy. Not following any one plan, just a nutritionally balanced, Jo-friendly plan. It's tough to get enough MUFAs now that I can't eat nuts, so I'm studying and tweaking.

Life in General--Here are where the big possibilities are. Now that the taxes are done, the bills are paid and the big projects need my attention are behind me, whew, it's spring cleaning time. I am a huge believer in decluttering once a year and having a big spring clean. I have not had a major declutter spree since Dec of '08 due to my health and focus, and I haven't had a huge spring clean since probably '07. It's time.

Right now I'm reading Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston right now. It is the best book for motivating and inspiring a big clean. I highly recommend it, and was thrilled it's on Kindle.

Anyway, I plan on going through my house room by room. I will declutter each room, re-organize what's left, make a list of anything needed, then wash walls, curtains, floors, etc. When one is done, I move to the next. The only bad thing about this is the house is a mess during the process because you have to put your donate pile somewhere, your somewhere else pile somewhere, etc.

This is a huge project and I am eager to attack! I haven't felt the energy to do this for so long.

At the end of '08, my husband gave me the best gift ever: his time. We did a major clear-out the week after Christmas. We ordered a dumpster and filled it twice (we had recently inherited many, many things thus so much junk), we donated van loads of books, animal supplies to the local shelter, tons of clothes and household goods to the local Salvation Army. It was liberating.

The process of doing that cleared my mind and my heart. We worked our tails off and the energy in the house was amazing. It was a huge weight lifted from our shoulders.

Speaking of weight...it was a month after we finished that big project that I started my health journey here. That clear out, getting rid of clutter, opened up energy for me to be able to start. It freed so much--I cannot begin to describe how liberating that was.

It's time to do it again. We will order a dumpster, because we have old carpeting in our garage that needs to go. (DH laid new carpet this past fall and we hadn't ordered a dumpster to get rid of the old stuff.) Most our goodies will be donated, though.

I need the weight of a dirty house off my shoulders. It's not that it's dirty, but in my mind, it is because I haven't had a good spring clean in so long. It's clean enough, but I'm a little OCD and want it cleaner--Jo clean. And as I said, I just have not been myself and haven't had the energy to devote to the big project for a couple years now.

It's also a time to declutter my mind. I am reading weight loss books not looking for a new magical cure, but for inspiration. I'm stuck in my ways, I'm depressed about lack of loss, the new kidney stone prevention diet, and I just need to get rid of all that negative clutter in my brain.

Spring. Perfect time for cleaning the house and the mind. Oh, the possibilities of what this will bring.

6 comments:

  1. I am decluttering too. Good will loves me right now. You will find your way. Just keep after it.

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  2. the title.
    the last lines.
    all reminded me of SEUSS' Oh the Places Youll Go!

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  3. Good for you! My house, too, needs to be decluttered. It isn't a major mess, but I'm not an organized person. I hate trying to organize, but it needs to be done.

    Best of luck with the new motivation and "clean" start. You have come a long way, and I'm sure things are starting to look up again.

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  4. What a good idea! I think we will declutter this spring too. never thought of getting a dumpster. We may need to do that this year. Tons of junk in the barn that needs to go. :)

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  5. Great plan, Jo. I think I'll join you as my house is being taken over by clutter.

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  6. Yes - when I de-cluttered.... I loved it so!

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