Spring cleaning could conjure any variety of feelings, whether invigorating or depressing.  For me?  I have visions of beautiful flowers growing, neatly arranged cupboards, and piles of clothes and assorted items awaiting thrift store donation.  I’m ready to open the windows for fresh air, clear out excess, rake the garden spaces, revel in the scent of lemon coming from freshly scrubbed floors, and put ‘stuff’ away in its proper place – with labels, in alphabetical order, and color-coded!

Neatly aligned and color-coordinated!

Organized!

Beautiful flowers!

Easier said than done.

I recall past experiences being stymied mid-project by an errant task or a phone call and never completing what I originally set out to do.  For a fairly goal-oriented and usually pragmatic individual, this can be somewhat frustrating . . .the term ‘paralyzed’ comes to mind when I think of getting stuck in the midst of so many ideas, plans, and projects.

Sometimes I catch myself saying, “Nicole, other people do this all the time: Make a to-do list by room or by task and set aside a day/couple of days to ‘just do it!’”

Guess what?  I’m not other people.  I’m not the only person living in my house.

Reality: partially organized closet

Not everything always goes exactly as I have it mapped out.

I find another task I’ve been meaning to tackle and tend to become sidetracked. I have emotional ties to nostalgic items that have no functional purpose and take up valuable shelf space. To top it off, I have a couple of chronic conditions that sometimes impede on my plans.

I’ve learned that a clean, organized physical space really does appeal to me and seems to calm me. I’ve also noticed spring cleaning can be as much metaphysical, emotional, or spiritual as it is physical.  My wellness coach reminds me to use what has worked well for me in the past; maybe I can connect with him again to process tools I learned to figure out what my spring cleaning wellness vision really includes.

What are your next steps?

Tags: Blog, Blog, Coaching, Inspiration, program, Program, Resource, wellness coaching