Spring Cleaning for Life, Part 1

I got married in 2011. I’m not married anymore but that’s another story. 🤣 I had four bridesmaids on my wedding day. At the time I got married, these four women were the most important women in my life. They were my go-to gals, my bffs, my lady posse. Out of the four, I am still very close friends with one of them. I have a twice-a-yearish catch up date with another. I have a friendly social-media-only acquaintanceship with the third. And as for the last one -- well, we don’t speak anymore. Like, the blocked, deleted, zero contact kind of not speaking.

Isn’t this interesting? Ten years ago, these were the top candidates to stand beside me on my wedding day. Today, only one out of four of them would still hold that rank in my life now. This is a normal, natural occurrence that takes place as we grow and evolve as humans. We gain people and we lose people. I’m sure you’ve heard it quoted that “People come into our lives for either a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” Sometimes it happens gradually - slowly drifting apart over the years. Sometimes it happens suddenly - someone moves away or has a baby or you get into a big fight. No matter how it happens, it’s important that it does happen. It’s a de-cluttering of your life.

Have you ever seen (and shuddered at) the show Hoarders? That is what happens when you never clear anything out. The same thing happens when you don’t clear out your thoughts, habits, emotions, and friendships. You wind up suffocating in a bunch of garbage you don’t need.

Ever have a friend that you spend time with out of obligation? She texts you to hang out and you feel like you should go “just because” -- even though you usually feel exhausted after spending any time with her. It’s a drain on your time and energy, but you still continue the friendship even though it’s completely one-way. That is an example of relationship clutter.

How about grudges? Someone pissed you off two years ago and your face still gets hot when you think about the injustice of it? That, my friend, would be emotional clutter.

Anyone get addicted to Netflix and have to turn it on, no matter what, after dinner every night? Even if there’s nothing good on, or it’s a beautiful evening to take a walk? That’s habitual clutter.

Do you see how life so easily gets cluttered, and not just with physical objects? If you feel exhausted, resentful, bored, or just plain crummy most of the time, that’s a good sign that you could use some clearing out. The good news is, once you recognize what’s happening, you can begin the process of Spring cleaning your whole life. (Don’t worry - it’s not as daunting as it sounds! It will happen gradually and naturally after you make a few adjustments.)

Here are some examples of things cluttering up my life ten years ago:

• My daily after-work bottle of wine
• Perfectionism
• Husband 😬
• Weighing/starving myself daily to get to a certain poundage
• Shallow friendships
• A job I disliked

It didn’t happen overnight, but I can confidently say that none of those things are cluttering up my world anymore! Cleaning out that clutter made room for amazing new things that are much healthier for me -- like better friends, my own business, healthier foods, and grace for myself and others.

I’m going to talk about the hows of de-cluttering your life in part two of this blog post (coming up in two weeks). This is not a one-and-done process. Sure, I cleared out all of those things above, but inevitably, new things come in and I have to clear those out too. Just like you have to clean your home more than once to keep it liveable, you have to consistently clean up your mind, emotions, relationships, and habits. It’s actually kinda fun and relieving when you do, so don’t think of it as work! Think of it as scheduled maintenance - a spa day for your life.

You deserve a life free and clear of clutter. You are worthy of it. 

-Kristen

If you're local here in Casper and looking for something to do this weekend, we'd love to see your face at Funky Junk Saturday the 15th.

We haven't been to any local shows in the past year, and we're excited to show off our new branding in the real world! Check out the details below, and follow us on social for more info.!

P.S. If you need a reminder, or a little energetic “ping” to help you live in that worthiness every day, we think you’ll love any of these handmade jewelry pieces!