This was a difficult post to write, but one that has been swirling around in my head for a very long time. It all started while I was reading one of my favourite organizing/ de-cluttering blogs (iheartorganizing) and I got thinking about all the ‘clutter’ in my own life. Believe it or not, my email inbox was one of the first places my mind went to. How many of you are like me who, in order to receive the 20% discount you provide your email and have since been sentenced to an electronic hell of updates and offers that fill your inbox? It is bad enough our mailboxes via snail mail are only bills and flyers, we have now subjected our emails to this too. I am officially committed to this cause and have unsubscribed to every piece of junk email that finds its way into my email account. So simple. So gratifying. That is the simplest form of decluttering, so I thought I had best warm you up before the next section. Things are about to get real.

Unsubscribe to people too. Yes, people can also be clutter. We live in a world where we overuse the word ‘busy’, but I recognize that our schedules are also ‘jam-packed’. With what? With who? We all have those people that we are chronically too busy for and then we are filled with guilt when we do not make time for them. This is my challenge, if you wanted to make the time, you could have and you would have, right? But, you didn’t. Why?

I know that sounds harsh but I want to make it clear; the people and relationships of our world serve a very important purpose. They all play an intricate role into who we are, where we have been and what we have done. Some have been there every step of the way, some have been there for moments and some for certain time periods (high school, university, first job, since the womb, etc.). Some of these people come in and out of our worlds seamlessly. We can go months, even years without talking to them but in any moment we know they would be there, can be there and they are just ‘easy’. Some people were the front runners of our awkward teens and share a past with us that no one else will ever be so lucky to be a part of. You may have drifted from these people but when you reflect on the memories, nothing short of a warm smile and a flashback of an awful tasting beer comes to your mind. I am not encouraging you to unsubscribe to these people, these memories. I am encouraging you to evaluate the people and relationships of your world, right now… your tribe. Are you giving attention to the people you want, the people who feed your soul? Or, are you running yourself ragged out of obligation? Obligation does not feel good. Dental checkups and PAP tests are obligation… friendships should not be in that category. Remember, you aren’t the greatest friend either when you are there out of obligation. Relationships are a two way street.

Your time is valuable, you are valuable. We need to do a better job of sharing our time with what and who matter the most but, we cannot do that until we sift through the clutter. Thanks to my love of lists, I leave you with these tasks:

1. Unsubscribe from all of those emails you do not want to receive. Before you delete them, take the 6 seconds to scroll to the bottom and unsubscribe. Do it. Now.
2. Mail a letter or a card. A real letter, to someone important to you. Give them something in their mailbox to smile about.
3. Email your people. Renew your subscriptions to their lives. It can be 10 paragraphs or it can be two sentences. Give them a smile with a very simple hello. Make it your goal to send one a day or one a week, and make it someone different each time. You will be amazed how this makes you reconnect with your own life but also the joy it will bring when they hit reply.
4. Operation Phase Out. This is not a formal break-up; this is not a conversation over dinner. This is just self reflective practice. Make time for those you have been meaning to make plans with, say no to those who you feel obligatory guilt towards. Time will take care of the rest.
5. Take a deep breath. Go for a walk in the sunshine. After all, the number one person to make time for is you.

Happy Spring Cleaning,

Lise

Xo.