If there was ever a year to start with a clean slate, that year is 2021!
I don’t need to go into how 2020 threw us all for a loop and pushed many of our goals to the back-burner. My focus is now 100% forward! 2021, here we come!
I invite you to begin to get rid of the baggage of the past year and make some decisions about how 2021 is going to look for you.
While I would typically be talking about setting goals and getting focused on your work leading into the new year, I would like to offer some different advice this year.
That advice is to be present.
Be present at home. Be present with your loved ones. Be present with yourself. What is needed right now, before you jump into your goals and plans is to reset.
Here are five things you can do to reset yourself and head into 2021 feeling fresh, ready, and with a clean slate!
Step 1 - Clean it out. Take a walk around your house and look for anywhere “stuff” has accumulated. Look in places like closets and kitchen cabinets for things that you haven’t worn or used for a long time. Check your inventory of things such as jewelry and blankets, which tend to grow over time. Keep what you enjoy and put the rest to the side.
Step 2 - Purge it. Now that you have piles of things put to the side, decide what needs to go away. If something is broken, and you don’t intend to fix it, throw it out. If you have an old version of something that you have since upgraded, get rid of it. This can be ‘stuff,’ but also it can be distractions. What are the things that steal your time and don’t give you back anything in return? What don’t you need anymore that is taking up space either physically or mentally?
Step 3 - Donate it. Identify those things that you no longer need or want, but are functional and can be used by someone else. The usual places to donate are an option, but I invite you to think a little differently, as well. For example, instead of taking blankets to Goodwill, why not ask a local assisted living facility if they can use them for their residents or a local animal shelter if they could use them to make the kennels more comfortable.
Step 4 - Regroup. Now that you’ve cleared some space in both your home and in your mind, settle in and feel the difference that a little decluttering makes. Take another walk through your home and, this time, appreciate what you no longer have to clean, move, organize, trip over or dust off ever again! You not only lightened the load, you also gave yourself a gift of time by not having to work around those extra things anymore.
Step 5 - Maintain it. It’s so much easier to keep a clean slate clean if you simply tend to it each day. Get in the habit of putting things away as soon as you use them and getting rid of something old when you replace it with something new. By doing this in real time, you will save yourself from having to do a decluttering overhaul again, and that will save you a lot of time that you’re probably looking for in other areas of your life.
The best way to start new is to find closure with the old. Decide on what matters most to both keep and to ditch. Then, follow through with those decisions and only look forward, never back.
Here’s to a clean slate and an amazing 2021.