Ah, Spring!

Ah, Spring. The frost is thawing, the birds start chirping, the weather is warming and... it's time to clean. All of a sudden, it seems that everything you’ve put off for the winter months (man, I wish that was the holiday weight) has made its way into a giant “to-do” list. Make some coffee, put on some music, and put your hair in a bun, it’s time to get cracking!

First things first, you need to assess your situation. By this, I simply mean that you need to establish what your goals are, what your main focus is going to be. This year, I decided that my main focus was to downsize, with a minor in putting more time and money into my dreams (so that they could eventually be my reality). I’ve learned over the course of my short, yet somehow aging life that starting small and “snowballing” your way forward is the best route. By defining what your goals are, it will be easier to navigate your way forward. The next step for me was to go through everything, that way I could decide things that I absolutely wanted to keep against the things that were just collecting dust.

Let me tell you, you always think that these things (because you’re being so organized!) are going to be easy. Don’t shoot the messenger, but they’re not. Not only is it physically tiring from taking everything out, placing it in boxes or back where you found it, it’s also mentally exhausting to some extent. Maybe it’s just me, but I like to make lists of things I need to do (post things to sell, donate, reminders to pick up more garbage bags, etc.). Small tasks, but they take it out of you if you’re working full time or you have children, which I am totally counting my dog as my kid in this scenario.

Okay, got those steps on your list? Right, let’s keep it moving! Now that you ridded yourself and your space of useless material matter, it’s time to make a new list. This list will be of things you want to accomplish. This should not be an overwhelming list, not a list of your lifetime achievement goals. These are more short-term tangible goals. Why? Because small steps are what make big changes. For example, I chose to have a short-term goal of starting an Etsy business for my art. Within this goal, I could make a list of all the things that needed to make this happen, an outline if you will. You know what? Less than a month later, my Etsy is launched and running smoothly! By setting a goal and an end target date, I was able to discipline myself and become more serious about achieving this milestone.

Once you do this with one goal, it’s hard to stop. Like I said, making a snowball out of your short-term goal achievements become the steppingstones to your long-term goal achievements. One thing that doesn’t need to be added to a list is a vision board. Okay, quit laughing, I know. You’ve probably read this far and now think I’m crazy. Trust me though, it works. Put up a vision board of the things you want to accomplish (remember – short term!), and it will serve as a daily reminder to of all the things your life can become because of the work you put into it.

The empowerment of taking control of your life doesn’t come one day in the form of a dream, where you wake up and it just “clicks.” It comes to you in the form of discipline and listing out your priorities. One step at a time, you start to see yourself living the life you’ve always thought you’d never have. Who know it would start with donating those clothes you never wear or plant pots you never use, right?