So, it is now summer and we are still - mostly - quarantined. As my youngest son often says, “What a time to be alive!” There’s some truth to that!
At the beginning of the pandemic, when I still believed we’d be over-and-done with this in a “week or two” I was kind of excited to have the time off, to have my groceries delivered as if I am a princess, to binge watch Netflix, and to just hang out. Yep, I went into this with excitement and joy! Then things just kept on going...and going...and going. This pandemic became the energizer bunny of going! So as the weeks went on, I decided to get motivated and started making goals for myself:
“gonna finally clean the garage” “oh, the hall closet needs a revamp”
“gonna lose 20 pounds” “gonna grow vegetables and fruits”
“a daily 3-mile walk sounds nice” “visiting with friends virtually sounds fun”
“etc., etc., etc.”
How many of these things did I do? Well, I did some of them but only partly. The garage is a smidge better, I’ve lost 5 pounds and I’m walking every day, I have one cucumber and one jalapeno plant, and that’s it.
Like everyone else, I sort of set myself up for failure :-( … something we all do at times. Instead of going overboard with thoughts and ideas during a pandemic, or any other time, it is best to follow a few simple guidelines when it comes to making a change:
Slow and steady wins the race. There’s a lot of wisdom in children's books and just like the tortoise and the hare all of us benefit from taking things one step at a time. If you have a giant project (like cleaning the garage) break it down into smaller steps and complete one step each day/week. Before long you’ll be done!
Do the things that lift your spirit and bring you joy. Things that make your life easier (like an organized closet) and things that make you happy to look at them (like a painted room) will be motivating and make you feel successful and able to take on even more!
When sorting through things ask yourself a few simple questions: Why am I keeping this? Does this add to my life? Could someone else use this item? Sometimes we hold on to things for no reason at all and those things complicate our lives. Get rid of stuff you don’t need or really want.
When sorting, collect 3 boxes (or inexpensive laundry baskets) and mark one “stuff to keep,” one “stuff to donate,” and one “stuff to store.” As each basket is filled up, put it where it belongs.
All the stuff you are keeping should be put away (these are things you will actually use), all the stuff you are storing (like souvenirs, kids art, etc.) should be stored away, and the donation basket should immediately go to your car to be dropped off as soon as possible.
Doing a few things to completion is better than a lot of incomplete things. So take on what you can do and add as you complete each task. You’ll be happy you did :-) Happy cleaning!
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