Spring Cleaning- it’s time!

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I should have told you this in advance- but the past few days involved a major holiday.  I don’t work those days, so I had no ability to post information.  The same will occur next week.

The concept of Spring Cleaning dates from biblical times.  The Jewish people were ordered to remove all traces of chametz from their lives at this time of year.   Some people will tell you that chametz is comprised of food made with leavened materials.  I will extend that definition to include all those items we have been saving- food, paper, pens, reports- that are everyday items and are not as special or as important as we (once) thought they could be.   And, you will notice I said from their lives, not just their houses.

To complicate my Spring Cleaning process,  I was involved in an accident two weeks ago.  It put my right hand out of commission (all puns intended), broke my nose, along with some other less threatening injuries.  What it really meant, besides the inconvenience, was that I was going to need help to clean my house.  Asking for help (or even paying for help) is not something that comes easily to me.  The valuable lesson here is that asking for help is not wrong; moreover, it acknowledges the worth of others and lets them repay the favors for when you have helped them in the past.

To prepare for this holiday,   I spent more than a day (i.e., 24 hours) cleaning my house of food items from top to bottom.  I also threw out things that were being saved “for a rainy day”.  You see, if I have not used them in a year- and still am not sure when I will- then, it’s time to rid myself of these items.

Spring Cleaning is a valuable exercise that should be done for our business lives, as well.  Papers that we have been saving (ok, we HAVE to keep our tax related papers for statutory reasons; we have to keep signed contracts; but you get the drift) for “some day” just fill up our files, our computers, or our desktop.  Throw them out!

I also know that some of you will scan them and save them on your computer.  That just assumes that you have no worries about computer space (yes, hard drive space is cheap, but it still uses resources and takes longer to keep your computer baked up) or that you will find them when you need them.  (I do use an excellent indexing program that lets me find items using key words I choose.  I recommend you obtain one, too.)  But, the reality is you won’t need that document describing how to invest in the stock market from the 1980’s (and it is no longer relevant, either).

Another kind of Spring Cleaning involves our relationships.  We had some major dinners (events?) this past few days for a fairly large group of folks .  And, some of them didn’t bother to show up.  Obviously, I valued these relationships more than they did.  It’s time to sever these ties, as well.

Consider the Spring Cleaning you need- in your home, your business, and your relationships.  May the items you retain add just that little extra- to render them extraordinary…Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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13 thoughts on “Spring Cleaning- it’s time!”

  1. Roy,

    Great blog, seriously! Spring Cleaning is done at my house at least once a month! It feels so good to get rid of things that are taking up valuable space and energy! The trunk of my car right now is full of things to take to Goodwill.

    Ugh as for scanning things and taking room up on your computer….reminded me that it is time to purge my files, maybe that can be a weekend project. Thanks.

    As for friendships/relationships, I agree to an extent. I may not communicate with them as much as I used to, but I do say hello every so often.

    1. Wow. Spring cleaning every month. I would never have a chance to get anything else done! I am mightily impressed.
      Here, I was complacent that my floors shined every Friday, the kitchen and bathrooms are spotless, as well. The rest of the rooms get a once over, but now I should consider your example…
      Have a great holiday.
      Roy

  2. Hi Roy,
    I love all the spring cleaning examples you give here. I like to clean the clutter from my head, as well. Clean out all those stale negative thoughts and make room for the exciting positive outlooks on life. I like to focus on changing my perspective of what’s bouncing around in my head and bask in the sunlight of the amazing thoughts I replace the old ones with!
    Great post, my friend,
    Queen Tammy!
    Tammy Matthews recently posted..Dancing In The Rain

    1. Tammy- you had the same thoughts I did. And, with the sunshine available today, we get that chance to have sunshine inside and outside to embellish our outlooks.
      Thanks!
      Roy

  3. Roy, I love my house after it has been through a spring cleaning. I like your plan of if you haven’t used it in a year or so it’s time to let it go. It can be hard to do this if we have the mentality of keeping it for a rainy day but I find for my self at least, if it’s in good shape, donating it to a charity can make the sting much less problematic because at least you know it will be put to use and not just thrown in a landfill!
    Great post about taking stock of your life and home.

    Enjoy your holiday!

    1. I give plenty away. The problem nowadays is that many folks don’t take electronic stuff (scanners, faxes, computers), so I have to bring them to special facilities. But, yes, cleaning up is a wonderful thing. Thanks for your comments- and augmentation, Bonnie.

  4. Roy, I immediately related to your thoughts about asking for help. I had such a hard time asking everyone for help on the contest I participated in this past week, but I had such an amazing response and many people even thanked me for giving them an opportunity to help me! Imagine that! =)

    Also, I love this idea of “Spring Cleaning” in all aspects of life. I also loved Tammy’s addition of doing a little spring cleaning with our thoughts. =) It’s such a refreshing idea! Thanks for this post, Roy, and I hope that you’re healing well! =)
    Samantha Bangayan recently posted..Apartment Gossip

    1. Glad you won! You deserved it Samantha. (By the way, if others are reading this and wonder to what Samantha refers, you can find her winning entry reposted under “Resources” at http://www.readysetsleep.com. It was reposted there BEFORE we knew it won!)
      Glad you liked the post, too.
      Thanks for your comments.
      Roy

  5. Hi Roy, first of all, I hope you doing better. You have incredible determination as you managed to Spring Clean even with your right hand of commission.

    Secondly, great minds think a like! I wrote a similar post and yes it was about clearing paper from my life. I really like how you hit home about not clearing it from our home but from our lives. That’s why I mentioned that my theme is keeping things in order and simple. It’s looking at our lives and finding ways to see what can be kept simple.

    Wishing you a speedy recovery.
    Diana Simon recently posted..When You Don’t Want To Write A Blog Post

    1. You know the old saw about “great minds think alike”… For years, we used a variant about similar sewage ditches. Given the cleaning motif for both posts, I think we fell more into the latter than the former.
      Thanks for your addition- and your post.
      Roy

  6. I think it is really tuff to clean house in spring season !! In that season I am feeling too lazy !! Due to which I am feeling away from cleaning !! Thanks for give information !!

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