Dr. Lauren Lynass PT, DPT, CSCS, Certified Running Gait Analyst
And just like that it is March 1st. I was taking Fenton out for a walk this morning and there was the hint of spring in the air, the dew was fresh beneath my feet, the breeze was warm and pleasant yet crisp, and I got that tingle in my toes for warmer weather, flip flops on the pier, and some time to relax and reflect.
Spring serves as one of my favorite times of year not because of the promise of summer, because it also serves as an opportunity for me to do some spring cleaning. And when I say spring cleaning, I mean major spring cleaning. I use this as a time to not only sort through old clothes and clean every last inch of our trailer, but I also find it a great time to declutter my life! Email inbox, check in with relationships, discard things and thoughts that are holding me down. Ready to embrace spring cleaning? I challenge you to use this change of season as a time to fully declutter your life. I promise if you can follow this five day process, you will feel refreshed and revitalized in a weeks time. Ready to clean? Let’s do it!
Quick Disclaimer: Try to “declutter” your life during a week where you know you will have the time and energy to do so. I know that life seems to get away from us and we look at the calendar and think “I am never going to have the time,” but decluttering your life comes from you making it happen. So find a week that looks fairly open and devote an hour each evening to some serious decluttering. Have your week marked on the calendar? Bravo, you have just committed to a week of spring cleaning.
Day 1: Clean Out Your Closet
I always start with this one because it gets me motivated to continue to declutter as the week goes on. My rule of thumb here is if I haven’t worn it in a full year, chances are I won’t wear it any time soon and someone will wear it more than me. Into the donation pile it goes! Decluttering your closet also means decluttering your shoes. Don’t forget to toss out old shoes (running, hiking, flip flops etc.) that you don’t need anymore! Check out this awesome article by our friends at Fleet Feet about where to donate your old running/walking shoes!
Day 2: Clean Out Your Technology
Yes, clean out that email inbox! Maybe you are constantly getting spammed from that 8-day cruise giveaway you entered two years ago. I know right, isn’t is easier to just delete the email instead of unsubscribing from the list? I get it, I am guilty of this too. Well here’s the great thing, your spring cleaning week is designed around taking the time to unsubscribe from those emails, we are decluttering our life, remember? Delete and unsubscribe from emails you don’t need and organize the emails you do need to keep by flagging them.
Not only should you clean out your emails but also clean off your desktop and clean out your saved files. Go through your computer and delete whatever is not needed anymore! I spent about an hour doing this this past weekend and boy does it feel good! Also, spend the extra 10 minutes it takes to to organize what you do still need on your laptop into folders and don’t forget to backup everything on an external hard drive. Lovely. Feeling better now?
Day 3: Declutter Your Social Media
That’s right, I said it. While we often times don’t think about social media adding clutter to our life, reality is, it does. Pop on Instagram, Facebook, whatever it may be and look at the pages you follow. Do they give you that warm and fuzzy feeling? Or do you feel guilty when looking at their content? Irritated? Annoyed? Yep. Go ahead and click that unfollow button in that upper left hand corner. Truth is, you don’t need that toxicity in your life and it’s as easy as a click of the button to get rid of it. Go ahead and follow the same process on Facebook. Simply taking that negativity off of your screen will make a big difference in how you feel throughout the day. I promise.
Day 4: Spice Up Your Daily Routine
Spring cleaning also means freshening up your habits that often times make up your everyday grind. Take a second to write down what a day looks like for you, what habits it involves, what time of day you are doing each thing. Now, I want you to look at that list and ask yourself, “does doing that make me happy? Is it helping me reach my goals? Is it motivating me in a positive way?”
Need help finding what motivates you? Check out our blog here
If you find yourself answering “no” to some of those questions, maybe it’s a matter of changing when you are partaking in that habit, or simply eliminating that habit entirely! I know for me, I have my most creative energy in the morning (hence why it is 5:50 am and I am writing this blog.) Knowing this about myself causes me to get up early, spend 30 minutes doing something creative, and I start the day feeling more energized.
Maybe you need to spice up your routine by doing a new daily workout, or working out at a different time, or need a coach to help motivate you to workout or try something new (check out our Virtual Strength and Conditioning class here). I often times find that this time of year, my patients are craving something new so I like to challenge them in a way that is refreshing and exciting. Maybe you need the guidance from a physical therapists to spice up that workout routine or to get back to that activity you have been dreaming of? Tis the season for growth and opening our mind to new ideas! Never hesitate to reach out to us here at Balanced By Katie! Let’s refresh that routine, together!
Day 5: Refresh Your Relationship With You
I know, I know, while it’s fun to clean out external factors in our life, it’s also important to clean out our relationship, thoughts, feelings, and emotions towards ourselves! This one often times seems a bit more tricky, but I would argue, is the most important. One of the best ways to refresh our relationship with ourselves is to write down what we are feeling weighed down by. Often times, we blame ourselves for how we are responding to these daily stressors. Blaming yourself is not the solution here, reframing how you think about this stressor is.
So go ahead, write down a list of five things that you maybe aren’t feeling so great about right now. Then, on a scale of 0-5 (five being the most stressful of that list) rank those stressors in order. Great, now we have a #1 stressor in our life and we know where to start. Starting with that #1 stressor, write down next to it one thing that you are in control of regarding that topic. For example, if your running shoes being outside and chilly when you wake up in the morning is limiting you from going on your run, bring your shoes inside and have them at the foot of your bed to take control of the situation.
Once we write down a solution to that stressor, suddenly that stressor seems, well, less stressful. Changing the things we can change, and accepting those that we can’t is practicing a level of mindfulness and self acceptance that can feel very cleansing and relieving. Give it a go and see what you think!
Speaking of mindfulness… yoga is a great way to “declutter” your thoughts. Here at BBK we offer yoga classes on Wednesday mornings and Midday movement as well. Interested? Click here to sign up!
Time to Clean Up!
We hope you give this five day spring clean a try! And as always, let us know what you think! Here’s to clean closets, clear minds, and growing spirits!
-Lauren
#delmar #sandiego #physicaltherapy #springcleaning