Spring Cleaning Your Heart and Mind

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Tis the season for Spring cleaning! The weather gets nicer and all of a sudden motivation skyrockets. Unless you live in Ohio like me, and then the weather/motivation fluctuates from week to week for a couple months.

We all know what Spring cleaning is: The yearly chores of organization, decluttering, and intense cleaning of the places in our homes, garages, and yards that go unnoticed until it’s time to ‘deep clean’. We all unfortunately have those places in our homes!

But what if, like the Spring cleaning we do in our homes in the places where clutter can build up, things get forgotten about, and dust builds- what if we took that same approach in our own hearts and minds? Spring cleaning and decluttering of the things we push to the side and try not to think about, the things we avoid, the things that have lingered for way too long, the things collecting dust that we need to simply let go of or heal from. 

I’m talking Spring cleaning our hearts and minds.

This idea came to me a couple months ago and I have been sitting on it since, because I have been trying to process it myself. Is this even possible? It’s a bold question, it’s a ‘thinker’ for sure. But what can the action be behind it? 

I always want to be transparent with all of you and I had to process this for myself because it got my wheels turning that I needed to dive in and do this for myself, but how?

How?

How can I possibly Spring clean my heart and mind and get rid of all the junk causing clutter and weighing me down?

And then it hit me…the first step is to simply acknowledge that it needs done. The first step is admitting that we have let things build and clutter and gather dust rather than simply dealing with them or letting go or putting down. And that’s a hard first step. 

The first step is admitting that you have a problem.

We’ve all heard that saying before. But I think this goes a little deeper. It is not quite as obvious to others and to ourselves that we have let things become a problem.

The problem is, when we let things build up and clutter our hearts and minds, even the most minor of thoughts, emotions, or stressors- it lingers and causes all kinds of other mental, emotional, and physical effects. The fatigue you feel on a daily basis, the heavy anxiety, the headaches, the tension, the tummy aches- all of it can somehow be caused by the things you allow to live rent-free in your heart and mind.

I’m not a doctor or a medical expert by any means, but I’m a chiropractic assistant that feels strongly about the ability of our bodies to heal in a natural way from above-down-inside-out, and that includes our minds. Much like oil changes for our cars, mowing the grass in our yards, exercising our bodies, and Spring cleaning our homes we have to perform some upkeep here too: Spring cleaning our hearts and minds.

Anyone can tell you how to clean your house, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good system for you- the same goes for this.

I’ll share my thoughts and process with you, but I think the most important part is to just start somewhere and see what helps you clean best, what helps you heal, let go, and put something down.

Now, let’s do this this!

Pray

Pray with intention. Pray that God will give you peace in your heart and mind from things weighing you down, things that aren’t of Him, and things distracting you from Him and His purpose for you. Pray for the strength to move forward from what you have clung to for so long that you didn’t even realize it was there or a problem. Pray for guidance moving forward in a new and better direction (in the path He is taking you on). Pray that you will no longer hold onto these things in your heart and mind to let it consume you. Pray that you will grow closer to Him as a result of letting some of these things go.

Brain Dump

I wrote an entire blog post about my brain dumping process which you can read here. I brain dump ALOT but when I thought about it deeper for this purpose, I was able to dig deep and realize some things that I needed to let go of, some forgiveness I needed to give and to receive, some grace that I needed for myself, some regrets I needed to put down, and so much more. 

The Great Brain Dump: How to get out of your own head, re-center your peace, and think clearer.

A good brain dump can be extremely freeing.

Practice Gratitude Routinely

It is our societal nature to focus more on what we don’t have than what we do, so we need to flip the script. Stop the comparing, the envy, the jealousy, and the yearning for what we don’t have. Stop waiting and wishing for tomorrow and focus on the now and all the blessings in our lives. 

Practicing gratitude might have been the weirdest concept to me when I first heard of it. Like what? Practice gratitude? Can’t you just be grateful? The idea of practicing gratitude is being specific and intentional about it. 

I went through a season of life a few years ago where I was deeply unhappy in my day-to-day life, so everyday I made a post-it note of what I was grateful for and the blessings in my life. Drawing away from the negative and into that positive headspace was a game-changer. One day I realized I could have a good day without the post-it note and that was liberating. No matter what season of life you’re in, pausing to be intentional to be grateful for your blessings will only open your eyes to more blessings

Realize Where Your Dreams Are Consuming You

All those wishes and wants we have pushed to the back of our brain for someday, have the potential to cause us to not be able to enjoy today the way we could be and put immense amounts of pressure on us. Now I’m a big dreamer, so this was tough for me to comprehend. It’s wonderful to have big dreams and goals, as long as you aren’t holding yourself and your story and your purpose so tightly to those things that you can’t live for today too. 

Wyatt and I talk about this often as two dreamers who are married taking on this crazy journey of life together. Living for now, enjoying now, and not being so set on the future allows for more happiness now, more abundance now, and truly more faith in the future that God has for us. Because let’s be honest, we have no idea what tomorrow holds anyways, so let’s not let 20 years from now take away from today’s joy.

Don’t let the pressure of your dreams for the future, linger and cause unnecessary pressure on you daily.

Dream big for the future, but don’t let it consume your today and your now. Dream big for the future, but don’t let any regrets or setbacks stay in your heart and your mind. Dream big for the future, but don’t let those thoughts of not enough-ness stay there. Make sense? Practicing gratitude helps with this too!

Actually Spring Clean a Space in Your Home

Now I know you thought that this post wasn’t going to be about any type of house chores, but the act and intention of deep cleaning or organizing a space in your home allows your mind to be free and wander a bit. 

Anyone else ever be in the middle of something and then realize they haven’t even been paying attention to what they’ve been doing? Same. We go on autopilot and this allows our minds and hearts to investigate a bit of what is deep down inside. What needs healing, what needs let go. Clean out the fridge and scrub the drawers and shelves…..clean out your mind and scrub away all those negative thoughts holding you back from joy.

Reflect

When I was younger and asked to reflect on something for a school assignment, I literally did not understand the concept. And my college was big on the reflection thing. As I got older, it made more and more sense to me how important it is to reflect. Not just reflect back on a big event or something life-changing, but on all the little things in between too.

Reflect on all the things you have just Spring cleaned from your heart and mind. Take note of what you let weigh you down for far too long. Notice what you let collect dust that is so irrelevant now. Ponder what the last few months and years could have been like if you had simply done this sooner, and realized that you were allowing yourself to hold regrets and grudges, pain and sadness, anger and resentment, and the list goes on. What could have been better? 

How could you have been better?

Reflect on how you can stop this from happening again. Make an effort to let things go at the time and not let it clutter your life. Come up with a plan to move past your regrets and past thoughts, actions, and behaviors that are done and over with. Learn to be better and do better, and when you fall short, give yourself some grace instead of letting it take up space. Soak in every single day of life as a blessing instead of wandering on the yesterdays and tomorrows of what could have been or what should be. Let yourself live.

Put It Down

Now that you have done the work and taken the time to reflect back on it, put it down. Put it down. This is my sister’s favorite thing to say to me. Put it down.

Put down all of that clutter, that junk, that dust, that negativity, that regret and resentment, that victimizing, that comparison, that not enough-ness, that pain and sorrow, and whatever else you realized you were living with.

Girlfriend, you’ve gotta put it down.

And remember to do this Spring cleaning more than just once a year.

Lord, I pray that the person reading this found something they needed. I hope this touches them and opens their heart and mind to the possibilities of what life could be like if they let themselves declutter their heart and mind. I pray that they can free themselves from what they have been feeling and move forward in Your guidance. I pray that they will give themselves some grace from what they’ve been holding onto, and not let themselves be angry for that, but simply proud that they took a new step. I pray that they will no longer hold onto things that weigh them down, but simply put it down and look to You for that peace, Lord. I pray that this new clarity in their hearts and minds will only bring them closer to You. Amen

All the love,

And in case you’re interested in some home spring cleaning, here are some great options to get started on some organizing!