Spring Cleaning! So Soon?

Spring is definitely in the air, and as I reflect over the year since I did my last spring cleaning, I am shocked to see that much of what I cleared out is back! In the meantime, I have also created some new piles of clutter to add to the mix!

I am often surprised by how quickly the days and weeks pass! If you're like me, there never seems to be enough time to do the things that I want to do, dream of doing, and often need to do.  For most of us, one day blends right into the next, our thoughts unchanging from day to day, our dreams the same from year to year. In none of those years have we learned how to make time to care for ourselves, to figure out a good time to start eating well and putting ourselves, if not first, at least on the list! Oh, the ways we find to avoid ourselves-and our closets! 

I am always amused by the energy I put into procrastination-be it over a few pounds I need to lose or a closet I need to sort out. I often think about a project for years, regularly promising myself that I will get right on it, and actually believing the lies I tell myself. By the time some bolt from the blue strikes and I get moving,  the task is twice as large as it was when I first identified it. However, once I get started, it's almost embarrassing to admit that the onerous job wasn't the big deal it had morphed into in my mind. In an hour or two I'm done, feeling relieved, proud and eager to begin another project.

However, while I am procrastinating, I am beset by feelings of shame over my out-of-control closets, and that's why I use closets as a metaphor for how we approach weight loss. We spend half our life irrationally blaming some outside force for our failure to lose weight, stuffing the truth into the recesses of our minds. We place our fate and faith in the insanity that is the latest diet craze, hanging our hat on obvious lies. We have locked in the dark recesses of our minds these ancient skeletons that we refuse to confront. Yet, if we did, we would find that just like those acid-washed jeans from the 80s, the skeletons no longer make sense-they're no longer fashionable, nor do they fit. They have gone so far out of style that with barely a glance, we can see clearly that the only option is to toss them.

A few years ago, I had a client who complained that every space in her house was cluttered, and she couldn't hide a thing in the closets because they were so packed she couldn't even open the doors-not that she even remembered what was in there anymore! She admitted that she couldn't imagine cleaning them out just yet; no time for that.  We spoke about this issue for weeks, until one day she came in and announced her solution. She would sell the house!  "Sell the house?" I asked. 

"Yep," she said.  "A new start. Clean closets. No clutter. Open spaces and rooms."

Are you thinking what I was?  What about simply cleaning out the closets? Wouldn't that get her the open space and clean closets she wanted? It was astonishing to me that her mind had turned this issue into such a monumental task that she would rather sell than face her issues, both in and out of the closet!  If she didn't look into the dark recesses of both mind and closet, she would never  have the light and spaciousness for which she yearned.  I'm sorry to report that she never did clean out her closets, physically or metaphorically, and she never lost her weight.  I know she still puts it on her To Do list, but she has yet to find the time.

How about you? Can you take advantage of this season of renewal to open the windows and your closet doors? If this precipitates an avalanche, don't frantically stuff it all back in! Instead, let everything tumble out-every last bit of it! Then, toss the stuff that isn't you, that no longer fits. Next, organize the rest, the stuff that fits just fine and makes you happy. And finally, savor the sense of peace.

As I tell my clients, the person with the most excuses loses nothing.  Until we stop blaming others or the stresses of life for our bad choices there will always be a closet to clean, weight to lose. So, try taking baby steps. Stop buying stuff you don't need; stop storing things you don't use; and stop eating food you don't really want.  We all have far too much; we all buy too much; and we all eat too much!

So, this spring, let's lighten up-one closet at a time.  You can do it. You must do it.  Just Lose It!

P.S.  A good way to start is by making one of my favorite recipes!  Just select one to try this week. If not today's recipe, then go to those archived on my blog page at www.justloseit.com/blog and look at the choices.  Just do it-one dish at a time!

Happy Spring!