Shelley J Whitehead

An Internal Spring Clean

14 April, 2022

The tradition of the Spring home declutter and cleanse is a ritual that dates back millenia. It’s practised across many cultures and is a powerful and healing exercise. And, as an integral part of the process I teach, clearing out the old to make space for the new is an important step towards thriving in your consciously-created world. A deep Spring clean is a cathartic starting point towards making sure your home is really an embodiment of you and your values. Your home is your sanctuary and you want it to be filled with you-ness!

I think that it’s really important to do any kind of clear-out within a supportive ‘structure’, so that you don’t have to expend unnecessary energy in continually agonising over what to keep and what to get rid of, along every step of the way. My personal favourite is the Value/ Beauty/ Purpose anchorpoint: Do I love it? Is it beautiful? Does it have meaning? There are many others, like Marie Kondo’s ‘Spark Joy’, that can also turn the whole process into a more-than-bearable experience (joyful even), helping you to get momentum and clarity in the decisions you are making. (If you haven’t heard of the charming Ms Kondo, do take a little look at her book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying’ – it’s an easy and pleasure-filled read).

When you’re in the process of pulling those dusty objects out of cupboards and reflecting on what you really want to keep, polish up and put back in there again, it can be a really good moment to start a bit of an internal Spring clean. In the same way as there may be broken, unhelpful or ugly objects lurking in the depths of your cupboards, there may be equally bad negative core beliefs you have lurking in the back of your mind, which could potentially do with a bit of a declutter too.

Whilst some of these thoughts may be serving you well, others might be old and dusty and out of date. It may be time to clear them out of the way, to make sure you have the head-space for positive thought-habits that will help you to create the life you really want to have.

If the idea of decluttering and clearing appeals to you, I would like to recommend a fabulous kit that I keep close to hand, created by my dear friend Helen Sanderson, called The Home Declutter Kit Let me know how you get on!

Cleaning and clearing is an essential part of a healthy recovery from heartbreak. When you are in the process of recovering from the ending of your relationship, you might still be clinging on to the past for comfort. Change can be really hard. And when you do start poking around in those metaphorical cupboards, things might seem as though they are getting a little muckier before you start to see all the lovely order and sense of possibility returning. You need to be brave and strong. There is hope ahead and there is a wonderful life ahead for you, waiting for you to claim. Just as a Spring clean will freshen up the house ready for the pleasure-filled months of summer, so can an internal spring clean get you ready for your brighter future. There is sunshine on the horizon. Let’s get those cobwebs cleared away, so you can look out at the world through sparkly windows and start to let that light pour in!

With love

Shelley J Whitehead
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