Cleaning House for a Clearer Mind

 

Recently I spent some time cleaning.  Not your run of the mill cleaning like dusting of vacuuming; those that know me know those aren’t usually highest on my list.  But instead I set my mind to cleaning out the garage.  

Portions of this garage had 8-10 years worth of “stuff” and it was always an imposing task so it just never got done.  But one Saturday morning, I decided that the work was going to start.  I was going to find the floor and make this a usable space if it killed me; there were times that my back thought it might.

What surprised me most with this whole experience is how it made me feel.  During the week I expressed to a life coach friend of mine that the process was cathartic.  It honestly felt like me against the world and taking control.  My wife stood back and held down the fort while I plugged away for hours on end each night because she could see that this was something I needed as well; I thank her for that.

It also allowed me time to listen to some books which is something I’ve missed greatly during the pandemic.  No hour-long commute, no podcasts and books; it just seems to have gone hand in hand. 

More than this however, the purging of old stuff and understanding what is useful helped my mental health greatly.  Seeing the excess that I had and deciphering between trash, treasure, functional and giveaway helped me to focus.

It has also prompted me to begin to look at my life and interactions in some of the same way.  Whether it is live and in person, or in the bottom dwelling of social media, there are people and ideas from nearly all of these categories to be found.

Going forward I want to focus my time and energy on those I treasure most of all.  These are family and friends and genuine well-wishers along the way.  Some relationships are just functional and that’s ok.  We all have “work friends” or “a guy I know from church” and it’s ok if that’s where it stays.  And while I will no longer call someone trash, there are some folks that it’s just time to give away. 

People who do nothing but take from you either physically, financially, emotionally or mentally without providing anything in return are people you should greatly examine your relationship with.  For me these days it’s been the conspiracy theorists or vaccine deniers online and in my life.  It’s been the fundamentalists that have already told me online “you know where you’re going” because I dared to question something from their doctrine.  It becomes exhausting and it’s taking time away from the Treasure People and things in my life. 

In the end after all of this work, I have created a gym in my garage for my family and I.  How much it gets used remains to be seen but I don’t feel that was the point of the exercise.  By physically sorting through 10 years worth of stuff, it has allowed me to take time to reflect on what I need and what I can be rid of.

What are you holding on to that you should let go of?  What is something you can do today to make your life just a little bit better?  For me, I think I’m on to the next project; maybe the basement…

(note: This is not my garage pictured, more of a goal of where it could go)