Family Focus: Spring Clean Your Life

I love spring. It’s my favorite time of year.  And this year, I decided our family needed to take the season of renewal to a new level.

So, we started spring cleaning … everything.

Once we started with the house, we moved onto other things. We just couldn’t stop! We were cleaning maniacs! (And let’s be honest, when I say “we,” I mean mostly me.) But it felt so good to get rid of the junk that had been plaguing our lives.

Here’s just a few things we did, and hopefully it will help you get the cleaning bug, too:

1. Spring Clean Your Space

We went through every nook and cranny and got rid of stuff we didn’t use. We asked tough questions like, “Do we really need this laying frog figurine? Why do we still have this china set we’ve never once taken out of the boxes?

And what’s with the acid washed jean jacket with fringe?” Don’t get me wrong, I did look pretty amazing in it in 1989, but now it just takes up space.

Plus, what about those darned kid’s meal toys? We needed a separate residence just to house them!

So, we made four categories and placed each item into what fit best:

       1.    Keep
       2.    Donate
       3.    Sell
       4.    Toss

The pile of “Keep” wasn’t as large as the “Donate” pile. I couldn’t believe how much my kids had grown from just last fall! Am I the only one who has to buy a new wardrobe for my little darlings every time the season changes?

Remember that china set? It went into the “Sell” category along with all of those purple dinosaur DVD’s my kids had outgrown (BTW — eBay is a great place to get rid of stuff.)

I also couldn’t believe how much garbage I found. My kids are clever — they stash their wrappers in the most unusual places if they don’t want their mom finding out what they’ve been eating.

2.    Spring Clean Your Finances

Even though I hate budgeting, I decided since I was getting my house in order, I needed to get my finances in order, too.

Good golly, Miss Molly! I couldn’t believe how much money I was spending on things like coffee, soda, eat-out lunches, etc.

What other “junk” is taking up space in your financial plan? Here are some strategies that might help you:

1. Make a Budget — You’ll have more money left at the end of the month for more important things when you stop spending your hard-earned cash on frivolous items.
2. Get Organized — Get yourself a nice filing cabinet to store all of your financial information. Then grab a smaller one for filing day-to-day bills. You may never pay a late fee again.
3. Become (a bit) Frugal — I think it’s OK to take Macklemore’s advice as far as buying clothes for your growing kids at the same place you’ve been donating them. No one has a clue my kids’ name-brand jeans came from the thrift shop (until now).

3.    Spring Clean Your Body

My family really enjoys comfort food during the winter, but after five months of bad eating, it’s definitely taken a toll. Now it’s time we dust off our running shoes and get our bodies healthy again. Here are some effective ways to do it:

1. Get Out — Go to the park, take a nice walk, or do something that gets the family out and moving on a regular basis.
2. Detox — Have your family take the RESET Challenge and see how quickly their bodies adapt to healthy changes.
3. Get an Annual Checkup — Each family member should go to the doctor at least once a year, so do it now. While you’re there, get a recommendation for which supplements will help you get back on track faster.

How About You?

These are just a few examples. I’m sure you have even more. In fact, I’d love to hear what you are doing to improve your family’s well-being.

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