It is officially spring time and for many of us that means spring cleaning. Looking at all my stuff around my apartment I’m realizing the sound of being happier with less stuff, more space and more money sounds amazing right about now. Truth be told, I’ve been trying to get my apartment under control for quite some time now. And now I have some major motivation to get it done.
My strategy and game plan for this shift on my apartment starts by organizing everything into 4 categories: keep, donate, throw out and sell.
The criteria for the keep pile is does this make me happy? Do I love this? And even taking a cue from Marie Kondo, asking the question, Does this bring me joy?? If so then it’s staying. If not, it goes in one of the 3 other piles.
The donation pile is growing and is one of the bigger piles this year. In the past I donated to my local Salvation Army. If I haven’t worn it in a year or more and in decent condition I’ll put it in the donation pile. This might be the first time I’ve gone through Damian’s clothes in a big donation haul like this. We had onesies and even blankets from when he was a baby. This year Crystal and PurpleCrystal 333 are putting together a pallet to send to friends in a village in Gambia. I can just picture the kids excited to get new clothes or toys from us in California. So grateful we can help out this way.
The throw away pile is all the miscellaneous things that Just. Need. to. Go. My 9 year old’s chore is to throw the trash out and lately he’s been saying, “Really mom?! You filled the trash up again?!” Yes, it's time to get this shiitake out of here. Anything that is not in working condition, clothes with holes or stains it's time to say adios. This year spring cleaning has a whole new meaning to me and it feels amazing to let go of some of this stuff. A lot of things I’m letting go is over 5 years old and the release I’m feeling is indescribable.
The last but not least is the sell pile. In the past I used Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Offer Up (Formerly Let Go). This time a friend told me about an app called Mercari. I took a chance and posted some shoes for sale and they sold in less than 2 days. It was super easy to sign up for an account and post items for sale. Once the item was bought they send you a mailing label and you ship it out easy peasy. Once the item is received and the buyer leaves a review you get paid. I’m really happy with how easy it was and now I have more listings up and ready to go. And by the way, If you want to try Mercari out for yourself, here’s a link to claim $10 off your first order and $20 after you sell $100 or more on the app.
Getting rid of unnecessary stuff is soooo healthy. Time to clean up and clear out everything that no longer serves us or makes us happy anymore. When our physical environment feels good, it is so good for the soul too.
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It’s nice to see more people out and life slowly returning to somewhat normal now that its Spring and it's warming up. It’s such a contrast to the cold and eerily calm and quiet lock down days. One night after Damian's soccer practice on the way home I noticed Tiger’s Diner in Glen Park was closed and is now a different cafe place. On my social media news feed I saw more and more articles and posts about restaurants closing down. One of the most recent ones I saw was the oldest restaurant in Japantown was shutting its doors for good after over 100 years of being in business.
One Saturday I was craving a Hawaiian breakfast with Portuguese sausage, sunny side up eggs and rice and was relieved to see Hawaiian Drive Inn on Mission street was still and very much busy. There was no indoor dining and only to-go orders. It was nice to see they pivoted and stayed in business. On the way back to the car I noticed something else happening.. Change and growth was taking place. There was now a new cute flower shop that wasn’t there before and a new tea and coffee spot to try out. In fact every time I There was a feeling of newness, growth and change.
While losing something familiar can be difficult it offers an opportunity to grow, learn something new, and gain life experience. Growth doesn’t come from comfort zones. When we take a risk we can reap the rewards. Sometimes its a success and sometimes its a try again situation but in my opinion its never a loss when trying something new. I learn something even if I don’t like the result. I can notice what I notice, see what works and what doesn’t and try again.
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