WINTER ON IT’S WAY OUT

[ctt template=”8″ link=”7042e” via=”no” ]Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a dreaded list of chores. Look at it as a way of removing the old, to bring in a good flow of energy into your life and making way for the new. Make sure to follow me on Twitter – @stylebysusana[/ctt]

In just a couple of weeks here in Australia, its going to be spring! Most mornings are cold, but one of the signs that its going to be a glorious sunny day on a winters day is when the fog has set thick and low on my beautiful Geelong town – that to me is my sign, its going to be a gorgeous sunny day!

And when spring is on its way, somehow your spirit and soul even knows because you start to get that itch where you start to go through your drawers and closet and start to think… ‘hmmm? What can I get rid of? What don’t I wear or use anymore?’

That’s the itch I’m talking about! Getting rid of unwanted items, not just from your closet or home, but perhaps even from your own life.

? Eating Clean & Exercising 

I’ve noticed within myself the past couple of weeks, a shift wanting to really eat healthier and get back into some sort of fitness regime, even if its yoga based (I’m not a gym girl at all!). As much as I love my prosciutto (I do have a serious addiction to it!!), eating so much processed foods and even junk food can really impact your life in the long term. Apart from the obvious of putting on weight, you really aren’t getting the vitamins, minerals – nutritional value into your system. I’m allowing myself two days a week (for me its the weekend) to eat whatever I want, and from Monday to Friday, I eat super healthy food.

I also try to incorporate some form of exercise and because I get bored very easily with the mundane work outs, I shift between yoga, to weights to walking at least three times a week with my furbaby children. Also, every morning I start the day off with half a fresh lemon squeezed into a glass of warm water and at night a shot of apple cider vinegar. Now what this does is that it stimulates your liver and increases the stomach acids, and helps with your metabolism.

? Unplug from the Social World

Now this one is a HUGE one for me, and its one that I am veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy slowlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy incorporating into my life. Now, I said slowly haha – lets not get to ahead of ourselves (.ie. that means you dear husband of mine). We now live in such a heavy social media influenced world, that we have everything at our finger tips. Our mobile phones are super-glued to our hands, the laptops/tablets/iPads are at an easy access to grab for – everything is at an easy access for us. I think we all need to detox from the social media world every so often and remember to live in the actual present world.

Remember what it was like when you were a kid or a teenager (before the internet came along) and you played outside, or hung out with your friends and not grabbed your mobile phone to snapchat or do an instagram story? Make it a night where you leave your phone in the bedroom and watch a movie with your partner or family. Or if you’re out for dinner, all phones are left in the center of the table and whoever reaches for it – has to pay for dinner and drinks! Haha!

? Detox That Friends List

Spring is also the perfect a time to think about who or what is holding you back, and who really isn’t in your life anymore. Most times, we have sad memories and toxic friends who are causing obstructions, even from afar. Some may be obvious and intentional in their undermining of your efforts while others are more subtle. Perhaps, think about friendships who have only brought in negativity into your life after you’ve done so much for them. Cut that cord! (Bye Felicia!)

One of the best and most obvious ways it perhaps go through your Facebook account and ‘declutter’ through that list and ‘unfriend’ them. I’ve now made a point when I restarted a new Facebook personal page a few months ago, to only have people who I truly speak to, people who truly have my best interests at heart and who I know would be there for me in a time of crisis. You want people in your life who inspire and motivate you and make you feel good about yourself. To hell with the rest of them.

? Tidy Home, Tidy Mind

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the magic word, declutter! Spring is such a perfect time to get your home into order. Take a good look around your home and see what REALLY doesn’t need to be there. What is taking ample space in that corner? Do you really need that extra gnome in the garden? What CD’s or DVD’s have you not listened or watched in the past two years that have now become door stoppers?

Go through your closet, your drawers, your cupboards and shelves and really see what is it that is just taken up that extra space and what you thought you really needed at that time, six months down the track you just think to yourself, ‘what was I thinking?’ Perhaps you can sell those things on Facebook or on eBay and make a few extra dollars out of it, or perhaps you can donate it to the Salvation Army. Either way, just ask yourself: do you really need or want it? Get rid of that cluttered space and see how it transforms internally for you.

? Goodbye to Grudges & Negative Thoughts

Every single day we experience some sort of thought – good or bad. With every day life we get caught up in some sort of thought pattern. I am the first to admit and say, every few days I go through moments of negative thinking. Because I suffer from depression and anxiety, any sort of comment or action that is thrown my way, somehow it will trigger something in me – good or bad.

It’s time to let go of old grudges that have taken up a small tiny room in your heart and soul, and say bye bye! Its not healthy to your spirit and happiness, and just clouds you.

Perhaps write a letter to that person who hurt you, and then instead of posting it to them – just burn it (caution: be careful with fire and burn things away from bushes and your home!!). By burning a letter that you’ve written, according to wiccan religion, it signifies in purification and cleansing: letting go of the past.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”Lcxt9″ via=”no” ]Spring really signifies the start of starting a fresh, not just only on a clothing level, but also getting rid of all things that are toxic in your life – basically feng shui your life.[/ctt]

Long Wool Length Cardigan by TEMT (similar here), Top by Mango (bought in Portugal), Mid-Wash Extreme Fray Mom Jeans by PrettyLittleThing and Ankle Boots by Tony Bianco (currently on-sale!!).

These are my five tips to spring clean your life. Spring cleaning is a perfect time to make a move from things that are no longer serving you well in your life. Use this time to clear out the old crap that is holding you back.

How will you spring clean your life this year? I would love to know in the comments below xoxo