Forget Spring Cleaning! Do It Now.

The Lunar New Year is the Season of Change.

This year the Lunar New Year begins on Friday, February 12th. Marking the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar. Many know it as Chinese New Year, but it’s celebrated in many Asian countries that calendars are regulated by the cycles of the sun and the moon.

The Solar year is the time it takes for Earth to orbit around the Sun. That’s what we westerners abide by. While the Lunar year is 12 full cycles of the Moon.

Just like January first is celebrated here, the Lunar New Year is all about new beginnings. Outside of family gatherings, community celebrations, and red envelopes full of money, many view this time of year as a time to clear out the old. Making room in your life for prosperity to enter.

Now is the time to sweep out the old stale energy from your home, office, and life.

For me, this is a time to recommit to my new year goals. Many people with solid new year resolutions don’t even make it till the end of January before falling back into old patterns. The Lunar new year is a time to recommit to yourself by clearing out the stale patterns in your head that no longer serve you.

Clean your Space

• Dust
• Sweep
• Mop
• Scrub
• Vacuum
• Throw out
• Recycle
• Donate

Do it all. The idea is to make your space fresh and inviting before the Lunar new year (Feb 12). By doing so you are ridding your home of any bad luck that has accumulated or got stuck in any area or corner of your home over the last year.

This includes settling old debts and arguments as well. Chinese superstition says if you start the year in the red, you’ll likely end it that way too.

Settling old arguments and setting down a grudge can be tricky, but by doing so you free up space in your head that has been used to fuel negative energy. Now is the time to let it go. After all, the best revenge is a life well-lived. Make room for positive thoughts to enter your mind by letting go of old thought patterns holding you down.

We all have…

• Stacks of papers that need to be filed or thrown out
• Medicine cabinets half full of old expired medications
• Jars in the fridge that we are afraid to open
• Clothes in the closet we haven’t worn in years
• Garages that have morphed into storage units
• A junk drawer in the kitchen that has gotten out of control.

Whatever is the room or area in your home that feels the most overwhelming is the place to begin. Tackling that out of control space will set the tone for the whole experience.

Cleaning out is clearing out.

Think Marie Kondo Style. Go through your home and get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy.

You might be thinking I don’t have time for all that. And I say then all the more reason why you should make time to do it.

In the world of Tyler Durden from the movie Fight Club, “The things you own end up owning you.”

We are just storing 90% of everything we own. We are obsessed with television shows that show us these hoarders living in filth, yet have so much around them and we wonder why they just don’t get rid of it. We can see the harm it’s bringing into their life and wonder how they can’t notice it.

But then we justify our hoarding. We hold on to things because they were a gift or because they belonged to a deceased loved one and we somehow think that keeping this particular item allows us to hold on to them.

The truth is if you get rid of that southwestern piece of art that doesn’t make sense in your home that you only have because it belonged to your Mom won’t take away the memory of your Mom. It’s just a piece of art.

Clothes and furniture are other areas where it’s hard to let go. We say “I spent a lot of money for that”, but if you aren’t getting joy from it and it’s just hidden away in your closet what’s the point?

Craftermath

For me, craft supply is my biggest culprit. I used to hold on to odds and ends because I knew that one day I would find the perfect craft to make with it. I had a wall full of beautiful yarn and stacks of fabric that I just loved to look at. Yet every time I started a new project I had to go out and find the perfect yarn or fabric. After all, I didn’t want to waste my stash on just any old project. It had to be a special one.

My craft room looked more like a craftermath explosion! Last Lunar new year I spent eight days going through it all and getting rid of any and everything that didn’t spark joy.

A year later the room is still in incredible shape. I only bring in supplies when I have a project in mind. This was hard, and I think being isolated at home all year long helped me not go out and spend. I threw out half-done projects I knew I had no intention of finishing, and committed to finishing the ones I kept.

I found this gave me purpose, and clearing out space allowed me the freedom to work in a room I felt comfortable in. Space where I knew where everything was because of my awesome labeling machine.

Once I tackled that monster the rest of the house was a breeze.

Pulling all my clothes out of the closet and drawers and cleaning them led to only half of the items returning to their space. Turns out I still don’t wear all the clothes I store.

Having a clean space allows room for more to come in. When we talk about the Lunar new year it’s bringing in prosperity. Honoring yourself by honoring your space.

The universe is a reflection of who you are. Show it respect and pride and allow it to reflect that energy back to you.

A clear head has room for more information and health to enter.

Use this time to clean out the old energy and watch with wondering eyes as the universe brings blessings and prosperity to your door.