It’s not just the closet that’s cluttered…

It’s that time of year. The daffodils are spectacular. The stores are screaming pastels. And the social media world is back at it with "declutter challenges" and "30 days to a cleaner closet."

I love this stuff—tidying, organizing, the physical act of making space. But this year, I’m not craving cleaner countertops. I’m craving peace. Breathing room. Less mental chaos. 

My closet isn’t what feels out of control.

My mind is.

The world still feels strange. The noise is constant. I can’t always tell what’s mine and what I’ve accidentally absorbed. And when I sat still long enough to ask myself what was really bogging me down, I saw it plain as day.

It wasn’t the pantry.

It was worry.
It was grief.
It was a growing sense of helplessness I hadn’t named.

One of our 10-year-old dogs has been sick. Not falling-over, obvious kind of sick, but that slow, creeping something-isn’t-right. 

And if you’ve ever loved a dog, you know that’s its own kind of heartbreak - one that starts before anything “official” even happens. For weeks, we kept shoving it down. “She’s fine.” “It’ll pass.” “We’ll deal with it if it gets worse.”

But the truth is, **I was afraid.
**Afraid of what it could be.
Afraid of what it could cost.
Afraid of having to face the ache of another goodbye.

So I let the fear take up quiet space in the corners of my mind…like little dust bunnies behind the furniture. And the longer I avoided it, the heavier everything felt.

That’s why pausing. Taking inventory.  Questioning myself when I’m feeling off balance is vital…and that’s what finally made me stop and ask:

 What if we need spring cleaning for our minds just as much as we need it for our garages?

Take Inventory - Not of Stuff, but of Thoughts

So I sat down and made a list—not of to-dos, but of what’s been taking up space in my brain.

That gnawing worry about my sweet dog, Tyrian.
The unsettled feeling about our future finances.
The simmering frustration with something in my business that isn’t flowing like I want it to.
The quiet grief I still carry for things I thought would turn out differently.

Once I wrote it all down, it was like someone cracked a window. Just seeing it helped. That’s the first step: name it. Drag it out of the mental clutter pile and give it oxygen.

What Can I Control? What Can I Not?

When life feels chaotic, I want control. I want to fix it, solve it, move something forward. That instinct is natural - but it can also wear you out.

So I started going down the list and asking:

• Is this something I can do something about?

• Or is this something I need to face and feel instead of fix?

In the case of my Tyrian, we made the vet appointment. We started asking the questions I’d been avoiding. That didn’t erase the worry, but it gave me something to do with it…something loving, grounded, real.

With money stuff, I took a hard look at where I could simplify. 

• I stopped shopping “just because.” 

• I cleaned out the pantry and got honest about what we actually use. 

• I unsubscribed from emails trying to sell me more things I don’t need.

And then I looked at my schedule. That one hit deep.

I saw meetings I didn’t want to be in. Things I said yes to because I didn’t want to disappoint someone. I saw how much energy I was spending on things that didn’t fill me up or move me towards what is important to me - and how little I was giving to things that did.

Spring cleaning, right there. Just not the kind that fits in a bin.

Simplify Your Life in a Way That Makes Sense to You

This part looks different for everyone. 

• Maybe for you it’s taking a break from a friendship that always leaves you drained.

• Maybe it’s finally unsubscribing from the 19 podcasts you swear you’ll listen to “someday.” 

• Maybe it’s turning your phone off for a day, or setting a bedtime, or creating 10 minutes of quiet in the morning before everyone else wakes up.

• Maybe it’s finding a way to make new friends you enjoy or figuring out how to be around more positive people.

Simplifying isn’t about doing less to be more productive.

 It’s about doing less so you can _breathe.
_So you can _feel.
_So you can remember who you are.

Sometimes that means simplifying your life to make space for all that. Who do you choose to be around, or what can you do to support yourself in rediscovering you?

Face the Thing in the Back of Your Mind

You know that thing? The one you keep pushing back, telling yourself “I’ll deal with it later”? It might be something you need to grieve. Or forgive. Or get help with. Or let go of completely.

It’s not going anywhere. It’s taking up more energy than you think. And even though it feels safer to keep ignoring it, I’m telling you: facing it is where the freedom is.

Facing doesn’t mean fixing overnight. It might just mean saying, “I see you. I know you’re here. Let’s start.”

Start where you are. Start with one drawer, one fear, one messy moment.

And if you need to cry while you do it—welcome to the club.

This Year, Let Spring Mean Something Deeper

Let it mean facing what’s heavy.
Let it mean lightening your load in ways that matter.
Let it mean less perfection and more peace.

Clean the closet, sure. But clean your heart too. Make room in your mind. Let go of what doesn’t fit anymore—whether it’s a sweater or a belief or a relationship that no longer feels right.

This year, I’m not folding sweaters into perfect little cubes. I’m facing fear, cutting back, slowing down, and choosing joy where I can find it.

That’s my spring cleaning.

What’s yours?

Diana