Spring Cleaning...

Today is the LAST day of winter. What a great day to think about and plan your spring cleaning...not just your home but your mind too!

Do you have anything in your home that is dated or unattractive? Perhaps there is a gift from someone that you don't even like but feel you have to keep or something sentimental that sits in a box but you feel you can't get rid of? There are soooooo many books on decluttering and simplifying your home and all of them offer loads of great advice, but I find they overcomplicate things. Why do we need systems to decide if something should stay or go?

The bottom line is this, anything in your home that does not make your day to day life a little easier, brings you joy when you look at it, or simply no longer gets used...GET RID OF IT!

Don't overthink it, it is your home and your life and the less STUFF you have in it, the easier it is to keep clean and enjoy..you don't have to justify this to anyone. It does not matter what it cost back then, or who gave it to you...if it is sitting in a box or collecting dust then you're not using it or appreciating it anyway.

Give yourself permission today to begin to rid your life of STUFF that you simply do not like, need or want....less really is more and makes it so much easier to keep your house tidy leaving more time for LIVING!

So, if we struggle with letting go of stuff in our homes that takes up room and increases our workload, then how many of us struggle with the clutter in our minds?

This used to be a BIG problem for me and still can be if I don't stay aware. How many thoughts do you have running through your mind everyday? I know if you tuned into my mind at any given time it used to sound something like this: "Good Morning world, today on the Stacey show we have 3 lunches to make, 2 loads of washing to do, books to return to the library, a school project to assist with, an rsvp required to a 30th b'day, 1/2 an hr to be spent in k-mart choosing a present for a 5th b'day, a grandmother to be called, 4 bills to be paid, a cheque to be banked, help with reading down at the school, look for a lost jumper and hat whilst there, a friend to call who's father is sick, milk to be bought, soccer training to attend, dinner to be cooked..etc etc etc"

And thats just the thoughts about what I have to do that day, what about the other thoughts that can creep in "So and so hasn't called me back, I wonder if everything is ok? Perhaps I said something to upset her, gee I hate this bathroom...once it gets renovated then life will be so much better, I really must start eating better my jeans don't fit, I am sooo tired..I wish we could afford a holiday BLAH BLAH BLAH"

The many hats we wear as mothers pretty much gurantees that at any given time there will be loads of thoughts racing through our minds. We are always so busy THINKING about the what we have to do or about the future that we never seem to be really here, in TODAY!

Somehow us Mummies got into the habit of doing, doing, doing and thinking, thinking, thinking all the time. We need to STOP and ask ourselves if what we are doing or thinking really matters or is it just habit?

We do not have to keep up with everyone else racing through life, we don't have to get up each day and feel like a mouse on a treadmill, we can CHOOSE to slow down our minds and our lives...

There will always be people with more than us, as well as people who have less, lets make the decision TODAY to be content with what we have. I am not saying we should never strive for more but more of what? More stuff? A bigger house, better car? So many of us are addicted to the "Once I...lose weight, get a new car/house/wardrobe/kitchen or whatever then I will be happy" Yes you will, for a brief moment and then you will be onto the next thing...

THOUGHTS, just like STUFF can be acquired, hoarded and discarded....both distract from who we really are...So on the LAST day of winter, lets CHOOSE to begin the process of simplifying both our homes and our minds and we will be well on our way to ridding our lives of useless clutter that prevents us from truly enjoying LIFE!

We give time to what we value...

Nothing prepares you for motherhood no matter how old you are when you commence your journey.

For the record I was 23 and 364 days ;) in hindsight (gotta love hindsight)and my opinion...too young. However, being a young mum certainly has its advantanges and no other age to begin, than the age you did, is right!

Becoming a mother has taught me many things but the most important so far is to look after myself....easier said than done.

I know when I don't take time for myself I am a cranky and irritable beast....

I know I like to start my day early (5am). If I exercise, shower, dress nicely and put on some tinted moisturiser and lip gloss all before my kids even wake up...my day is much better. We have sooooo many roles in life we have to fulfil but the very first one, the MOST IMPORTANT one is the role of looking after our SELF.

If we don't do that, then pretty soon every other role suffers.

We all say to ourselves every so often, argghh but there is not enough time in the day, the kids are mucking up, my partner isnt helping, I am tired etc etc YES all of that may be true but we have 24 hours in a day which isn't going to change. There is a reason it is divided up into 3 x 8hr lots....8hrs sleep, 8hrs work, 8 hrs play!

The first thing as mothers and women we should be making sure of, is the 8hrs sleep...everything is better if you have had enough sleep. For me, getting up at 5am means I MUST be in bed by 9pm, the most I stretch it to is 10pm because 7 hrs is still pretty good.

So today I ask you, are you getting enough sleep? If not, why? There could be a number of reasons, new baby, illness etc but if the reason your not getting enough is because your up late watching tv, or on the internet, or finishing off work...then perhaps it's time to have a look at where you are spending your time?

Part of being a Sunny Mummy is looking after ourselves first so we can fulfil all the roles we have in life, if we don't know what we are doing when, then how can we expect to enjoy life and motherhood?

For me personally, this means having a schedule and sticking to it! It may seem too regimented for some but nothing works better than having it down on black & white, what you should be doing and when.

So as we start a brand new week, we give time to what we value...
What are you giving your time to?