MLK Day Purging

It's no secret that I've been feeling restless this month.  I feel like there's something I'm supposed to be doing, but what I can't quite figure out is what exactly that something is.  Over the weekend, I had yet another conversation with yet another daughter about how dissatisfied she is with her friends and her relationships.  We talked around in circles for awhile, and then I said, "You know what?  If you're feeling restless and like something is stirring inside, but you can't quite find it because of all the noise and crap in your life, then get rid of the noise and crap."  I realize you can't exactly "get rid" of your friends, but you CAN unplug yourself from their constant electronic chatter.  And you CAN stop sending out random texts and initiating conversations just because you're bored.  And you CAN pull back  from them a little.

As always, whatever this particular daughter happens to be going through in her life always elicits a response from me that I actually need to apply to my own life.  I've needed to purge a few things in my life for awhile, too, I realized.  I needed to clear some clutter from my head, my phone, and my diet, as well as from my closets.  

I decided last night that this MLK Day should officially be a 

FRIEND FREE, TEXT FREE, CLUTTER-PURGING, DETOX 
day for all of us.    

Here's what we've accomplished today...

• I started this morning by DELETING a few of the contacts on my phone who are particularly unnerving for me.  (If you're reading this, you're probably not on that list.)  You know, the people who you only text out of desperation, but who never really respond the way you hope they will.  I have a few "friends" like that who consistently leave me feeling disappointed and sorry that I didn't choose something else to do.  If people consistently make you feel like that, it's time to make a few changes.

• I UNSUBSCRIBED myself from all the spammy emails that I consistently get.  Every morning, my ritual is to delete 31 of the 35 daily emails from my inbox and then read the remaining 4 that I actually look forward to.  I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.  I probably thought it would just be easier to delete them individually, every single day, for the rest of my life, than to actually scroll to the bottom and click on UNSUBSCRIBE.  Clicking on UNSUBSCRIBE wasn't that hard.  And SO worth it...no more temptation from 20% off sales at Old Navy, no more wasting 10 minutes every day deleting things I don't even want anyway, and no more inflated email numbers tricking me into thinking that I actually have 35 people who want to say something personal and sweet to me.  I love getting emails from actual people.  Spammy emails are a poor imitation.  

• I went through my entire kitchen and PURGED anything that had HFCS, white flour, or white sugar in it.  Yep, I really did.  (OK the chocolate chips are still in the freezer, but I can resist those.)  I was SHOCKED at how many sneaky places that white sugar sneaks into our diet.  Obviously we need to eat fewer cookies and less ice cream, but I had no idea it was also in the yogurt, crackers, and spaghetti sauce, too!  Well, it's all gone now.  (I'll let you know if I survive the week.)

• I helped two of my four kids CLEAN OUT their closets and dressers and get rid of a few things.  It's always shocking to me how quickly they grow out of their clothes.  Spell Girl grows a couple of inches every five minutes these days, it seems.  

It's a good feeling to clear a few unnecessary things out of our lives.  I'm so grateful for a day off of our regular schedules to find more space in our closets and declutter our house.  I'm even more excited about the clarity of mind, body and spirit that I hope to feel after a few weeks of eating better.  There's something I'm supposed to be doing, but I haven't been able to find it amid all the distractions.  I'm looking forward to whatever is around the corner.