Once again it is springtime at the TabyanInn. We have already started doing things around the house, and it has really helped us feel better.

Great Time For Renewal

Spring is a great time for renewal, for getting back on track with life. Coming out of winter, everyone feels the need to clear the cobwebs, to feel life again. This is even more true after the last two years. Everything has been rough on us all.

Spring–this spring–will do that for us all. It is a time to take care of things around the house, as well as yourself. That care of your inner as well as your outer self is important to coming out of the cold days of winter and into the bright light of warm days.

Spring Cleaning

So–what to do for that spring cleaning is the question, and not an easy one. Most of us think of housecleaning when we think about spring cleaning. We’ve been doing a bit of this, just a little at a time as we work around other commitments. It can be tough to find the time, but cleaning up does help get you in the right mindset for the rest of the year.

Another obvious thing to clean up is the yard, of those of us who have one. This is where we have been spending most of our time. For the last 3 years, something has always seemed to come up and derail any plans we had for improving the yard. This year, though, we have been getting the leaves and limbs cleaned up, got some new patio furniture and have been cleaning up the flower beds. This has really helped our mental state!

One not-so-obvious thing to clean up is your technology. I have really been taking a look at this myself. I have been cleaning up the tools and workflow that I use for my life. That includes blogging, work, Masonry and generally keeping track of myself. I did make some good changes to how I am keeping track of my reading and to do lists–and avoided adding more cost, which is a good thing. I need to look forward and start cleaning up my data as well, which will be the biggest problem I have!

But really, the most important thing to clean up is yourself. One thing I started doing at the beginning of the year was cutting back on my news consumption. I had already cut way back on my social media, which helped my state of mind tremendously. I also switched from Apple News to an app called NewsBreak, which provides me more local news, as well as only free news (not the predominantly paid articles from Apple). I am still aware of what is going on in the world, but I am just not focusing on it, and cleaning the negativity out of my head.

Looking Ahead To Summer

All of this leads to summer! We always try to finish all our home improvements by Memorial Day, so we can enjoy our labors and relax for the summer. Traci and I always like going to the pool, and just spending the weekends relaxing, and not working.

I am also starting to look towards my retirement at the end of the year, and starting to get my head in that space as well. I am still going to be busy with my Mason Lodge, but I am trying to wrap up as much as I can at work as my career winds down. We’ll see how well that works, but it is a goal!

No matter what, I am looking at this spring as a good time to clean up a lot of my life, physically and mentally–and recommend that everyone else do the same. It’s an opportunity, one that we should all take.

Marc