by Katherine Macey
Spring is traditionally a time for new beginnings. Trees have new growth, flowers blossom, and many babies are born. It’s a time of year when everything feels invigorating, it’s a time of expectation.
Yet, if your space is full of clutter from past activities, you do not have the space to create, to explore, to experience those new beginnings.
So take an inventory, either on paper, on your smart phone, or just in your head. Notice which items you have that are related to activities that you no longer do, or are outdated even if for a current activity. Look for items that, if you let go of them, you wouldn’t miss.
How much space could you create if you sold/donated/recycled those items?
And what would you do with that space? Breathe, feel abundant and luxurious. Maybe you would invite friends over to enjoy the new space you have created.
How would more space change your life? Maybe you’d just be able to get dressed more easily in the morning. Maybe you’d have space to play board games with your kids. Maybe you wouldn’t do anything with the space, just enjoy it.
Imagine a whole new world without the clutter. In my home, we’re getting rid of many of old books that the kids have outgrown. We’re keeping a few as mementos, but let me be clear, my husband and I are keeping them. We enjoyed reading them to our kids, they hold those great memories and, okay, I have fantasies about reading them with grandkids someday too. Everything else is being donated to the library or recycled. Now my kids have got space for new books and toys that they can enjoy.
What are you letting go of this Spring?
by Katherine Macey
Have you ever wondered when you realized that taking care of the environment is a good idea? Maybe it was on a family camping trip. Maybe it was watching a nature documentary. Maybe it was at school when they taught you about recycling. At some point, taking care of the environment went from your subconscious to your conscious.
Now you may take little conscious action to take care of the environment, or you may take a lot of conscious action. You may only do what you are forced to do, like not bringing home your groceries in plastic bags anymore because your local grocery store has been mandated not to use plastic bags. You be at the other extreme, making every living decision weighted towards the best environmental outcome. But you are probably somewhere in between. And during National Green Week, thousands of school students will learn a little more about taking care of the environment and how to live more sustainably.
National Green Week (link: http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/greenweek.html) actually runs from Feb 2 through April 25. Schools around the country choose a week within that time frame and choose a project to focus on during the week. Projects fall under one of six themes: green energy, waste reduction, green thumb, I ride green, green building or sustainable water.
So what does this have to do with business? Well, if school kids can take small steps to being more sustainable in their lives, we can find somewhere to be more sustainable in our businesses.
Even though change can be instituted in large, radical giant steps, change can also be effectively implemented in small, continuous changes. Small changes are often easier to incorporate into your daily routine.
This year our big change goal is to purchase a car with an awesome gas mileage, perhaps even an electric car – we are still researching the options.
Our small change goal is to stop collecting business cards, using our smart phone apps on the spot to collect contact information.
We would love to hear your change goals. Drop us an email, or leave a comment on our facebook page.
