It's 11:00 on a glorious, cool and crisp, sunny Sunday morning, and I've already been for a long walk, done a quick workout, had a healthy breakfast, started a draft blog post on our Italian blog site (www.twotoebenny.com), and am on my second load of laundry.  What a difference a day makes! While I know that one day in a row doesn't make a streak or a habit, both of those things have to start with the first time, so I'll remain optimistic about tomorrow.  My walk this morning has me mentally and physically re-energized, so I'm going with it.  As a matter of fact, I hadn't actually planned on writing another post so soon.  But during my walk, my little brain was spinning around like a Vitamix blender, some stuff got sorted out in there, and now here I am.  Fresh air and sunshine are amazingly therapeutic.

Yesterday I did some cleaning up that, while not directly related to my coaching program assignments, has made a big difference for me.  It's something that has been on my mind for about a year and a half; yes, I'm a bit of a procrastinator.  Yesterday was a cold, blustery, rainy day, so it was the perfect opportunity to focus on a few projects that we have been putting aside.  While our apartment is very large - especially by Italian standards - we have a rather small and strangely shaped pantry.  It's 54" deep (135 cm), but only 29" (72.5 cm) wide.  Once you put some shelves in there, it doesn't leave much space to actually access them.  The shelves we have were originally purchased for another purpose, and I couldn't bring myself to spend yet another 60 Euro on the only set I've found that would be a suitable replacement. It just feels wasteful.  So things have been piling up in there for a while. Since I deal with it almost daily, for months I have been wanting to get in there and sort it out. But truth be told, that kind of project isn't my strong suit and felt too overwhelming to try to tackle in an afternoon, so I kept putting it off.  Finally I'd had enough, to the point where on Friday night I even had a dream about it. I knew it was time. So yesterday afternoon I took everything out of there, as well as the cupboard, in an attempt to make more sense of it.  

Admittedly it did take me several hours to finish the project, but I'm so glad I did it! I found things I didn't realize I had - things I've been frustrated about not being able to find in the supermarket - as well as duplicates of other things I obviously hadn't known were already in there. There was some consolidation, some purging, and some reassessment of my shopping list. I had lots of new ideas for healthy meals I can make with what I have on-hand, and while our pantry is much smaller than what we had in the US (we don't buy in bulk here), I don't need to buy too many staple items in the foreseeable future.  It actually made me want to meal plan, which if you remember my mentioning in an earlier post, I LOATHE doing.  Dammit Jim - I'm a nutritionist, not a dietitian!

Last night before going to bed I decided to make a list of other things I could do today to continue the process.  I interrupted that list when I woke up this morning because it was just too beautiful not to be outside.  Crisp, clean air - 4 degrees C, (36 degrees F), sunshine, and a fantastic view of our local mountains that were blanketed in snow, courtesy of yesterday's storm.  It was quiet and calm, and while I was walking I had an Aha! (actually, more of a Duh!) moment. I finally was able to make sense of my moodiness and emotional state of late.  For about three weeks (maybe more), my good friend and I haven't been out walking every morning as we had been doing together for so long.  I haven't been supplementing my workouts with my daily 4-mile walk, nor have I been getting any of the fresh air and (usually) sunshine that goes along with it.  My body and my brain were in a state of rebellion and trying to let me know, but I just wasn't paying attention. So, while cold weather isn't my favorite thing, on mornings when I don't have an earlier commitment I would like to start leaving the house at the same time my husband goes to work and get out there to get some of that morning air (unless it's absolutely pouring down rain - I don't want to be a wimp about it, but I do have limits.)

So my Cleaning Up list for today involves tackling a few "junk drawer" types of spaces, as well as making my detox plan for the next 3 days. I've got it sorted in my head and made a list of meals and snacks for the 3 days, so now I just need a list for the market and I'll be ready. When I'm finished writing this I will do some EFT to make sure that my day continues on the right path, and then who knows what other possibilities lie ahead?  

Now, I know that the details of my pantry and to-do list aren't very exciting to most people, but there is a reason I thought it was worthy of writing about.  I find it very interesting that so many of these things are actually physical expressions of the mental and emotional stuff we want to work on - either to improve, clear, change, or whatever.  The clutter in my house is symbolic of the clutter that I keep in my head.  My struggle to get rid of clothes and other possessions is symbolic of my struggle to let go of emotions, memories, or even people who no longer serve a positive purpose in my life.  I know that's a lot deeper than the width of my pantry, but sometimes it's the simplest thoughts that make the biggest things more clear. And sometimes the simplest actions can be the most cathartic.  That's what I really wanted to say. But hey, I like words, so it takes me a little while to get there.  

So what in your life is symbolic of your thoughts and behaviors?  What actions could you take to help clear out the clutter?  Just some food for thought.

It promises to be a busy week ahead, with meetings, social activities, a Thanksgiving celebration with friends at our house on Friday, and on Sunday the arrival of my step-daughter and her husband for a week's visit.  I wish you all a wonderful Sunday, and a wonderful week (and a very Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends in the US).  I will check back in after the dust settles a bit.

Have a health of a day.

Juli