If you're anything life me, maybe you've gone through periods when it's been hard to let go. It can be downright painful. I'm about to say my final good-byes to my childhood home of 57 years. New owners will be moving in soon. While I'll still be able to drive by the house, I won't be able to go inside as I've done my entire life.

Little by little as I've emptied the house and prepared it for sale, I've been letting go and making my peace. The home has always been a grounding force for me, family and friends. It's been a welcoming place with loving, happy memories.

Letting go is a necessary part of life. We let go of places and things and people we love. We let go of activities and relationships that drain rather than nurture us. We let go to grow and to make space for the next chapter. We let go to lighten-up. We let go because we want to and sometimes because we have to.

Clearing out the family home has inspired some letting go in my own home. I have tag sale plans for this spring. It's my designated letting go season in more ways than one. If it's also your time, I wish you all the best as you edit, let go and organize your next chapter.

It’s been an intense bunch of months for me. From late summer until now, I transitioned my mom to a new residence, cleared out our family home of 56+ years, and renovated and prepared it for sale. 

There was a lot of letting go of external and internal stuff. I discovered many “treasures” along the way. If you want to read more, visit my blog, theothersideoforganized.com, where I’ve been sharing some of these experiences.

One of the finds was my dad’s immense stamp collection. Aside from specialty sets and First Day covers, he also had hundreds of sheets of new, unused first class commemorative stamps. We distributed them to interested family members like me, and sold the rest.

At every stage, it was easier to let go when I found other uses or places for things to go. In the spirit of moving on from the past while breathing new life into the present, I used stamps from my dad’s collection to mail my quarterly Oh, So Organized "snail mail" newsletters. It felt good to give something old a new use.

As you begin this new month and New Year, what are your fresh start thoughts?

I love summer's wam weather, long sunny days, vacation time, socializing with friends and family, and working on projects. There have been many things going on this season including extended weekends at the beach, visiting family, and exploring new places. We've also embarked on some significant home projects like replacing our underground oil tank and having major tree work done.

Probably no surprise, but these projects have expanded. For example, when the trees were pruned, the tree company ruined our lawn. Now the lawn needs work. When the oil tank was removed, we had to open up some ceilings and clear out space in the garage to pass the oil line and install the new tank. We're still waiting for the insurance company to make its final report so that we can close up the large hole in our lawn.

All this is to say that projects require time, patience, and flexibility. They rarely go according to "the plan." I have to remind myself of that. In the meanwhile, as I wait to get things back to normal, I choose to focus on the positive, like taking walks along the river, spending time with loved ones, and future-thinking about upcoming vacations.

What are you looking forward to?

The thought of decluttering can easily overwhelm us. The task seems so large that it can cause inaction. However, if we focus on one small section instead of focusing on the whole project, we have a better chance of moving forward.

I was reminded of this when I recently went to declutter the game shelf in our closet. It's not that we have so many games. It's that over time from a lot of use, that shelf had become disorganized. The chaos made it difficult to find something. I had been ignoring the shelf for a long time until one day I finally added "organize games" to my to-do list. That was the cue I needed to get this small space organized.

When the day came to organize the games, I emptied the shelf. Piles were made of games to keep, to toss, or to donate. The small items, like playing cards, were organized into a box. The keepers went back to the shelf in a more organized, visually appealing way. The compact area took less than twenty minutes to complete. It felt so satisfying to organize this small space.

What tiny space wants your attention?

January is the time of new beginnings and change. Status quo just doesn't cut it for this season. Not all changes are radical. Some of the most lasting ones are impreceptibly small.

This year one of my goals is to learn something new. So I signed up for a mindfulness training course. The class includes learning mindfulness meditation practices along with how to live more mindfully.

One of the first homework assignments was to eat a mindful meal. Instead of doing my normal chewing and swallowing while being interrupted by internal and external distractions, I was encouraged to focus on my meal, one moment at a time. I centered my attention on the textures, scents, tastes, sights, sound of my food. I noticed that I ate breakfast more slowly and enjoyed my eating experience more intensely.

Did my mind wander? It did. But staying true to the mindful practice, in a non-judgemental way, I gently focused back on being purposely present with my meal.

Where will your focus lead you this year?

Fall is one of the seasons where change is visible every day.  Each morning I look at the woods out back. I notice more leaves changing color or being released from the branches. Nature is preparing for next. It does this slowly by transforming the display and letting go of the excess. 

I respond to nature’s cue as my personal inspiration for change. What are the things, both physical and emotional that are weighing me down? What can I let go of? What will lighten my doing lists? What can be removed to ease life’s challenge of maintaining the stuff?

Soon I’ll make my seasonal clothing switch. That will give me an opportunity to let go of the pieces that no longer fit or won’t be worn. I happily imagine the full giveaway bags leaving my home.

It’s not just the physical things that need attention, there are the emotional stressors too, like the guilt over what I didn’t do, or what I should do. I’m working on letting go of the “shoulds" and focusing instead on the wants and possibilities.

As the seasonal changes nudge us to act, what possibilities are you noticing for you?