April in the northern hemisphere is often a time of intense weather fluctuations–sunny and warm enough one day to pull on the shorts and open the windows and then cold, wet, and snowy enough the next day to return to boots and winter coats. It’s a time for doing extra laundry with all the overlapping outdoor gear, delighting at flower buds peeking through the mud, enjoying the season’s first local custard when it’s still a bit too chilly to fully appreciate its cooling effects, feeling ready to move on from Winter and wholeheartedly embrace the warmer months but being held back by the wide-ranging temperatures, the sogginess, and the “not so fast, let’s take this slowly” pace of early Spring. In other words, it can be an especially challenging time to be patient, to pause, to not force projects, goals, or life itself.

Thankfully, the natural world is full of subtle and powerful reminders that everything in life–our planet, our families, our communities, our bodies, our homes–seeks a balance, and we can use these teachings to respond to life’s changeability and cyclical nature with greater intuition, grace, clarity, and ease. I’ve found this time of year to be especially fruitful for reevaluating my belongings prior to the highly social, out-and-about summer days. For some organizing inspiration, here are some items I’ve recently discarded and others I’ve purchased in response to changing needs and desires:

• Television and TV stand (donated–yes, it’s quite possible, and in my experience, quite pleasurable of a decision to make because it created more physical space in my home, decreased the amount of things to clean, increased leisure reading time and a general sense of spaciousness in my days, and gave me greater emotional bandwidth!)
• Physical books (purchased)
• Physical books (donated)
• Bicycle (purchased)
• Indoor exercise bike (sold)
• Yoga studio membership (purchased)
• Extra dining room chairs and occasional chairs (donated and sold)
• Plants (purchased)
• Miscellaneous decor (donated)

May you give yourself the gift of letting go of what’s no longer serving you, and mindfully allowing in what will best support you now!