clearing, cleaning and general OCD behaviour!!

the last few days have seen me in a frenzy of neurotic activity without the need to leave the beloved comfort of my beautiful home...no, i havent suddenly won the lottery and thus turned to the delights of the online world of shopping!..i decided to curiously undertake this feng shui 'giveaway' practice... consisting of giving away or throwing away 27 items over 9 consecutive days - i.e. a grand and preposterous total of 243 things!!!

Everything we own carries an energy with it. As we let go of old energies, it clears the space for us to open to greater new energy... so by throwing out that old make-up i still had from my student days, i am assisting the universe in granting the space available for, erm, new makeup to appear!!? ...well, not exactly...as i am merrily chucking out willy nilly i am also asking the one above for what i would like to manifest more deeply in my life!

so far, i have freed myself from the unneccesary burden of musty old paperwork lurking in folders of varying colours, that i have acquired over the last 10 years...notebooks from my earliest forays into yoga teaching with pages upon pages of lesson plans have found there way to the recycling bin...i am now the proud owner of 6 empty ringbinders!! damn them....anyone need one, or two....?

this clearing out has been easier than i first thought, though an unexpected side effect seems to have occurred...i have spent all of today blitzing the kitchen: floor mopped; behind the oven scrubbed; the cupboard under the sink decluttered and its contents downsized!!...now dont get me wrong...i do have friends... honest!...as it happens one drink with some gorgeous girl friends last night turned into a 3:30 in the morning spin on a dancefloor of some random club!!..so not only have i been frantically cleaning like a woman possessed..but with a hangover too!..hardcore me ;-)

so..tomorrow is day 6...i am eyeing up my old make up bag, and the drawer of greying 'nobodys gonna see them anyways' knickers...ooh..cant wait!

if your appetite has been whetted and your marigolds are itching to adorn your hands, here's what you do...enjoy!

1. Each day for nine days in a row give away or throw away 27 items. Notice what you're hanging on to, not because you love it, but because you're afraid to let it go.

2. Stand in your closet and touch or try on every piece of clothing. Ask yourself whether you want to carry that into your life ahead. If not, give it away or throw it away.

3. Clear out old books that don't have messages that speak to you anymore, vitamins or medicines you no longer need, kitchen items that are cracked or worn-out. (Or how about those half-used shampoo bottles from four years ago?)

4. Fix items that are broken (or get rid of them). Clean items that are dirty. Put your loving attention on everything in your environment to see whether it represents who you are now.

Then notice what happens in your life -- and watch for miracles. As you let go of things that carry old energy, you also strengthen your ability to let go of old ideas of feelings that no longer serve you. Then, you're freer to create a magnificent future.