Welcome to The LIFT
I’m sharing this post on Easter morning. Hope you’re enjoying a moment with your family today. Many a year, I played Easter Bunny at our house. Hiding Easter eggs + baskets. This year, we don’t have any ‘littles’. Instead, I am chasing a different sort of bunny around our house. And, boy, do they multiply fast.
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THE COLLECTION
I’ve been doing some spring cleaning in my life. Not so much the closet + cabinets - although I have definitely done some clearing there.
My spring cleaning this year has been focused on other areas of life - more specifically, my digital life. At some point, I’ll be able to share some tips + wisdom, but right now all I’ve got are analogies + insights. I am deep in the throes. It might be a while.
For the last 10 years, I’ve been involved in a lot of creative projects. My husband + I built a membership-based website with meal plans + recipes for living a more plant-based lifestyle. We created online courses. Built websites. Ebooks. Experimented with different ideas + platforms.
We learned new technologies. Tools. Software. Apps. Took countless courses. Not only in nutrition + clean living, but in digital marketing + online business.
And, don’t even get me started on domain names. I wish I had kept track of how many URLs we have owned over the years. Although, it would be embarrassing to admit.
Some of what we built was AMAZING. Some of it was a total bust. But - that is neither here nor there. The point is, it’s starting to look like a closet full of crap. Every corner has something in it. And, dust bunnies are collecting in every crevice.
Much like the physical world, all of this clutter in the digital realm creates weight. It blocks energy. It adds to your inbox. It sucks up energy + time in the tiny little bits that collect + accumulate.
There comes a time when you just have to clean it out.
THE CLEARING
In January, we decided 2022 is the year to clean up our digital debris. To pick up the waste we’ve left behind. To suck it up + get on with it. To streamline + simplify.
A few years ago, we took on a major downsizing project as we shifted our lifestyle from a 4-person, 3 BR, 3BA single-family household to a 2-person, 1BR high-rise lifestyle. You can read more about that adventure here.
Now that we have mastered that transition, it’s time to do the same for our digital world.
We committed ourselves to go through all of our accounts. Close what we don’t use. Shut down sites that are just collecting dust. Clear things out.
That’s kind of where I have been the last few months. Trying to empty out the closet. To lighten things up + clear space. Debating over what to trash + keep.
But, man, can I procrastinate! I mean - it’s already April! What is taking so long?
You’d think it would be an easy thing to do. But, it’s not. Just like those clothes hanging in your closet that you never wear - it’s easy to justify why you might need to hang on to that online folder or domain name or email address. It took so much work to create. And, you never know when you might want to ‘wear it again’.
You know that feeling when you are cleaning out a closet or a junk drawer? You pull everything out + you get to that stage where it’s all just a big pile of crap. You just want to get up + walk away from it. It’s so overwhelming. Yeah - that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling about this project.
But then, little by little you start to categorize + sort. You see patterns + ways to organize. You realize what you need to toss. What you need to giveaway. What you need to keep.
I feel like I’m just getting to the point where I can see through the pile.
The cool thing is that I can already feel the clarity emerging. Much like it felt sitting with the piles we had in our house - office supplies, hardware, photos, coffee mugs + water bottles (Seriously, where do they all come from!) - evaluating what was adding to our life versus what was taking up space, getting rid of these digital dust bunnies is freeing up energy. Energy to put toward the things I am currently creating. Energy to enjoy what already exists.
It’s just now beginning to feel good. Like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And, that’s when you get that spark to roll up your sleeves + finish the job. Let’s see if this new surge of energy gets me to the next level so I can start creating again.
YOUR MISSION:
Why am I sharing this with you? Well, I have to believe I’m not the only one with digital debris. Are you harboring a dust bunny collection somewhere? On your phone? In the cloud? On a hard drive somewhere? Want to join me in a digital dust off?
This week, I challenge you to look for a digital dust bunny. Scoop it up. Nothing gives you a LIFT more than removing some of the extra weight you carry around + you’d be surprised how much dust bunnies actually weigh!
IN SUMMARY:
There’s something really powerful + sacred about this time of year. Clearing the path for new growth. New opportunities. New life. If you are feeling that urge to roll up your sleeves + get to work clearing a path, do it! Make room for what’s blooming or clear a spot to plant a new seed. I’ll be right there with you!
See you next week?
Clearing the Digital Dust Bunnies
“Much like the physical world, all of this clutter in the digital realm creates weight. It blocks energy. It adds to your inbox. It sucks up energy + time in the tiny little bits that collect + accumulate.”-- EXACTLY!!
For a long time, I’ve wanted to organize the photos and videos on my phone. I have waaaay too many. I’m going to take the week to do that. Thank you for the encouragement!