Editing Essentials: Winter Clearing

In this episode of "Random Thoughts with Sara," we're diving into the wonderful world of clearing and editing! Winter sets the perfect stage for this transformative process, offering us a special chance to let go of the old and embrace the new. From tidying up our physical spaces to decluttering our minds, we're sharing practical tips and heartfelt insights on how to make space for growth and renewal. Whether you're sorting through belongings, habits, or emotional hurts, this episode is here to guide you through the process with love and encouragement. Join as we tap into winter's quiet energy to edit our lives with intention and clarity. 

Transcript

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Welcome back to edit your life. I'm your host, Sarah Alsbrook. And this podcast is about the art of editing your life season by season. This process is messy. Beautiful. And what I'm all about. It brings life to your soul, set you up for success so you can truly thrive and enjoy the life. You're intentionally building. I've decided to put out an entire season of podcast sharing the process I've been using. Over the past several years to step away from overwhelm and living out what I should be doing. Lean into intentionally enjoying my life. This process was borrowed by farmers who have been tending to their own plot of land faithfully year after year. The process I practice follows the seasons. It's simple, practical, and guide you. Step-by-step into living out your best life. Each season, I highlight four opportunities that you can put into practice. Currently, we are talking about the season winter. And there are four main opportunities. I practice. First. There's auditing. This is what I talked about. The last episode. This is an incredible opportunity each year to take inventory of your life, your job titles, your calendar, and the things you've accumulated over time. Whether this is tasks, things are emotions. Second. Clear and edit. This is what we're going to talk about this episode. This is an opportunity to clear up all the things that no longer serve you or bring you life. And then we are going to edit the things that you're considering keeping and seeing truly if this is what you want for this next season of your life. The third is curate and repair. This is an opportunity where you begin to see the things you've chosen to keep you see how they work together. You start repairing anything that's broken, or it needs a little bit of extra love. And the last is plan. This is an opportunity to dream. You get to add in all the extra things that you believe will add and compliment your life in this very next season last episode, I took a deep dive into the opportunity audit. Please feel free to go back and listen. If you haven't already, the data that you gathered from that practice is going to help us with this episode. Today, we are going to be talking about clearing and editing. I am a stylist and this is actually my most favorite opportunity of all the opportunities so get ready clearing it editing is a skill that I've honestly learned. And been growing over the years. It helps you gain momentum and it reminds you that you have an opinion. Okay, let me explain. Clearing is all about editing out the things that are obvious that you don't longer need or want in your life or in your space. There are things that are badly broken or they don't fit. They're worn out. They just simply are trash. I do this at a very high speed, like a ninja. I like to call myself, I've done this when we've moved. I have done this when I'm on set. I do this as quickly as I can, because making a decisive decision, it sets you up for success. You're telling yourself that you can do this. This is easy. It's fun. It's not painful. You're not wasting a whole bunch of time. Considering if you want this piece of trash or not. Sometimes I get into overthinking like, oh, I might want that out. If you have not used it, if it no longer serves you, if it doesn't bring you joy. Get rid of it, pass it on. Clearing is Helping you to get rid of things, but it's also making the decisions down the road easier because you're going to have lesser things to make bigger decisions, Winter is such a long season and there are lots of opportunities to clear and edit. I honestly like to start with clearing my physical space. Life happens and things slowly start to fill our closets, our drawers, our cupboard, every freaking nook and cranny. We don't realize the impact that it's making on our mental health and our stress levels. The crowding. Of our spaces it's signaling to our body that we are instantly overwhelmed, too much is happening. everything's out of control. The opposite is true. Once we clear our space. When we clear our space and it is organized. And there's only things in it that bring us joy. And there's less to clean or to organize or whatever the case may be. It starts signaling to ourselves that my life is under control. I have things that I love my life is filled with beautiful things that I have curated over the years The best example I can give is your closet. If you go through your closet and you put everything out and you put it on your bed, it looks like, oh my goodness. I have so many things to wear. Is that true? Not really. How many times have you gone in your closet and walked away saying I have nothing to wear, even though jam packed. But once you take all that out on you clear, so you clear half of it out and you're like, this doesn't fit me. I hate this it's ripped. It's outdated, whatever the case may be, you take it out. So you have half the things left. And then you, you know, you put them into color order, which I love to do because it just looks really pretty. And as a stylist, it's very satisfying. But say you do that. And so you have half the things left, maybe a quarter of the things left. So you have 20 items left. You will be so grateful when you go in that closet. Every time, you're going to see something you love. Every time you go into that closet, you are going to feel. Overwhelmed with gratefulness for the things you have, because everything fits. You can put any of that on right the second. And it will work for you. There's this lie that's being fed to us. That more is better. That more. We'll make you happier. And you will feel more successful and you will, fill in the blank. I believe that less is better. When you go through things that, and you edit out anything that isn't working for you, and you just take it out of your space, take it out of your life, pass it on blessing, release it to somebody that will use it. You are actually going to be happier in life. You are going to have the things that you need and that you want, and that you like. You're going to be more appreciative of the things you have. You're going to have less work to do because you're not having to organize as much stuff. You're not having to wash as many things. There's less choices in life because you only have a few things, but guess what? They're all great. Choices because you like them. So I actually love starting with clearing out my space and really start curating what I have left. So I will go room by room, closet by closet, under my bed. The basement, whatever cupboard the pantry. Laundry room, all the spaces and just start clearing out. I'll get rid of all the junk first. I'm like a ninja with that. I'll just throw it out, throw it out and then whatever's left. I will make it look cute. I'll put it in a basket. I will stack it. I will color code it. I will tend to that area. I will love that area. And it comes back to life. And you know what, this is something that I don't just do once a year. This is kind of something you have to keep up on because things start creeping up and we start shoving stuff in corners, and we start shoving things in, you know, closets. For me, when you move, it's a great time to do this, but also just when you see it, if you open up a closet and it feels overwhelming in there, just take care of it. It is so freeing and it really just reminds you that you get to make decisions. You are a decision maker, you know, what brings you life? After I go through my physical spaces, I feel very empowered now. I feel like I'm a ninja. I know how to clear things out. I know how to edit things out. And I'm starting to trust myself with this decision-making so now I'm going to look at the data. I'm going to look at my. Audit and my inventory from what is in my life and what I'm doing and what my calendar looks like for a really long time. I just kept adding and adding and adding and adding. I may have shared this with you before. Maybe I didn't. I have three children. I had my third baby. And I did not step away from one responsibility, one relationship. One. Opportunity for living my best life. I did not. What I did was just add a whole nother human. And I will say that added an extra stroller that. An extra car seat that added diapers and feedings and a whole nother person. And I didn't take anything out. And so. I am very passionate about. Taking inventory and making space for your life so that you can truly enjoy it so that you're not stressed. I'm not saying having a baby. Is going to be a breeze if you do this process, but I will say you will have time to heal, to enjoy, to sit and and you can just be really present. You actually be able to enjoy the season that you're in. You'll actually be able to enjoy. This new baby or this new opportunity or whatever that might look like. So. Look at the data. What does it add to say. When you look at it, do you feel stressed by it? Do you feel excited by it? Do you feel. Energized, I would love for you to get out a couple highlighters right now, as you're looking at the data. And I would actually like you to highlight the things that are 100% easy for you to clear they're easy. Be a ninja. What on your list? Are you able to clear immediately? It may be. A volunteer opportunity. It may be a monthly gathering that you host. And instead, you're going to say, Hey, I'm going to put a pause on it for this year. I would love to be a part of it. If somebody else in the group wants to host it, What on your list is obvious that you can clear right now. Okay next. I want you to look and say, what is not lighting me up right now? What is literally not bringing me life? This is like the next phase. What just as you're reading through, just kind of like you hear the word should. You should like doing that, but it's not really lighting you up. So it's kind of obvious, but it's also kind of not because now you're starting to overthink. Well, It's not that obvious. I actually should want to do it. If it is not a clear, I love this thing. Let's figure out how to make you love that thing. Or it's going to come off the list for a little bit. Take a break. Take a break. One example, laundry. Right. If you're not having, uh, overwhelming, I love doing laundry. Some people love it. It makes them feel. You know, once your house is clean, what's your laundry rooms. Cute. You may love it. Sometimes I've seasons where I really enjoy cleaning laundry and it's therapeutic and I feel like I'm loving my people and I get to put it all in their drawers. Cute. Love it. There have been times where I am so overwhelmed diet that I probably should have trained my teenagers and ask them to help me. Hey, I just need a month off of laundry duty. Hey Sean. That's my husband. I need a six months off. Can you figure this out? This is now on your plate. Just if something is not bringing you life, let's figure out a way for you to clear it. If you have a relationship right now, that is feeling like a drain. My husband always says more fountains, less drains, more fountains, less drains. If there's a drain that we can see, maybe it's a relationship maybe as a position in life, maybe as a volunteer opportunity. And it feels like it is draining you. It is literally just Freeney. Let's clear it let's just clear it for the season. Say, you know, for the next six months for the next year, I'm just going to step aside we're going to add in some things okay. That are going to be fountains and they're going to start filling us up. Well, let's get rid of some of these drains. One time I heard this analogy and it was talking about our bucket and, we can keep filling our bucket, hoping to fill our bucket. But if there are like holes in our bucket, they need to be repaired. And sometimes those holes. Or like drains. They are just opportunities that are suckiness dry. They are relationships that, the other person is just kind of going through something and it's not a healthy place for us to be in community together. And that is okay. It is okay. They can have it, but if it is draining on you to the point of you feel like you're overextending, you might just need to put up a little bit of boundary, say, Hey, for this season. Even if it's internal for this season, I'm going to spend a little less time with that person. I'm going to spend a little less time hearing the drama, being a part of the drama. More fountains, less drains. So what is draining you? What is not bringing you life? Next, I want to talk about something that's hidden. They are old hurt. They are wounds. They're things that we have allowed to be planted in our hearts and we carry them around. They are heavy. We think about them. We tend to them. We kind of build a life around them. They're in there. Okay. This is a little bit of a deeper. Conversation and I'm sure I'll have another episode on it. But I believe that we can bless and release these things. We can bless and release. What that means is. When you think about it, you're going to feel it. You can journal, you can feel it. I had several and it was kind of overwhelming. I kind of a CD and I. Um, think about things and they kind of loop around, around, around, and I keep churning it out, hoping there's a different outcome, hoping. That I would've said something different or we would have, you know, work things out or the relationship wouldn't have gone sour, whatever it is. I had two. Write a note. Dear so-and-so. Hey, I just wanted to really thank you. For our friendship. And for the time that we shared and the layers of our friendship and the good I want to bless you. And thank you for that. And I also want to release. You. I forgive you. I forgive you for the part you played. And guess what? I also am going to forgive myself for the part I played and I'm going to bless, and I'm going to give it to God. I'm going to. Dig up that root that has been planted in my heart. And I'm going to fully release it. That is something that I promise you. If you can clear out of your heart and your mind and your life, you will feel freer. You will feel so much for your, you won't even realize how much it has been. Uh, you know, it's like that cognitive load that I talked about in one of the episodes, either the first or second episode, I talked about cognitive load where we carry. These things. Around with us. And with it, say it's a hurt. We carry around. Worry about running into them. Or, you know, explaining ourself We carry that hurt with us in lots of different ways. And they manifest and they really, they affect us. They don't really affect that person. If you went back, they might be like, Wait, what, what happened? I didn't even realize that. I mean, there's definitely some that sticks with people, but I'm saying sometimes we carry these things for far too long. There are maybe people that you could reach out to right now, like, Hey, that situation, it really bothered me. I really, sorry. I wish I could have been more clear. And told you how I was feeling. Hey. That situation I learned now clarity is kindness. Before I just felt like it was my job to get over things. It was my job to not feel that way. If I felt something, I would shame myself into saying, Hey, why are you so insecure? Or why do your, you so sensitive or why, blah, blah, blah, whatever. And then I would try to force myself to make sense of it. Now I'll just go to the person and say, Hey, when you said that, I think this was what you meant, but I will love for you just to be clear. Is that what you meant? Because if not, I don't want to think about it. I want to carry it around. I don't want to even hold that. And a lot of times the person is like, oh my goodness. No. I was really busy. I have a friend one time. Her response was delayed and I assumed that it meant she didn't support my decision. And I came to her and I was like, Hey, before I put up a wall, cause I do that sometimes, or assume what you meant. Could you just give me a little bit of clarity on that? She goes, oh my goodness. My daughter was talking to me and I put you on mute. And I was, answering her question. And when I came back, I, we responded to you that little bit of gap. I wrote a whole story about it. She didn't support me. She didn't think I was doing the right thing. And you know, if she didn't, that was okay. But I just assumed that's what she meant. Clarity is kindness. Have the conversation bless and release the old her. Honestly, just really blessed sometimes when I think about it, it's like so amazing how our relationships there are going to be endings to relationships. People just change. They, you know, we grow out of seasons. Like I had a little mamas that were my besties when we had toddlers, Our kids went to different schools and, or we moved to different states and, you know, we don't necessarily keep all the relationships all the time. There is going to be natural endings to things. And then sometimes the endings are hurtful and ultimately, maybe we're holding on for longer than we should have. Maybe we should have kind of ended those relationships beforehand. And, you know, we both moved and we kind of tried to keep up and then people got hurt feelings or, you know, decisions were made not for each other instead for our new lives. That we were building. I mean, there's so many things. That go into necessary endings and we don't always practice. I just would love for you to bless and release the responsibility of holding that. You don't have to hold that anymore. If you owe someone an apology or you want to make things right. Go for it. And if it was just life. Release it. If it was just life on their part, release them. Hold them to these things, give each other grace. Hope for Salone for everyone that everybody. That is going to live life and be healthy and whole give them grace. I mean, there's definitely a season that you can hold it. And you can tend to that hurt and you can really be present in it. I am not saying to deny or just too not grieve. Certain things, but if you've been holding it for a really long time process, it, whether that's writing, maybe that's therapy, whatever it is, do, what you can to clear out your heart, your mind, your space, it will help you feel better. And it will also help this whole process of life. Sometimes. I realize I get so stressed and I'm so anxious and I realized, oh, it's because I'm still thinking about things that happened three years ago. It's building it's building, because now it has things that happened two years ago and one year ago, and I'm not letting go of any of these old hurts. That is something that is hidden, But I honestly believe that you can clear these things out of your heart. Your mind your life, and it will free up so much space and capacity for love. And new opportunities and new ways of thinking and expansion and so even though it's hidden i believe that this is a very very important an unbelievable opportunity to clear the last part of the editing process. I believe once you've cleared out all the obvious stuff, all the extra thinking things, and you've made some decisions. What I want you to do is take a new highlighter and highlight all the things that are going to stay. All of the things. And then I want you to transfer onto a new piece of paper. So now you have a brand new piece of paper with only the things that you were going to keep for the season. You've edited it out. And now you are going to set yourself up for the next opportunity, which is curate. And I honestly. Believe that this next. Part is so cool that I'm going to talk about the next episode it's curating and repairing, and it is just such a beautiful new opportunity for you. Once you see what you have left on your list. It is like, oh, snap. I love all these things. I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my cute. Oh, the house. I love my time with my friends. I love this creative space. I like the opportunity that I've been, Doing for the last six months. I'm so glad I kept that. Oh, my goodness. I have some extra space in here. I wonder what I'll fill that with. It's just so fun. So I encourage you to write the new little list. Wow. That was a lot. I am here cheering you on, as you clear your physical space, your life and your heart. Remember winter is a really long season and you have time to do this work. You don't have to rush it you can do a little bit of clearing and then take a break when you revisit it you may feel like you have fresh eyes and maybe you have more capacity to continue to clear as always reach out and let me know what resonated with you how this process is looking in your life and know that i'm cheering you on always