Hello everybody! Welcome back to my blog. The purpose of this blog is to help people find their way to a healthier lifestyle. I mostly talk about exercise and its science, which is my area of expertise, but I also talk about nutrition, sleeping habits and many other subjects related to wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle.

The end of this strange 2021 is arriving, and I want to share with you something I really like to do at the end of the year. It helps me to finalise the year and start clean the new year. In the Chinese culture, this is an essential process in the Chinese new year. The end of this strange 2021 is arriving, and I want to share with you something I really like to do at the end of the year. It helps me to finalise the year and start a fresh new year. In Chinese culture, this is an essential process but it must be done before the start of the new year. Although based on folklore and superstition, the idea behind it is similar, removing bad omens from the previous year, starting the year clean and with good luck.

This post goes in line with my post about minimalism, check it out if you haven’t done it yet!

(My) minimalism

Becoming a minimalist or having the things that you like has helped many people to overcome stress, anxiety, and in some cases, move on from separations and even deal with a family loss. This technique has many benefits for your mental health, and therefore, your overall health. If you want to find out more about the different types of health, check out my post about it!

WHAT IS HEALTH?

Like many people in the world, you may be thinking of your new year’s resolutions, all the things you want to do in 2022, or all the changes you want to make to benefit your health. Starting the year with a literal clean slate may assist you with that! Here are 5 benefits of doing this process at the end of the year!

1. Fresh start.

There is something about tidying up that liberates you and prepares you for the next step. Have you ever felt like tidying up instead of studying or working? When we try to concentrate on a task and there is this visual noise surrounding and distracting you, you have the necessity of fixing it so we can focus on the task we’re meant to be doing. In my post about organising your desk, I tell you a bit more about this effect. Check it out!

8 STEPS TO AN ORGANISE DESK

Once you release yourself from that, it’s much easier to get other important things done. Imagine doing this on a greater scale: imaging having a house completely free of visual noise, in which all you need to do is what you have and want to do. Imagine starting a new year, and not having any visual noise so you can focus on working on your new year’s resolutions and enjoy.

2. More room for new experiences.

Sometimes we have so many things around that we don’t see space for new things. Like the very famous Spanish psychologist Patricia Ramirez says, “To get things inside, you need to take outside some other things”. This is exactly what this is about. Get rid of the old things, those you are not interested in anymore, those that cause pain, those that don’t have any use, and you’ll realise how much space you actually have. There is no such thing as “a too small house”, you might just have too many things.

3. Find out more about yourself.

The process of tidying up is a form of meditation and retrospection. You pick up old items, those that you haven’t touched in the past months or even years, those that made you feel in a particular way once upon a time, and you compare to what those same things make you feel nowadays, and you realise how much you have changed and how much you have developed since then. You might even feel the same way, meaning that whatever that item represents, it represents an important part of you. Even though this sounds a little bit mystic and subjective, it does help when you feel like there are not many realisations in your life.

4. Rescue and old hobby.

I remember for a long time I didn’t play the piano or study music at all. I didn’t seem to have time, even though I have always had a piano. One day, doing this end of the year cleaninI remember for a long time I didn’t play the piano or study music at all. I didn’t seem to have time, even though I have always had a piano. One day, doing this end of the year cleaning process, I found the pin sheets of one of my favourite songs “Can you feel the love tonight” by Elton John. I drew a smiley face on the top right because Lion King is my favourite Disney movie, and Elton John one of my favourite composers. It made me feel strange, like a part of me was poking its head somewhere in my mind. It brought all these good moments from when I was a bit more serious about my music, and it made me feel like I wanted it back.

Sometimes when you open boxes, drawers, cabinets, and you see these things from once upon a time, you may realise how important this was for you and how much you would like to add it back to your life.

5. Have a trip to the past. And then let go.

In some cases, like we discussed before, you want to get those things back, whereas other times you’ll realise you need to let it go.

Perhaps that little trip to the past is exactly what you needed to finally move on from an experience or a person. I have seen many friends moving on from their breakups when they got rid of pictures, letters, old presents, etcetera. Your mind will feel reset, ready to go for the next experience.

To identify if you want it back or you want to move on, you’ll have to follow your gut feelings. Please notice that this process would never replace psychological therapy, so if you suspect you suffer from a psychological issue, please contact the appropriate professional.

That’s it for today! I really hope that you enjoy the benefits of doing a big cleaning at the end of the year. I am doing my one on the 30th of this month, very close to the end of the year. If you like what I do and you want to support this project, follow me on Instagram and Facebook, like the post and comment! Thank you!