August Mixed Bag: School Approaching

I’m writing in August which means summer is almost over and I can see school approaching. August is Sunday is the summer-as-weekend analogy and I always have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I’m racing to squeeze in fun as the summer window starts to close, on the other I’m anticipating the fresh start of another school year. Fresh starts are energizing to me, here are a few things on my mind this month.

Optimism Approaching

Optimism is absolutely essential to overcoming challenges in life. If you are completely hopeless about your situation (like clutter in your home, for instance) you will not take action to try and fix it. When we feel hopeless we don’t take action. Instead, we sit in our sorrow because we don’t believe anything will make a difference.

I’m currently experiencing a surge in optimism that is affecting my mood and my outlook each day. I believe this surge is fueled by two things: the Paris Olympics and Kamala Harris’ newborn presidential campaign. I don’t even remember watching the Tokyo Olympics. It was still shrouded in COVID ghosts and when Simone Biles opted out I lost any inclination to watch. This feels different. Just watching the opening ceremonies and the naked joy of the participating athletes parading by on boats made me feel hopeful, even amidst the multiple wars and strife happening in the wider world around us.

And a week ago I was feeling hopeless about the upcoming Presidential election. I could hardly engage in news coverage or conversation on the subject; it just brought me down. What a difference a week makes – the optimisim is palpable! I can feel positive momentum building, and while the outcome is far from clear there is an energy to grab hold of that is hopeful and motivating. These are great feelings to harness with the specter of school approaching.

Back To School Purge

As soon as you squint at the calendar and see school approaching it’s a good time to do a quick purge to prepare. Whether you are doing it yourself for smaller kiddos, challenging your teens or taking on your own closet – purging takes the lead out and leaves you with more room and a spring in your step. I’m challenging my daughters to do their own back-to-school purge before they leave for college. I’ll be bribing them with lunch at their favorite spot and bra shopping (of all things.)  We’ll drop off their donations at the Goodwill on our way to lunch. It’s all part of a broader scheme to instill a decluttering mindset in my kids. Time will tell if it rubbed off – stay tuned!

Also stay tuned for lots of Back To School content this month on the blog…

Welcome Guests

Houseguests are one of the great motivators in life. When I have houseguests coming to stay I’m motivated to declutter, take care of small house fixes, keep up with my watering and pimp up our guest room.

This year I’m taking the whole exercise a step further and officially turning our son’s former room into a second guest room. His room has been vacant now for almost 2 years. I had cleaned it out and he took most of his things but the room still felt like a teenage boy’s. So I cleaned out the rest of his stuff (neatly packed up in a Banker’s Box), removed a bookshelf, found a new bed frame on Facebook Marketplace and ordered these sweet little bedside lamps along with some new bedding (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!)

There are still a few more things to do. I’ll hit those in another sweep before our next wave of houseguests comes for Thanksgiving!

So when you see school approaching seize the moment and harness your energy. Squeeze in an outdoor concert, some Olympics or lakeside cocktails with friends while also preparing for the season to come. Use the optimism to power you forward!