The January Purge

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​We have made it to January, and it is that time of year when many of us begin to think about lightening our loads and purging what we are no longer using. 

For some of us, light is on our minds because we have just accumulated more possessions as a result of Christmas and with the incoming of the new, we yearn for a throwing out of the old to make room for it all.  For others, it’s the new year that inspires us to take action.  A new, fresh start is just what we need to kick off the new year and start off on the right foot.

January is the month of Oosouji in Japan.  To observe Oosouji means to clean the clutter, the dirt and the dust of the past.  The purpose being to banish any old problems or ways of thinking and to welcome a new start, with a clean slate (and home). The word Oosouji literally means “big cleaning,. Additionally, January’s foreboding cold weather leaves us with no choice but to stay indoors and think about improving our surroundings, making our home more comfy, clutter free and cozy.  With the bustling holidays behind us, there is nothing to distract us from doing just that. 

If your family does not purge on a regular basis, I strongly encourage adding purging to your calendar at least once but ideally twice each year to stay on top of controlling clutter.  Since we have things coming into our homes on a constant basis, in order to keep our homes balanced, we need to have the same amount of stuff leaving our homes each year.  It is a simple Ying and Yang formula.  With everything in life there is a need for balance, and even too much of a good thing can do us harm.  It is no different when it comes to our possessions and our home environment.   January is a “no brainer” time of year to schedule a purging session. July is also a good time for a 2nd purge, and having the kids home on summer break means that they can get involved too.

Our family has just completed our own January purge, as I put away our Christmas decorations this year, I collected all of our heaping full donate boxes that have been accumulating over the last several months from the storage room and placed them into our garage. Since we always have a donate box available and ready to be filled, my family knows to toss no longer wanted items into the box throughout the year.  This makes our purging process automatic, and it is shocking how fast those boxes fill up. 

​I also sorted through our Christmas decorations, and if they did not get put up this year, they got added to the donate pile.  This week it will all go a local charity and our family’s January Oosouji will be complete.  So bring on the new year!

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