Happy New Year to you all! I want to share something with you that I have been doing for years! It seems over the course of a year a lot of things can pile up, become unused, replaced, broken, no longer needed…etc. Several years ago I started “Spring Cleaning” in January. I go slowly. Very slowly. It started that way, because I was homeschooling 3 boys, and it was just easier time wise. Now they have all grown and graduated, but I still do this slow process. It takes me all of January and part of February. I do small sections at a time. Maybe spending 30-45 min each day. Unless of course I just “feel” like doing more. But that also frees me up to do other things. Besides! What else are you going to do in those cold months you are in the house anyway? Now, what does this have to do with food? Well…food…not much…until I get to the kitchen anway. 😀 But it does have a lot to do with my mental, and emotional health. 1. It keeps me busy during those cold, slow months. 2. A clean home makes me feel so good! 3. Decluttering and freeing up space makes for less work in the long run…which also makes me feel good! How to get started. I make a list of each section that needs done. I break it down by room. (I like lists. I like marking things off of lists!) Example:Master BathroomWallsCeilingCabinets/drawers under sinkLinen ClosetMedicine cabinetWalk-in Closet x2 (I usually take 2 days to work on this. The closet is off our bathroom)tub/sink/toiletFloors I do this with each room in the house. You can work on as little or as much each day as you want, but broken down this way is so much easier for me. As I go through things…I empty every cabinet/drawer/closet…whatever I am working on…I have 4 general questions I follow. Have I used this within the last year? Does it have sentimental value to me? If I was shopping right now would I buy it? If it’s broken, is it worth fixing? If the answer is NO…it goes either to the trash, donate (a lot ends up here), or selling pile…depending on what it is. I generally start on the main living level, but by the time I get to the basement I get in a hurry to finish. So this year I am shaking it up a bit, and starting in the basement. I know I will do the main level, so I am doing it last. If you want to follow along with me, you can follow each days task in my Instagram stories. It is all part of my health and wellbeing. As for “food news”. I am back to being extra strict for a while. So basically, lots of veggies, & protein. I haven’t felt super good lately and felt like I needed to be a little stricter. So even the “allowed” treats are being put on hold for now. I will still be blogging and posting so check back often! My goal is to TRY to blog at least once a week. Sometimes that is not doable, but it is my goal…