by Sonia Choquette PhD: As springs inches upon us, (although it is freezing cold in Chicago and it’s hard to believe it’s begun or will ever come)

we all know this is traditionally the time for us to go through our homes and give everything a really thorough spring cleaning. As the days get longer and hopefully a little brighter we are ready to come out of our winter mindset and let the sunshine in.

So lets get to it. Start by clearing out the closets, the refrigerator, and if you are really interested in making way for new life, the basement, garage, and underneath the bathroom sink, getting rid of everything that no longer has a useful purpose, or uplifts your energy.

If it can be recycled, recycle it. If it can be donated, donate it. If it can be composted, compost it. Be ruthless in your effort to clear away the old and get new energy circulating into your life.

Remember that your personal environment mirrors your inner state on every level, mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

As you look around what does your home say about you right now?

If you are surrounded by clutter and useless bits and pieces, your overall vitality is going to be slowed down, and your energy field is going to be sluggish, less radiant, less attractive, and even stuck.

The more you clean, clear, wash, eliminate, and move the energy around you, the better the energy picks up inside you. This is so true for me that I don’t wait for spring to clean on this deep level. I do it every several months, just to ensure I am living in the highest, freshest, most radiant energy possible because my Spirit deserves nothing less than this kind of love and respect.

To help elevate the energy in your life, and begin to attract all the wonderful new experiences you long for, take a keen look at everything surrounding you and pare down as much as you can.

Gather up clothing you don’t wear, gifts you received and never liked or will never use, old pots and pans, and assorted dishes that clutter up the cupboards, books that you’ve read and will never read again, or have never read or will at all, and give them to charity. Don’t need for things to be old to move them along. Anything that doesn’t lift your Spirit should be put back into circulation for someone else to use and enjoy. In doing this, you are opening the way for gifts to come back to you in surprising ways as well.

I have a client who donated her piano to a school and fell in love with the new school principal as a result, so you never know what wonderful gifts await your generous recycling and re-circulating.  As you lighten the load, so will your Spirit lighten up too.

Once you clear and eliminate, do a spiritual cleansing of the energy as well. There are many ways to do this, from opening all the doors and windows and burning a little sweet grass and sage, while beating a drum or ringing a bell just to stir up old dormant vibrations and move them along. This always feels good to do and while stirring up the energy around you, notice how its stirs up the energy inside as well, maybe in ways to get you motivated and off your duff if you’ve been a bit on the lazy side.

Another wonderful way to clean both space and energy is to pour equal parts vinegar and water into a spray bottle and use it to wash down and freshen surfaces. Hold positive intentions in your heart and mind as you work, and to add even more light and love to the vibration sing as you clean.

Be thorough as you work. Get into the corners with your broom, mop and vacuum so that stagnant energy is chased away. Put on your favorite rock star music and dance your way through this part of the spring clean so you invite your joy guides in to fill up the newly cleansed energy with love and laughter.

If you want to sanctify the energy you may want to burn a fresh scented candle once you are finished with the heavier work, and as a means of blessing your newly cleared space.

Say a prayer for protection, peace, calm, and joy to fill the home and ask your divine helpers to surround it and keep it’s energy bright and beautiful for you and all who live here to dwell in. Don’t leave the candle unattended though. You want to clean and clear but not down to the ground.

As a final step in your spring-cleaning, end the experience with an Epsom salt bath to clear your aura and cut energetic cords to the past. Soak for a bit and as you do ask your higher self to usher in new and higher aspects of your Spirit to express fully though you now.

And then don’t be surprised if you spring into action with radiance, vitality, creativity and more joy than you have felt in a while.

Happy Spring. All my love, Sonia