A Lifetime of Pivots

When people hear the words spring cleaning, they usually think of closets, junk drawers, and that one cabinet in the kitchen where lids go to die.

But if I’m being honest, the deeper cleaning in my life has rarely started with a mop.

What I’ve learned the hard way is that life doesn’t stand still.

Every time the universe has thrown me a curveball, I’ve had to pivot. And when you pivot enough, you start learning what gets to come with you and what needs to be left behind.

Not everything survives the turn.

Sometimes, it’s physical clutter. Sometimes, it’s routines. Sometimes, it’s relationships. Sometimes it’s the version of your life you thought you’d still be living by now.

A couple of years ago, I made a major move from California back to Pennsylvania. That wasn’t just packing boxes and changing states. It was its own kind of spiritual decluttering.

So were the endings; Relationships, Friendships, Expectations, Ways of living that fit one season of my life but not the next.

That, to me, is the real work.

Not just clearing a shelf. Clearing room to think. Clearing room to breathe. Clearing room for what actually fits the life you have now.

Sometimes that feels freeing. Sometimes it feels like grief with a to-do list.

But every time I’ve had to start over, shift direction, or let something go, the same question has shown up:

What still belongs with me now?

That’s the part nobody really tells you.

Decluttering isn’t always about getting rid of junk. Sometimes it’s about admitting that you’ve outgrown something, even if you once loved it. Even if it once made sense. Even if letting it go stings a little.

I think that’s what spring asks of us.

Not to become perfect. Not to reinvent ourselves by Tuesday. Just to look around honestly and say: this still fits, this doesn’t, this comes with me, this stays here.

That’s the kind of clearing that not just changes a you but frees you.