Everything has a shelf life

I finally threw out the Children’s Nyquil that has been in my medicine cabinet since my nephew was one year old and visiting his Auntie Deb.  He’s almost nine now.  The Nyquil expired long ago and as we all know it’s never a good idea to keep things past their expiration date.  I’ve been on a Spring cleaning tear lately.  Going through every drawer, shelf and closet and getting rid of everything that has expired, that I no longer need and that is no longer working for me.

Everything has a shelf life.  Everything has an expiration date.  This is true for our lives to.  Face it – we all face an expiration date.   Therefore it’s a great idea to occasionally take stock of everything in our lives and decide what should stay and what should go.  Too often we hang onto things long past their expiration dates.  This applies to our stuff, jobs, businesses, great ideas and yes – our relationships.  Now is a great time to clean out the closets in your house, in your business and your life. 

Dig in deep, get into every corner and pull out everything.  Then decide what to do with it.  Consider these five options.

1. Keep it.  It’s working for you.  Put it right back where it belongs.
2. Keep it and improve it.  Give it a good polish, pay attention to it.  Let it know you appreciate it.
3. Keep it but find a new use for it.  Re-purpose it.  Give it new life.
4. Give it away.  Donate it – delegate it to someone else who might appreciate it and handle it well.
5. Sell it and use the money for something new. 
6. Toss it.  Trash it.  Get rid of it.  Let it go. 

There’s something so freeing about getting rid of what you don’t need or is no longer working for you.  It makes you feel lighter and in control.  Whether it’s your stuff, career, business or a relationship you can’t move forward until you create space to do so.  We outgrow things.  We change.  It’s ok to let things go.  It’s never healthy to hold onto to things beyond their expiration date, yet we do it all the time and don’t allow space in our lives for what we need now and into the future. 

Open your fridge.  I’ll bet you have bottles of salad dressing in there that have been there long past their shelf life.   They are likely cluttering that side shelf so much so that there is no room for anything new there.  Get rid of the old dressing!   Especially the expired blue cheese dressing!  It’s stinky  - so let it go!  It’s bad for you too keep it.  It will hurt you.  You’ll feel much better knowing it’s outta there and free up valuable shelf space for a new dressing that will be fresh, meet your current needs, taste great and not hurt you.

Do the same in your medicine cabinet then apply the shelf life test to the rest of your life.  Get rid of the old to make room for the new!