New year clean up: detox and declutter

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to look at increasing the well-being of your body and your spaces. Make 2024 your healthiest year ever. 

Did you know your body is well equipped to eliminate harmful substances all day long? A full-body detox is part of regular organ function through the kidneys, liver, digestive system, skin, and lungs. There are several proactive action steps you can take to keep your body healthy and functioning optimally.

 

• Your intestinal cells have a detoxification and excretion system that protects your gut and body from harmful toxins, such as chemicals. 

• Antibiotic use, poor dental hygiene, and poor diet quality can cause an unhealthy shift in bacteria that weakens your immune and detoxification systems and increase your risk of disease and inflammation. 

• Good gut health is enhanced with prebiotics, a type of fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your gut called probiotics. Foods rich in prebiotics include tomatoes, artichokes, bananas, asparagus, onions, garlic, barley, legumes, potatoes, and oats.

 

• Avoid pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, tobacco smoke, alcohol, and harsh cleaning and body care products. 

• Research links high consumption of sugary and highly processed foods to obesity and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. These diseases hinder your body’s ability to naturally detoxify by harming organs that play an important role, such as your liver and kidneys.

 

Make sure your elimination systems are optimized. 

• Drink plenty of water to keep flushing out what your body doesn’t need. 

• Your skin is a major elimination organ. Sweat often. Treat yourself to a sauna. Low impact aerobic exercise induces sweating, helps increase your lymphatic circulation and deep breathing. 

• Be sure you are consistently having regular bowel movements.

 

The new year is also the perfect time to declutter, streamline, and organize your space so that you can create time, space, and energy for other goals you have for 2024. 

Why declutter? Removing clutter takes away visual interruptions and can feel like a breath of fresh air. Paring down and getting organized promotes greater productivity, a sense of order, feelings of self-efficacy; and it can improve your mood. The golden rule of decluttering is to keep what you need and what makes you happy. Does it have sentimental value and warms your heart? Is it beautiful and makes you smile every time you see it?  

When assessing your belongings, imagine making some of your money back by selling them. If you don’t think it’s worth the effort to sell, give it away to people you know who will use it. Gift your family and friends. Do you have a friend you can pass along your children’s clothes and toys to as they grow out of them? Have you checked out the Buy Nothing or free cycle group in your neighborhood? We have so many community donation centers for your gifting, as well. 

 

• Don’t keep things you might need someday. Trust yourself. Pass anything you do not use at least once a year. 

• Don’t create piles to go through later. If you know you don’t want to keep something, like a piece of mail, toss it into recycling immediately. Touching things multiple times before getting rid of them costs time, energy, space, and effort.

• If you have too many of somethings, sort them out to see which is your favorite. Your duplicates deserve a new home.

• Keep a donate box or bag accessible at all times. As you pick up something you know you don’t want to keep, rather than put it away, put it in your donation box. Set it in your car or remove it from the house when it is full and replace it with an empty container.

• Declutter one area at a time. Make it a deep declutter in a small area when you feel moved to increase the well-being of your spaces.

• If you’re buying things you don’t need, take a hard look at your spending. 

Give your body and your home a fresh start in 2024!