Tag: clean

Welcome back Kathryn Ross for January’s The Write Spice Series — Lemon Oil: Clearing Out for a Clean Start. **

Did you eat too many sweets over the holidays?

I did. And far too many second helpings of festive foods prepared and enjoyed only at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Though my taste-buds have been blessed, my body cries out for relief from all the celebration. The post-holiday lethargy sets in as my digestive system attempts to process the influx of sugar, cheese, and carbs consumed.

That’s when I reach for the little miracles in my essential oils cabinet—and one in particular: Lemon Oil.

When I first saw a demonstration of this powerful little therapeutic grade* oil, I made sure I was first in line to get a bottle and make it a regular go-to remedy for internal cleansing. The demonstrator put one drop on a Styrofoam plate. I watched in amazement as it virtually disintegrated the plate, promising to do the same to all manner of artery and intestinal-clogging enemies in my body. SOLD!

Lemon oil remains a daily part of my nutritional regime. Just a drop in my morning water and evening tea keeps the pipes clear and clean. In January, I tend to double my lemon oil intake, to compensate for all my jolly holiday no-guilt feasting in December. The lethargy of stressed digestion is cleansed. The mental fog of too much busy and Christmas cake clears, energizing my body for the new year to come.

If only those little drops of lemon oil could make quick work of cleaning out my office and desktop in January. Like a healthy digestive cleanse, I need to collect myself after a busy year, clean the debris left behind, and see clearly my path for writing goals in the new year.

You, too?

It’s a common malady for all of us—but especially writers. We tend to begin each year with a plan. As winter turns to spring, new inspirations and opportunities arrest our attention. We collect ideas, layering them in random computer files and hard-copy folders on both our virtual and physical desktops. Working on new projects battle the monthly writing deadlines we’re already committed to, for our time and creative energy. The busy of home, family, church activities, and school responsibilities shift into hyper-drive once September rolls around, and spins into warp speed come Christmas.

It’s no wonder I can’t see an ounce of wood grain on my desk and have only a path from the door to the printer in my backroom office. I’ve stuffed myself full in my life and work and need to apply some lemon oil to clear the way and make a clean start for a healthy and productive new year. To accomplish this, I schedule a week early in January to purge and purpose.

Purge:

• Toss or file all paper items that are unnecessary. Be wise and selective.
• Clean out desk drawers. Be brutal.
• Remove unnecessary objects from your work area. Everything has a place—put it there.
• Delete random images and documents saved on your computer that are no longer useful. Watch the temptation to get sidelined with distractions.

Purpose:

• Re-think the use of your work and storage space. Think outside the box.
• Re-organize how you use your work and storage space. Plan for your new projects.
• Chart the new year with all monthly deadlines, project goals, conference plans, and personal/family aspirations.
• File random images and documents saved on your computer in new folders that are better organized for easy access. Create a folder marked Inspiration 2017 for anything you can’t quite categorize but want to keep.

Once you clear and clean your work spaces, you’ll find the new year lethargy dissipates, replaced with fresh energy and insight for stepping into a new season of activity and accomplishment. Drink a tall glass of lemon water and get to work for a productive new year! Do you have any specific tips or annual rituals you use for clearing out and making a clean start each year?

(C) 2018 Kathryn Ross

*Only ingest quality certified therapeutic grade oils. Do your research before buying!

** Please speak to your physician before making any changes to your health care regime.

Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Productions and Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. Her passion is to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, producing readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.

Writer, speaker, teacher, and enrichment artist, Kathryn Ross, sweeps readers into the story-worlds of Jane Austen, C. S. Lewis, Hannah Hurnard, Marguerite de Angeli, John Bunyan, and others, exploring powerful truths to fulfilling God’s plan for your life in her latest publication, The Gatekeeper’s Key. Discern your place and season, with encouragement to see purpose in boundaries, find comfort in trials, and gain fortitude in going forth. Short story, personal testimony, excerpts from classic literature, visual imagery, challenge questions for discussion, and journal prompts for writing assignments draw you before the Gatekeeper. It’s quite a journey—but you’re never alone. Always in His Presence, with an Invitation, a Gatekeeper, and a Key. Perhaps more than one. Purchase on Amazon or direct from Pageant Wagon Publishing.