Extreme Clean-out: Books and Yoga

Totally me doing Yoga while reading!

What does Yoga have to do with an Extreme Clean-Out of my house?
It's all about attitude.
I've found that when I strive to improve one area of my life, a desire soon rises in me to try and improve others, too.
Sometimes this isn't good; bite off too much, you choke on it, right?
So keeping that in mind, I'm trying to do an overall overhaul of my lifestyle. I guess if I fall on my face, I can use the old "I tried to do too much at once!" moan as an excuse.
But here's the thing: I want to go small, right? I mean, in my next home. Should be easy, right? Just toss, dump, sell, donate, CLEAN OUT!
But who I am at 50-something has taken a long time to achieve. I didn't accumulate all these books and THINGS overnight. Remember, I'm the caretaker of the junk of many dead ancestors.
And yes, dumping 3/4 of this stuff is really, really going to help me start fresh.
But.
It isn't enough.
Besides improving the state of my house, I want to improve the state of my mind and body. If I'm not healthy, it won't matter if I achieve my goals.
So one of the areas upon which I'll focus is my physical well-being. And guess what? Going through all those books has pointed to one way to improve that.
While sorting books, I came across a book called, "A Morning Cup of Yoga."
Initially, I tossed it into a keep pile, figuring I'd look at it someday -- as I've intended for years since buying it. (Lies to herself.)
Four or five days into my Extreme Clean-Out, I found myself with a different attitude.

My spiffy Fitbit!

It may have something to do with my new Fitbit, too. I traded in my cute little Fitbit Zip for a more advanced product, the Fitbit Charge. It tells me how many steps I've taken, as well as monitoring my heart rate and sleep habits (seriously!) and telling me how many flights of stairs I've climbed and calories I've burned daily. (No, I don't own Fitbit stock. Heh.)
With that kind of information, how can I NOT try my best to live a little better?
I'm not going to be crazy about this. I'm not swearing off snacks, wine, coffee, fat, salt, in fact, all the good stuff. But I'll try to eat a little less of that stuff, and a little more whole grain, greenery, plain water, etc. And chocolate. Because . . . just because.
And I'm trying to exercise daily. This is mostly walking -- haven't made the 10,000 steps yet, but I hit 7,000 yesterday, and I'm at 5,500 today so far.
I've got to be honest. You're probably not going to see photos of me on FB at the finish line of a race.
But today I figured I'd toss in a little living room Yoga. I just followed the pictures in the book!
It didn't hurt. Much.
So. That's a start.
I have a long, long way to go this summer if I hope to greet the fall with a cleaned-out home, organized closets, and fitter, healthier me.
Everything positive I do towards that deserves a reward. (Okay, I had a piece of cake. That's a good reward! I thank my friend, Linda, for that. But first, I made her walk with me!)

The Book Hallway

The Sell/Donate Pile is Growing!

And I've culled a couple hundred more books from tonight's target, the book hallway. That, as it turns out, is going to take more than one day. I just keep getting sucked in! (I'd forgotten I have this entire series of vampire romances by Lynsay Sands! Yummy!)
So tomorrow, book hallway again. A little more walking. And I'll feel a little bit better about me!
Of course, I haven't tackled my next project yet -- clothes! It'll make books look easy-peasey. I'm not sure I'll have the courage to post pictures of my pile of clothes, my packed closets, my disorderly drawers. We'll see. I guess if a little embarrassment helps me proceed, it'll be worth it.
(I'd love to hear your stories about your clean-out journey. If you're doing an extreme clean-out, post comments here. Pics, too! We can do it together!) 

I'd rather be reading!