Cleaning out is not at all the same thing as cleaning up. I've not been the greatest at cleaning up but I was terrible at cleaning out! That has changed - and not a moment too soon.

This phenomenon is manifesting itself in all areas of my life and the process is speeding up. I'm not certain whether it is indicative of this decade of my life or my state of mental health or both but I know it is a very good thing and way past due.

It is more than just getting rid of things.

You know the definition of insanity is to keep doing
what you've always done while expecting different results.

The most visible of my cleansings, however, does involve things and is taking place in my attic, which takes up an entire third floor with windows, closet, shelves. Everything was in place for an organized storage area but I let it get out of hand - way out of hand. It was Suzie Eppley, of Eppley Cleaning, who gently, kindly, and, thank God, persistently, nudged me to let her help me reclaim my attic. Suzie, my husband Terry, and I have spent 7 hours each at this point, and not only can we walk through the attic, but we have a handle on what will go where - including CHKD and the trash collection. I can't tell you how good it feels to see the progress.

The attic was just the beginning. Finally, after publishing Jerry Harris's articles since the mid-eighties, I've engaged his Case Handyman crew to tackle everything from putting in new outside doors to repairing the siding where we removed a second-story deck. My house is 27 years old and very well built, but it is past time for many repairs.

Cleansing can take place in relationships. Hidden agendas can surface and be addressed or ties can be severed. Even relationships that once were strong can change - after all, you and I change and when we do, the relationship between us can change. Sometimes relationships that were weak can become strong. Cleansing is simply changing what no longer works for us.

Business evolves and we must keep up. That means letting go of what no longer works. This month, for instance, we are changing one of our nine Shoppers. We enlarged our North Carolina mailing to Elizabeth City and some of its surrounding neighborhoods last year and it turned out to be the wrong time so we are stopping that for now and adding another Shopper in the Riverwalk area of Chesapeake. We will continue to mail Moyock with Great Bridge because that is a strong area for us.

Most of us think of cleaning out to be the attic type
of cleaning but I've realized that it is a state of being.
We can clean out anything that we don't want in our lives,
from annoying people to clutter to fatty foods - anything.

My body needed cleansing. No exercise and lots of fatty foods had to go. When I started working out at Body Structures last year, I had no idea how much better I could feel. It's not that I didn't know for years that I needed to do something, it's that I simply didn't do it. You know the definition of insanity is to keep doing what you've always done while expecting different results. Guess what: I'm doing something quite different and I'm getting different results!

My metamorphosis began slowly but that's okay. It's working and gaining momentum all the time. Most of us think of cleaning out to be the attic type of cleaning but I've realized that it is a state of being. We can clean out anything that we don't want in our lives, from annoying people to clutter to fatty foods - anything. All we have to do is take a look at what we don't want and begin cleaning out. I've found it takes on a life of its own after that.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.