Dear Clients and Friends, Next month I am taking off two weeks for my annual family vacation and my quarterly meditation retreat. Each one nourishes me in a different way. I find myself energized and full of laughter and joy when I spend time with my family, especially at a place we all love so much. And I feel grounded, happy and calm, when I dedicate meditation time for myself. These getaways anchor me and my year. I leave feeling more like myself, and I deeply appreciate getting back in contact with the essential nature of rest and connection. I feel aligned with what’s important instead of tethered to the busyness of my regular schedule. Summer invites us into a different rhythm. As you look at your summer calendar, I encourage you to plan some time into your schedule for rejuvenation – for yourself and for your family. With deep care, Sarah Thompson
Clean Slate Home Organizing |
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Helping Kids (and Yourself) Balance Work, Play, and Rest Summer days invite us to slow down and be more intentional about how we spend our time. After the busyness of the school year, the kids in your life need downtime – breathing room to just be. Even if your child is enrolled in camps every week this summer, and your work schedule hasn’t changed, the stretch of summer days offers the potential for creating a more spacious rhythm that balances work, rest, and play. Create a summer fun list. Take a few minutes and create a Summer Bucket List with your kids – swim in the lake, go berry picking, watch fireworks, roast marshmallows, get creemees, etc. Put this list in a prominent place in your home. Make weekly plans based on what your kids want to do, and direct them to the list when they (or you!) need inspiration for a fun activity. Separately, make a list for yourself, and get excited about summer activities just for you. Create space for unstructured time. Give your kids plenty of time this summer to do their own thing, by themselves. Unstructured playtime/downtime creates spaciousness. One of the best pieces of parenting advice I ever received was: "Stop interrupting your children when they are at play. Then, when they come to you, be completely present." I found that when my kids chose to come to me and I deliberately gave them my undivided attention for 10-15 minutes or so, they usually got what they needed and would naturally get back to their own activity. Let your time together be guided by your child’s natural rhythm. Parents often think they need to direct the schedule for their kids, and for young children this is often true. In my family, we would agree on one main activity for the day, and in the morning I would have everything prepped and ready to go. As the day unfolded, instead of insisting that we leave the house at a certain time, I would watch their cues. Without fail, they would eventually finish what they were doing and be ready for the day’s activity. Planning fewer activities and following my children’s own rhythm brought so much more ease into the flow of our day.
Pay attention to when kids are acting out or are unusually moody. Often I find that when children feel overwhelmed by activities or over-scheduling, they let us know indirectly. Too much downtime can also lead to crankiness as well. Use their behaviors to pinpoint what is not working for them and then experiment with ways you can help them bring work, rest and play into balance. This summer, no matter how much is planned, intentionally craft a rhythm that allows for an in-breath of work and activity, and an out-breath of play and rest. |
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Create a mini-retreat for yourself Intentionally cultivating time for rest and rejuvenation can invite us to be more present to ourselves, and to the people and things that are most important to us. Give yourself permission to put aside your to-do list. What do you love to do? What are you curious to try? What feels like fun for you? A retreat doesn’t have to be filled with mindful or spiritual activity. Rather, protect the time as a gift for yourself to do something intentionally outside of the busyness and routine of daily life. Ask yourself how you want to feel. Are you looking to feel calm, expansive, connected, joy-filled, relaxed, inspired? Block off your retreat time and choose an activity that’s likely to cultivate the feeling you’d like to experience. You might find yourself longing for a nap, or a walk outside. Or perhaps you’d want to finally get back to a book or a project you started a while back. Take a playful approach. If you can, leave your home. Putting aside the busyness of our day-to-day lives can sometimes be easier when we are in a new environment. Go on a hike, stay in a cabin, plan a weekend away. You don’t have to go far to feel rejuvenated and spacious. If getting away is not an option, it is still possible to create a mini retreat within you own home (yes, even if you have kids!). Bring something from your retreat back into your daily life: You might find an object from nature to bring into your space to remind you of how you want to feel. Or you might capture an insight by writing it in your calendar a week or a month from now so when you stumble upon it, it resonates with you in a different way. |
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Wraparound Families Update |
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A couch, carpet, and other household items donated by Clean Slate clients so that a young mom could furnish her apartment. |
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Thanks to the generosity of Clean Slate clients and volunteers, we continue to celebrate the courage of young moms coming out of Lund’s recovery programs and moving into their own apartment with their child. If you have furniture that you would like to donate to Wraparound Families, please let me know by completing this form. I’ll get back to you within three working days. After a recent Wraparound Families delivery, I received these kind words from a caseworker at Lund: "Thank you so much Sarah! [The mom] is very excited to be moving into her own place with her child! The support from you and Clean Slate Vermont is incredible for our clients. Your vision has become a reality and we are all so grateful for you." I want to extend a huge thank you for the many ways the Clean Slate community has brought the vision for Wraparound Families to life. |
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Furniture We Are Collecting for Wraparound Families All items need to be in beautiful condition |
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We are currently seeking these items: small bookshelves lamps dressers (not super heavy) small dining table and chairs (for max 4 people) bed frames (not mattresses at this time) couches - on the smaller side (no 7 footers!) comfy chairs household items (matching dish sets, glasses, flatware, pots and pans)
If you have a special item that is not on this list but would be perfect for a young mom and her child, please reach out to me by completing this form. |
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Nurturing Community I send inspiring updates seasonally. If you'd like to support my work, please forward this newsletter to a friend or visit my website. To learn more about my home organizing services, moving services or family coaching sessions, find Clean Slate on Facebook and Instagram @cleanslatevermont or email me at sarah@cleanslatevermont.com. |
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CLEAN SLATE: Bringing ease to your home, your move, and your family life. |
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