Decluttering

Otherwise known as clearing out the trash.

I am itching to get back out to my container garden!

Yes, I’m in New Jersey and we’re still under a blanket of snow but, 60 degree weather is in my 10-day forecast and I’m beyond excited!

There is an unquestionable movement away from stillness and quiet and, while I love the journey inward during the Fall and Winter, I’m ready for the time of Awakening that is Spring! As I’m writing this, we’re 20 days and 21 hours away from the Vernal Equinox arriving at 10:46am EDT (yes, we’ll be doing that spring-forward madness with the clocks before then 😒) on March 20th, 2026.

I’m taking a deep breath and, along with the snow and ice, I’m melting into the promise that is the return of a new growing season!

And, one of the first things I have to do, is clean up my garden! I have seeds started indoors but I have to amend the soil and muck of last year’s remains before I put anything back into those pots!

Same is true of my projects for this year. Seed starting has already begun and no, I will not be transferring anything into this year’s garden until I’ve finished my clean-up and amended the soil, using my compost pile.

Yes, when I say declutter, I am talking about tending to my detritus and making black gold out of the waste. Don’t get it twisted, what didn’t work out, what I had to prune back or pull out of the dirt doesn’t always get released to be neutralized into the ether. I visualize turning it into a personal compost pile to allow it to decompose and return to me as nutrients for my next planting.

I don’t waste lessons learned. At least, I try my best not to.

I’ve put prime Personal Concerns of my own blood, sweat and tears into that work and if last year’s efforts didn’t produce enough or anything at all, I’m taking those workings and turning them into food to feed this years work.

I’m a tarot card reader. I had a bunch of hiccups with my work last year, mainly due to the universe telling me to take better care of myself. I cancelled events and classes and even had to move Conclave of the Mystics, a BiPOC Conference of Magicians to 2026. Those were big lessons and losses for me.

Will I be wasting the losses of last year as I do the work of tending to my seeds for this year?

I turned those losses into the compost pile, and I’m now letting the increasing late Winter warmup do its work on the pile and turn it into nutrients for what I’m working on this year.

So yes, it’s time to declutter. It’s time to clear out the trash. In these final weeks of Winter, clean up and clear out. Prepare for what you’ll be moving ahead with this growing season and move any leftover remains from last year to your own compost pile and let them feed what you’re growing this year.