This morning I walked out of my apartment in Brooklyn to go on a walk when I was hit by fresh, cooler, crisp autumn air. I felt my lungs expanding, my back straightening, my eyes squinting in the sunshine. While I was sucking in the air, my whole body suddenly felt so awake and alert. Then, a sense of giddiness literally showered me as I tucked my scarf into my jacket. I love fall (and scarves;))!

While I was out walking, my mind began to wander and I thought about what feelings I want to feel more of this fall. The one clear answer I got was that I want to feel LIGHT. When I say “light,” I am not talking about my weight or my body. I am talking about my way of being in the world. I mean “light” in the sense of feeling carefree, full of trust, giddy, confident, playful and positive. (If this is something you resonate with but just feel too overwhelmed, I have a surprise for you this Thursday, so stay tuned!!!)

Then I thought about how this feeling of “light” would find expression in my tangible, real life. I pictured myself skipping down the street, holding hands with Raz, enjoying apple ciders with my friends, making yummy fall dishes at home (I love root veggies!), wearing colorful scarves and cute fingerless gloves, painting my nails in a deeper red tone. These are just some of the images my mind fabricated. In all of these scenarios I pictured myself feeling comfortable, feminine, and beautiful in my clothes.

AND THEN… I thought about my closet (sigh!). I realized that me and my closet need to go on a fall cleanse badly!

I sometimes have a hard time letting go of things: old clothes (“This will be so comfortable when I am pregnant!” I wish I was kidding!), cards, jewelry, even random notes, photos, etc. I am holding on both to the thing and the emotional value that I associate with it. However, if I am completely honest with you, many of these things can make me feel heavy –both emotionally and when I look into the mirror. YET I am still keeping them around.

I realized that this –these things in my closet- symbolize the opposite of my desired feeling of all around lightness!

Cleaning out my closet feels icky to me, not only because I am giving things away but sometimes also because I have an underlying sense of guilt about having spent money on stuff I didn’t really wear or about giving away a shirt that was given to me by a friend or family member and so forth.

Needless to say, I needed a little help.

So, I picked up the phone and called my friend Alexis Meads. Alexis helps women clear the clutter from their life and discover self-love in the process. I asked her what she tells her clients about cleaning out their closets and this is what she told me: Cleaning out your physical surroundings is a way to practice letting go –both of physical and emotional things. It is totally natural to feel fear and anxiety about getting rid of stuff that doesn’t serve you anymore, but you set the standard of your own life by only keeping things around that make you feel good.

Alexis cut out all the BS and said: Get rid of everything that either doesn’t make you feel confident or beautiful and everything you haven’t worn in a long time.

Feeling encouraged, I attacked my closet and moved through my anxiousness with my desired feeling of “lightness” in mind.

I got rid of a bunch of things, including “going out” shirts that are not ME anymore, button-downs that made me yawn just looking at them, a pair of jeans that was clearly too tight, and 3 pairs of shorts that I would wear and then not feel beautiful in whenever I caught a reflection of myself.

I feel so much lighter already.

If you need help de-cluttering your life and discovering self-love, check out Alexis’ upcoming online course Crazy Wild Love: Bombshell Bootcamp. And because you are hearing about it from me, Alexis will even give you 20% off when you sign up using the discount code “Love.”

In the comments below, I would love to hear from you: What is your desired feeling this fall? How can you support yourself to feel this feeling?

Talk soon & happy first fall days:)

Xo,