Spring Clean Your Life

I just received an email from lavalife and saw a nice article. Here it is:


Spring Clean Your Life
By Shawn Conner

"Everything in life has an expiry date."
So says author and lecturer Paul Talbot. And he's right. Whether it's milk or relationships, sometimes you just have to let it go to clear the space for something new.

And applying some of the principles in Talbot's book, Clear the Clutter and Simplify Your Life can help you sort through your love life, to jettison what's not working and concentrate on what is.

In his seminars and workshops, the British-born, Vancouver-based Talbot teaches people how to simplify their lives in six basic areas: household, lifestyle, career, health, finance and relationships. "Clutter has a domino effect," says Talbot, who calls himself "a clutter therapist."

"If you have clutter in other areas of your life as well as in relationships, it often means you're not focused, and you're usually very scattered."

With that in mind, we've come up with some areas where readers can prune, cull, reassess and reconfigure for ultimate dating success. Or at least a cleaner desk.

Image
You want to attract the opposite sex? Maybe it's time to throw out that Blue Öyster Cult concert jersey, velour tracksuit and bottle of Drakkar Noir.

"If you haven't worn it in a year, let it go," says Talbot. "You don't want to look like one of the homeless -- you want to look like you've got your life together." The same applies to old scents and makeup past its expiry date. He also recommends hiring an image consultant to help select some new threads.

"Sometimes you need someone who can be objective to do this for you," he says. We often listen to our friends, he says, but maybe we shouldn't. "Maybe there's a little jealousy there -- maybe you earn more money or are in a better position financially than they are." Which means maybe you don't look so great in those pants. Sucker.

Home
Do you have to step over piles of dirty clothes just to get to the pile of less-dirty clothes? Are you really ever going to read through those back issues of Wired? And what about that thing-slash-science fair project in the fridge?

"If you're living in a cluttered environment, the chances of you bringing someone home if you get lucky are pretty close to zero because you're embarrassed about your place," says Talbot, cutting to the chase. "Once you clear up your physical environment you feel better about yourself, and it becomes a pleasure to come home. And to bring someone back to it."

Friends
Floss your cell phone contact list, whittle down your online social network and stop hanging out with those nabobs of negativity. It sounds brutal, but maybe it's time to lose that pal who's always going on about how all women are gold diggers or all men are players or how much your city sucks when it comes to meeting people.

"I have learned over the years that people who are negative, who are always criticizing or condemning or telling you how to live your life or who to associate with... are the worst offenders," says Talbot. "They suck you dry. They're not happy in their own life, and they want to make everybody else miserable." It's not easy to say goodbye to people you've known for a long time. But sometimes, says Talbot, "You have to be cruel to be kind."