Becoming a Wealthy Woman

Lately I’ve been on the journey of what can I do to improve my life and so far things are going pretty good. I’ve had some hurdles to overcome and I was sidetracked for a bit, but for the most part I’m happy with the work that I’ve done and am still just as excited about achieving my goals as I was when I started. Initially, it was a “get myself out of debt” plan, but along the way I added more goals, so now my path is not only one to gain financial freedom, but also to become a better person.

I’ve been reading Suze Orman’s book entitled “Women and Money” and in it she describes how being a wealthy woman is so much more than having money. She lists 8 qualities that a woman must have to be a “wealthy woman” and I’ve made my plan for the month of April to focus on obtaining two of those qualities, the two that I so desperately need in my life right now – balance and harmony.

In order to achieve this balance and harmony in my life, I’ve begun to clean out the clutter, both literally and figuratively. They are equally difficult, equally emotionally draining and equally rewarding in the end. A few weeks ago I cleaned out my linen closet and the medicine cabinets in the bathroom. I got rid of expired medicine, medicine for infants that I obviously don’t need anymore (as my babies aren’t babies), unused hair products, etc. Now my bathroom and linen closet is clutter free and I’m able to see if I need to add something to the grocery list instead of just guessing. An added benefit is that I’m going to save myself money and not be frustrated from the clutter.

Next I went into the kitchen and cleaned out the glasses cabinet. I realized I had way too many glasses and all that caused was more dirty dishes and more clutter. Because my cabinet was full of glasses, I had things like spices cluttering the counter. I donated about 2/3rd’s of the glasses to Goodwill (you know my bleeding heart) and was able to move the spices and other things into the now half-empty cabinet. The result? Less dishes, more organization and a less cluttered countertop. It’s a win-win.

I spent last weekend cleaning out my basement. It was a pain in the ass to say the least. The basement has been the “catch-all” for the past five years. My youngest plays down there, the laundry is down there, the computer is down there, and all my paperwork plus items with sentimental value are down there. It took hours but I got the majority of it done. Now that’s not to say that everything is organized and in it’s place, and that’s not to say that I don’t have a lot of work that I still need to do, but I am saying that I have made a huge dent in a job that once seemed impossible.

I’ve also been ending relationships that no longer are productive. I know that sounds really harsh, but sometimes the hardest thing is the right thing to do. I’m talking about ending the relationships that do more harm than good. The ones that leave me feeling not only taken advantage of, but that drain me emotionally as well. Cutting those types of relationships out of my life have made me feel a huge sense of relief. No more drama. No more bullshit. No more walking on eggshells. No more giving of myself for all the wrong reasons. No more of all of my time and energy being spent in an unhealthy manner. Now I can pay more attention to my other relationships. I can pay more attention to my goals. And with my life being clutter free of the negative people, I’ve left room for the right people to come into my life. Another win-win situation.

So let’s recap. My “inner” goal for April is to find and maintain balance and harmony. In order to start working on that goal, I needed to de-clutter my life. In order to de-clutter my life, I had to let go of things, whether it’s old hair products, too many glasses or unhealthy relationships. And while at first my shelves or my cabinets or my life may seem like I have an empty void in it, what I’m really doing is the prep work that needs to be done in order to become a wealthy and completely fulfilled woman. In eliminating the clutter, I’ll be able to find my balance and my harmony because I won’t have a mess or drama or negativity to counteract the positive efforts and thoughts. My hope is that by the end of April I’ll have found ways to keep balance and harmony in my life so that when May comes I’ll be able to use those tools to work on my May goals.