For the first time in two years, my car is not only cleaned out, but also wiped down, windows washed, and vacuumed. The outside was shiny until I drove down my dirt road, but it felt so good having a clean car. A shout out to Melissa Sanders for making that a reality.

Now that I have a clean car, I realize just how frustrating it has been having a dirty one. I’m always losing important things. There’s never room for passengers without moving stuff around. My floorboard doubles as trashcan and brings embarrassment if I have a last-minute passenger.

As I dug through the all the hidden holes and doors, there were so many unnecessary items located there. Why did I have a snowman ornament in my car? Or flagging tape? Sharpies? Pairs of socks? So many ridiculous items were living in my car.

This weekend was a full weekend with passengers and much traveling to different places. It was a relief to walk to my car and only place items inside instead of making several trips into the house removing unwanted items and garbage. It was nice traveling lighter.

Lighter isn’t just a physical option either—traveling lighter emotionally is another big piece as well. As many of you have been following my writing journey, you know I’m also working on traveling lighter emotionally. Dealing with emotions immediately so I’m not overwhelmed. Analyzing responses so I don’t let unwanted habits or attitudes sneak in. Resting and balancing life better so anxiety doesn’t take over. And identifying garbage and junk that just shouldn’t be there.

It’s refreshing to not be blindsided as often because I’m relearning how to deal with stuff as it comes instead of shoving and stuffing it away. Just like having a cleaner car takes off the pressure, so does working on having a cleaner heart.

What extra, unnecessary weight are you still hauling around? Has it been years since it’s been cleaned out? Maybe it’s time to do some deep cleaning. Physically. And emotionally. There’s no time like the present.