Spring Cleaning ?? What is it about Spring and Cleaning ? It almost has a happy energetic ring to it, a sense of light heartedness comes over you. Suddenly, you find yourself awakened from the long winter quasi- hibernation mood you were in. Remember those cold winter weekends, which kept you glued to the televison watching re-runs of Marie Kondo’s decluttering tips ? She seems to be the rage now, on the Netflix world of “tidying up” ! You promised yourself then, that once winter was done you will practice her KonMari system to the T. (Kondo’s method of organising is known as the KonMari method, and consists of gathering together all of one’s belongings, one category at a time, and then keeping only those things that “spark joy” and choosing a place for everything from then on.)
While your mind understood what she was talking about, your body had it’s own rules for winter. After what seemed like a rough winter I am so ready to welcome spring with open arms. Did someone just say, spring cleaning ? I heard it too!
If you are someone like me, who likes to make a “To Do List” and then check each item once they are done, well then, we are on the same page. Organizing my blog site, topped my list of “To do Things” this winter.
Writing to me has always been about finding my voice, I find it therapeutic. just like gardening or cooking. What started initially as a virtual space to jot down tried and tested recipes for posterity, soon turned into a blog with a life of its own, evolving each day . I found myself through it’s pages and so I kept writing. Days turned into months, months into years and somewhere between the lines my healing happened. My mind and writing was ready for a spring clean, this season and what better place to start than my blog site, I thought, which had held me together during challenging times ?
Organizing my blog site, it was ! I sat in front of my laptop and for a second thought about the Konmari technique of “holding on to only those that sparked joy”, the rest need to go and so it did! During the long months of winter, we hunker down and keep warm, that is when the dust and clutter starts to accumulate in our space.The same principle holds true to our life too,there are seasons of accumulation and seasons of clearing out.
Organizing one’s physical, mental and even blog space clears clutter, relieves stress and makes space for new joy to find you in a myriad ways . I decided to give my blog site a facelift, organizing posts in categories, sharing pictures that sparked joy, writing words that inspired and motivated, as part of my spring cleaning project.
If you have been blogging for a while like me, you know exactly what I am talking about.Clutter starts to accumulate in our blog spaces too, where posts fall over each other and the side bar gets filled with a mish mash of distractions, that leaves our readers confused and overwhelmed.This clutter can weigh us down and cloud our inspiration to write or create. KonMari’ing my blog space did wonders to my energy levels & inspiration,and I hope you my readers find my new blog site, refreshing and easy to access and find inspiration from the posts I share here.
My Logo :
” I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us ” ~ Anne Lamott
The elephant god Ganesha, for me, has been that “grace” all of my life. Considered as the god of all beginnings and the remover of obstacles, he is the patron of art, craft and all things food related in the faith I practice. I pray that he continues to bless us and this creative space of mine, forever!
My Header / Blog Title :
On my blog, I write about anything and everything that “stirs my soul” be it on the spice filled pages of aromatic cuisines and fusion dishes I create in my kitchen, that reminds me of a bygone era of time spent with loved ones amidst laughter and joy across a dining table, or in the pages containing the nature photography I share that affirms time & time again that nature has all the answers.My hope is that the travel adventures I share here, inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and explore the world, its people, their culture, their food habits, and understand what makes each of us unique yet same in many ways. I share my thoughts and reflections on the joys of everyday living, the small nuances in life which really are the big ones, hoping we all will learn to cherish and celebrate each moment coz’ NOW is all there really is !
So tell me, what stirs your spicy soul today ?
The Header Menu Bar and the Social Icons :
The Header Menu Bar, helps you my readers, locate the different categories you are interested in, without having to wonder where to look for a particular niche.Clicking on the social icons to the right of the menu bar, makes social networking, a breeze!
The Home Page :
The Home page has a slider with recent or interesting posts on each category I share here on my blog, be it Food ,Travel, Lifestyle or Nature Photography. Below the slider you will find the carousel bar with a stream of recipes from the category index like breakfast, cakes, rice dishes etc.
The Home Page Below The Carousel Bar :
This is the space where you will find individual posts on the different categories, clicking on each would open up a single post about the topic being discussed, be it a recipe, a lifestyle, a travel post etc. The tags associated with each post occupy the footer space, so you can easily trace the tags you are interested in .This space also contains the About Me page, Insta shares and the Travel Inspiration page.
The Side Bar :
The Side Bar on the single post page contains the email subscription form, where you the reader would sign up to recieve uninterrupted posts on each blog post that is published. I’d love for you to subscribe and share your thoughts and your positive feedbacks, which would help me greatly improve my site, share ideas and create interesting future posts of topics of interest to you. The calendar below shows the dates when the posts are published and the social icons above help us network better. The Archives has a list of post published in a drop down menu bar, since my first blog post. It has been evolving ever since both in content and pictures.The Instagram Bar beneath helps me share interesting pictures each day and the latest ones would pop up on top.Go ahead and take a look , click on the ones you like and connect with me on Insta ,would love to get your feedbacks!
The Footer Bar on the HomePage :
The Footer Bar on the Home Page contains the list of categories for easy access and also has a list of recent posts, along with the Instagram Bar full of beautiful pictures.
The Footer Bar on the Single Post Page, has the subscription letter where you, my readers could sign up to recieve emails of the most recent posts.
The Fonts and the Pictures:
Tidying up the fonts and beautifying the pictures helped make my blog glow. It is evolving each day but I can definitely say it has moved ONWARD! Little tweaks still in progress but most of the spring cleaning of my blog is done.I hope to share many more interesting posts on various topics, with you and grow each day. Here’s to new beginnings filled with hope and promise, what spring is really all about !
The Spring Cleaning Challenge :
Spring is already underway, what is one thing you will do this weekend to spring clean?
