Gary Brown: Let's start our new year with a clean slate - Canton Repository

It 's New Year's Day . Your slate must be clean.

"Start your new year with a clean slate!"

That's traditional advice for starting the new year, isn't it? But what does that mean?

Well, to find the answer to this question, I logged on to what is now a trusted source of information about everyday life. I googled "clean sheet" on the internet.

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According to thefreedictionary.com's Idioms page - note I didn't say idiots - "to start over" means "to begin (something) with a fresh start, especially without mistakes or regrets". From the past."

So my advice is that once people get rid of everything that happened during that New Year's holiday, they should just wipe the slate clean. But sleep well first. I think headaches, indigestion, and embarrassment about what you ate, drank, or did to "ring in the new year" are some of the regrets we want to get rid of.

Interestingly, whenever I hear "clean our boards," I think of elementary school when the kids had to stay after school to clean the board so the teacher would atone for the sins they committed against school rules during the day . Speaking in class, taking notes, and drawing pictures come to mind instead of solving math problems.

The after-school punishment, of course, was a literal wiping of the blackboard (the blackboard and eraser had to be clear of chalk before the children could leave) and a figurative wiping of the soul. Also, the price made them pay for their mischief and gave them plenty of room in student files so they could go to school after the holidays and do more stupid things in the new year.

Don't ask me how I know that.

Why do we clean a chalkboard?

So you see, I've had some experience cleaning up young people's slates to start fresh.

Cleaning adult whiteboards is a whole different story. There may be many things that need to be removed before proceeding.

So I got back online and found several slate cleaning sites, including one by Joan Lunden, a journalist and TV presenter who, according to her website, is also a motivational speaker and successful entrepreneur. She's about my age, so I thought maybe she'd done so many stupid things in her life. I could learn from her.

"Why don't we use it every New Year's Eve to erase everything from last year's slates?" he asked in a post on his website a few years ago. "That includes all the unresolved disputes, the slingshots and darts we've encountered and all the hurt and resentment. Remember, the same fence that excludes others locks you in."

Now that's good advice. There's a lot of talk on your website about "creating a healthy lifestyle for a better future," and I was concerned that your suggestions were to clean my board with toasted pastries or to stay up late to watch old episodes of Seinfeld , so I kept looking. .

How do you clean a blackboard?

I've found many chalkboard cleaning ideas on Pinterest, which some say is one of the most in-depth sources of motivational and self-improvement information available online.

"You have BRAIN in your HEAD.

"You have your FEET in your SHOES.

"You can go anywhere

"ADDRESS YOU CHOOSE".

According to the Pinterest post, Dr. Seuss to say this. I don't know if dr. Seuss was technically a certified medical expert on the therapeutic benefits of slate cleaning, but it sounded good and it rhymed.

I also found a photo on Pinterest showing how to make a "perfect New Year's Eve dessert" using frosted cupcakes that look like the roman numerals on an antique clock. And I noticed that there was a cute picture of a "New Year's wishing tree." There was also a meme-like image on the site that read, "Today is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one."

I realize that all of this has little to do with our core issue of whiteboard cleaning, at least as far as specific instructions on how to properly clean all of our whiteboards move us forward positively.

Mais, la seule information vraiment utile que j'ai trouvée ailleurs a fait beaucoup de bruit sur le fait de ramasser des objets dans votre maison et de se débarrasser des objets indésirables et inutilisés, car la meilleure façon de nettoyer votre ardoise est de desencombrer votre Vicinity.

That's probably good advice too, but I don't want to be the only one telling you to start spring cleaning in the middle of winter.

Contact Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com .

On Twitter: @gbrownREP

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