When you declutter your life, it clears more than your room or space, it clears room for your free spirit to breathe.
As a free spirit it's important to have to have freedom of movement and to allow energy to flow, and you block that if you've cluttered up your life. And I'm not only talking about material clutter, I'm talking mental, spiritual and energy clutter too.
So today I’m inviting you to declutter your life and get rid of stagnant energy.
Anything that does not represent your free spirited nature - get rid of it. This includes material things like clothes that just don't reflect who you are – even beautiful dresses that you NEVER wear – pass them on, donate, or even sell them. Clutter around the home - never used toiletries, that fill up cupboards in your bathroom - time to let them go.
But it also includes ideas, thoughts and habits. If they're part of the energy that's keeping you stuck - jettison them too.
What does this do?
It eliminates distractions and it clears the chaos in your home, your office and in your mind too.
I'm sure you've had times when you feel you're guilty of procrastinating – meaning that you’re finding unimportant things to do when you should be just doing the work - like tidying your desk instead of writing that email, or clearing out the fridge instead of getting on with the cooking.
By and large we've been led to believe this is wasting time, and, as I said, procrastinating. But what if I told you that actually, it's the perfect thing to do before getting stuck in to whatever task you need to do?
The thing is, tidying up and getting rid of clutter is actually a great way to set yourself up for productive time. It energises you and it clears the overcrowded energy in the space you're in. Just don’t overdo it, and only do it when it needs to be done.
There’s a reason that homes for sale are ‘staged’ in a minimalist
fashion. We are naturally attracted to areas
that are open and free of clutter, we feel calmer and in some way more
expansive.
And as you feel the freedom that more space in your home brings you,
you are less likely to buy indiscriminately to fill it up again - so you save money too!
I have a daily routine, at the end of every work session I clear up my office. I get rid of rubbish, put books away and only leave absolute necessities on my desk. The result is, when I walk in next time I feel clear and energetic about what I am going to do in that space. As opposed to overwhelmed by the stuff that is hanging around.
I mean - decluttering guidelines... although decluttering does rule too!! Anyway, there are some things you need to be conscious of as you begin this cleansing process:
Don’t just replace the clutter with different clutter. There is a deeper reason at play if you keep ending up with too much in your cupboards, or keeping things within your sight rather than putting them away – if you don’t deal with that in the long run you will just clutter yourself up again.
Make it as easy for yourself as possible. Start with the obvious… just declutter what is in sight, and even that you can organize into different piles and only do one a day, for example. Then you can move into closets, cupboards and drawers… Here is a great blog to help you declutter your life.
Make the decision not to keep things out of obligation, or because of the memories they hold. Hey, I’m not talking about your grandmother’s wedding ring here, but those old tickets to a show your friend took you to, the ghastly vase Auntie Edna gave you 4 years ago… really?
Plan what you’ll do with everything. Of course there is the junk that just has to go in the bin. If it’s big take it to the tip. Items in better condition can be recycled or you can sell it on eBay or Gumtree.
Finally – Marie Kondo, who wrote the best seller The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up, says that the main message she wants to get through to people is to only keep in your home things that bring you joy…. I think that’s a great place to begin.
Start with your home or office. Choose an area where you feel most called to… here are some ideas that may get you going...
Well... we are talking about decluttering your life after all! What I mean by this is, all those things you do just because.... you do, or you feel obliged or because your friends do or say you should. Stop doing them! Declutter your whole life.
This makes space for those things that you DO want to do. It may be that it makes space for nothing. Because if you're like me, as a free spirit, you want to act in the spur of the moment, following inspiration. You cannot do that if your life is one constant run-around.
Yes, you can declutter your finances as well.
And so you can go through your home and your life, clearing and throwing out and putting away. It's one of those jobs that may not appeal much to start with, but will leave you with such a feeling of zen-like achievement once you've done it.
And you’ll find that you have so much more appreciation for the things you still have, because they’re all things that are useful and that you love.
However, I do have one caveat. Remember that old saying 'don't throw out the baby with the bathwater'? Don’t get too overexcited and throw out stuff that means something special to you.
I had an experience when I decided, after reading many articles about it, that I needed to get rid of all my ‘stuff’. I was moving, so I literally gave away most of my furniture, slightly old and tatty as it was, and sold for a very low price anything that was more new and shiny looking.
I regret that to this day. It’s one of the few things I have regretted in my whole life, believe it or not. The thing is I didn’t have an abundance of stuff – I just had things that worked well for me, that were comfy and serviceable and in some cases quite cool as well. Things that I loved.
Of course this wasn’t a simple decluttering process, it was a decision I made when planning an international relocation, so I have had to replace it. But the message is - there are some things that you just love and that are useful too – don’t be too quick to just throw them on the junk heap.
Once you’ve started to declutter your life you’ll find yourself wanting to do more because you're feeling much more centered and balanced. And a mindset that is balanced is much calmer is far more effective than when it’s clouded with clutter.
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