When most of us think of clutter we get an image of physical clutter on the worktop or in the bedroom, but that’s not the only type of clutter in our lives.
Clutter comes in many forms and even though we know we don’t need it we become attached to it and don’t / won’t let it go.
If we can do that with the clothes in our wardrobe that we don’t wear any longer (or ever), what else are we holding on to that we no longer need in our lives?
It could be other physical clutter, most of us have a little clutter here and there, but too much and it can have a negative impact on your life in more ways than one, in fact quite often the amount of clutter in your home / office environment can be a reflection of just how much other ‘clutter’ you have in your life.
Common areas for physical clutter around the home are : under the bed, in the cupboards, in the garage, the attic, worktops, desk drawers, floor etc.
‘Where do I start?’ tends to be the most common question when it comes to de-cluttering.
Some say start big, attack the whole house, the entire room – and whilst this gets the job done quicker it may also be overwhelming and stop you from starting at all.
My advice if you are finding it difficult to get started is to start small, baby steps. Pick one work top, one drawer, one cupboard, under one bed or one wardrobe, as you relax into it you will gain confidence and it will become easier and you will be able to do more without getting overwhelmed by how much needs to be done.
Follow the guide below to help you decide what to keep and how to dispose of unwanted items.
The main things to remember are:
· Is it useful/practical for you
· Is it beautiful to you, does it make you smile when you see it?
The above are keepers for sure!
This goes back to one of my all-time favourite quotes – William Morris once said
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”
“What if I don’t know and I get stuck making a decision?”
Some items will not be so easy to make a decision with, it may have happy/sad memories or a gift from someone and you feel obliged to keep it… if you can’t make a decision reasonably quickly, rather than waste too much time on one item, make a small box and label it – ‘for another day when I’m stronger and more ready to let go.’ Just try not to put too many items in here.
The good news is that when you start to de-cluttering your physical environment it becomes easier to see the other clutter in your life, which is having even more of a negative impact in your life, it maybe:
Toxic people, toxic work environment, past hurts that you haven’t dealt with and released, past trauma’s, limiting beliefs that have been passed on to you, low self-esteem, putting too much pressure on yourself, comparing yourself to others, not feeling good enough, not taking care of yourself, negative self-talk, etc…
Clutter isn't just the stuff in your closet, it's anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living. - Peter Walsh
Anything that is not helping you to live the life you want is clutter, anything that is holding you back from going for or reaching your goals.
Identify what your ‘clutter’ is and find a way of removing it for good.
To help you identify your mental / emotional clutter that is holding you back a therapist is a great way to go, if you haven’t been to a therapist before, it’s very liberating, freeing and I honestly believe that it should be a normal part of taking care of ourselves to see one regularly.
There are lots of self-help books out there to help you too such as:
You Can Heal Your Life – Louise Hay
Happy De-Cluttering!
I hope you enjoyed reading Declutter Your Life from All Things Negative and Free Yourself to Live the Life of Your Dreams! Don't forget to save it to your Pinterest board for later :)
Drop in to my Etsy store Positive Life by Design for great printables to help you on your journey.
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