Something that always arises in the early months of the year is the desire to declutter. Decluttering in itself is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It is the attitude you take toward the process that makes the difference.
If you’re lucky, there’s only a year’s worth of stuff to ponder. For most of us, however, there is usually decades’ worth of stuff we have been hanging onto for one reason or another.
What’s The Obvious Benefit Of Decluttering?
Well, you can open the closet door without an avalanche of junk falling on your head. Your office files start to be more relevant to your business today, and you actually have room for new files. You can locate things more easily. You feel a sense of achievement when you look around.
But…is that enough? It’s a quick high, and it does feel good! However, decluttering can serve a much higher purpose if you take a different approach…a psychological one.
If you’re lucky, there’s only a year’s worth of stuff to ponder. For most of us, however, there is usually decades’ worth of stuff we have been hanging onto for one reason or another.
What’s The Obvious Benefit Of Decluttering?
Well, you can open the closet door without an avalanche of junk falling on your head. Your office files start to be more relevant to your business today, and you actually have room for new files. You can locate things more easily. You feel a sense of achievement when you look around.
But…is that enough? It’s a quick high, and it does feel good! However, decluttering can serve a much higher purpose if you take a different approach…a psychological one.
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So What Is The Best Approach To Decluttering?
As you go through your stuff trying to decide what to keep and what to toss, whether it’s personal or business, be aware of the feelings that arise. The most prominent feeling is usually fear. Let me give you an example.
My husband and I rented a 10x10 storage unit when we first moved to Atlanta back in 2005. Six months later, I gave away enough of it to scale down to a 5x10. Four months later, we moved all the boxes we had in storage to the house. It’s important for you to know that I had been hauling some of this stuff around for years from one city to another. It’s true that in some of those places I was able to use a lot of these things. However, we had downsized, and it was unlikely that I would have a place to display them anytime in the near future.
The question for me became — how important is it for me to keep these things? Is it important enough to dedicate a whole room to storing them? That was sort of a “Duh!” question, but it was still difficult to address the idea of getting rid of the items that remained. So I began the journey of going through each box. I was committed to the idea that I couldn’t keep hauling these things around. I have no children to whom I could pass them down. So I divided them into three categories: junk, good stuff I don’t really need, and stuff I still want.
The difficult part was that some of these things were woodcraft items my parents had made. Releasing most of these things brought out the fear that I was losing a part of myself, a part I could never regain. I felt that I should hold on to them. Other things brought forth the fear that I might never find something else I liked as well.
I started thinking that maybe they didn’t really take up that much room. After a couple of hours of not making much progress, I realized that this whole idea of decluttering was really about TRUST. Did I trust that God, the Universe, would supply me with what I need when I need it? Did I trust that I was more than the sum total of a bunch of things, no matter how sentimental they were?
So at that moment I had a choice to make. The junk pile went into the garbage. The good stuff that I didn’t really need and some of the stuff I thought I wanted to keep became my “giveaway” pile. So I gave most of the sentimental things to a friend who has three children so they can enjoy them as a family. Some went to my siblings. The others I gave to people who live around me. When all was said and done, I had reduced my “stuff” by two-thirds!
Was the Benefit of Decluttering Gaining Extra Room in My House or Making It Easier to Find Things?
No. It was taking the step to let go of the past, the familiar, so that I can fully trust in the “evidence of things not seen.” It was an outer expression that helped me better align myself with what I say I believe. It was a way of getting my thoughts, my feelings, and my actions into harmony with each other so that I can manifest a better life.
Hopefully, you can do the same. We cannot say we believe in the abundance of the Universe and continue to hold onto the past, to things we don’t need, in fear that we will be left with nothing. Such fear counteracts or neutralizes our belief and leaves us in a void that is not satisfying.
Start 2023 off right. Release those things in your life that have no value for the life you desire or that make it impossible for you to step outside your comfort zones.
Sweet & Sassy Scribblers … on Empowerment
As you go through your stuff trying to decide what to keep and what to toss, whether it’s personal or business, be aware of the feelings that arise. The most prominent feeling is usually fear. Let me give you an example.
My husband and I rented a 10x10 storage unit when we first moved to Atlanta back in 2005. Six months later, I gave away enough of it to scale down to a 5x10. Four months later, we moved all the boxes we had in storage to the house. It’s important for you to know that I had been hauling some of this stuff around for years from one city to another. It’s true that in some of those places I was able to use a lot of these things. However, we had downsized, and it was unlikely that I would have a place to display them anytime in the near future.
The question for me became — how important is it for me to keep these things? Is it important enough to dedicate a whole room to storing them? That was sort of a “Duh!” question, but it was still difficult to address the idea of getting rid of the items that remained. So I began the journey of going through each box. I was committed to the idea that I couldn’t keep hauling these things around. I have no children to whom I could pass them down. So I divided them into three categories: junk, good stuff I don’t really need, and stuff I still want.
The difficult part was that some of these things were woodcraft items my parents had made. Releasing most of these things brought out the fear that I was losing a part of myself, a part I could never regain. I felt that I should hold on to them. Other things brought forth the fear that I might never find something else I liked as well.
I started thinking that maybe they didn’t really take up that much room. After a couple of hours of not making much progress, I realized that this whole idea of decluttering was really about TRUST. Did I trust that God, the Universe, would supply me with what I need when I need it? Did I trust that I was more than the sum total of a bunch of things, no matter how sentimental they were?
So at that moment I had a choice to make. The junk pile went into the garbage. The good stuff that I didn’t really need and some of the stuff I thought I wanted to keep became my “giveaway” pile. So I gave most of the sentimental things to a friend who has three children so they can enjoy them as a family. Some went to my siblings. The others I gave to people who live around me. When all was said and done, I had reduced my “stuff” by two-thirds!
Was the Benefit of Decluttering Gaining Extra Room in My House or Making It Easier to Find Things?
No. It was taking the step to let go of the past, the familiar, so that I can fully trust in the “evidence of things not seen.” It was an outer expression that helped me better align myself with what I say I believe. It was a way of getting my thoughts, my feelings, and my actions into harmony with each other so that I can manifest a better life.
Hopefully, you can do the same. We cannot say we believe in the abundance of the Universe and continue to hold onto the past, to things we don’t need, in fear that we will be left with nothing. Such fear counteracts or neutralizes our belief and leaves us in a void that is not satisfying.
Start 2023 off right. Release those things in your life that have no value for the life you desire or that make it impossible for you to step outside your comfort zones.
Sweet & Sassy Scribblers … on Empowerment
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