Take a second and be really honest with yourself. Look around if you are home or in your vehicle. Just close your eyes and think about those spaces if you aren’t. Really consider your space. Look at it. Really look at it. How much “stuff” do you have? Stuff that doesn’t serve you. Stuff that collects dust and frankly disrupts your hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”, a Danish concept for the feeling of cozy, contentment and wellbeing).
Physical Clutter = Mental Clutter
There is no way around this. Your physical space is a reflection of your mental space. When your physical space is cluttered, your brain is cluttered. You may find that you start to actually completely avoid entire spaces in your home, like a drawer or closet. Maybe you moved years ago and you haven’t actually unpacked all the boxes. What’s in those boxes anyway? If you feel your stomach or chest restrict at the thought of opening those closet doors or moving boxes, then it just means it is especially time that you do.
I am actually so affected by clutter that if I can see unfolded laundry in my closet I need to get up and deal with it or if I am really tired, sometimes I can shut the closet door and pretend it isn’t there. I appreciate this may sound a little crazy, but I think we all have our own version of this. It’s hard to fully relax or be creative in a space that is cluttered.
I think we can all think of a time right after we had completed a massive clean and how liberating it felt to be in a space that was clean and organized. you can really put your feet up, pull your paintbrush out, strum your guitar, or do whatever your jam is.
Your space is the sum of the physical energy of all of your stuff
Now, this math can get very confusing very quickly. The point is, as my kindergartener son explained earlier this year, we are all matter. Physical space is made of matter, and matter is ultimately energy. You are physical energy and we want the space that you have control over to raise your vibration. When you are bogged down by too much, or simply disorganized space, energy can’t flow. It gets stuck and stagnant. Think about that poor closet. You probably haven’t opened those doors except in extreme emergency to stuff something else in fast. The energy in there must be rank. It’s time to let in some light, and some air. Air is good.
Here’s the good news
Stuff is easy, relatively speaking. You can make a massive impact on your life by simply dealing with your stuff. This may be the single most significant changes you can make that is highly accessible and completely within your control! So just sort that shit.
Ok, I don’t want to underplay the challenges of genuinely dealing with your clutter. Items can easily start to hold emotional meaning. Sometimes its hard to even see through the clutter and know where to start. I understand this, and from one clutter survivor to another, here are some of the tips that have been helpful to me:
- Start with the broad categories of stuff
Break your space down into broad functional categories. Marie Kondo is the queen in this domain. But it really does make sense. I think the big take-away is that if you when you go to organize your clothes – you need to do all of your clothes. You can’t ignore one category of clothing, or clothes that are in another room. You want to make sure tat when you are using your clothes they all fit into a system. They are easy to access, easy to sort and put away. This is the only way that your work will hold up and not fall back into chaos. The same goes for the kitchen. Your camping gear. Your linen etc….
2. Start with one thing, don’t get overwhelmed
You don’t have to do everything. Starting with your clothes is a great first step. You have to wear them and you need wash them and then theoretically you put them away and repeat this process over and over again. Cleaning out your closet and organizing it so that managing your clothes becomes easier, dare I say, enjoyable, is a great step towards less mental clutter. Another massive move that can get the ball rolling is just putting like things with like. Get all of the camping stuff with the camping stuff. Get all of the linens with the linens. Get all of shoes with the shoes. You get the idea. Doing this sorts your home functionally. Then you can begin to tackle one category at a time.
3. It doesn’t have to be perfect
Like a great wine, i’ve found my organization game has become refined with time. My largest goal with all of my effort is that it is sustainable. I don’t want have to organize and re-organize over and over again. What I have found is that my effort now builds on my previous effort. The fact that I have some categories and systems working well gives me time to either fine tune them slightly or tackle something else. My initial organization may not have been perfect, but it wasn’t a waste. Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. Good is good. Good is better than nothing.
Open those windows and enjoy that fresh spring air. With a little time and little effort, it will flow freely through your home, and you can let a out the exhale of relief. Raise your vibration and get that feng back in your shui!
As always, I hope your are flourishing lately.