Every spring we dive into deep ‘clean and declutter’ our house, to start fresh. Clean the house from the winter’s ‘dirt’, get rid of things that we don’t need anymore.
It’s called spring cleaning.
My mom would force me to actively participate, even though I hated it. And I don’t mean cleaning the windows and the carpets. I enjoyed that. These activities were my secret workouts.
The ‘declutter’ part was where I questioned everything.
“Mom, why do you have so many ‘dust collectors’?
“Why do you need this?”
“What is this anyway?”
“Where did you get this?”
“Why do you still have this? Didn’t we throw it away last year?”
“This thing is the same as that over there! Why do you have two of them?”
Every time I tried to declutter my parents house – meaning getting rid off or donating the stuff they didn’t use or needed anymore – I watched my mom take it out of the trash bags and putting it back into the boxes. For next year.
Looking back, it makes me wonder.
Do we ever really ‘clean and declutter’ our house? Clean it, maybe.
Declutter it? I don’t think so. At least, not in my experience.
Because if we really decluttered the house the first time, we wouldn’t have to do it every year, right?
So how much decluttering are we actually doing?
And if we do declutter our houses, where does more clutter coming from?
Declutter your mind
Back then I thought my mom was just sentimental (with a hint of a hoarder).
But now I understand that the ‘clutter’ was something she was used to.
It was familiar, something she has always done. My mom knew how to fill up every space in the house. To make it ‘cozy’ or ‘hommie’ – as she used to say.
But it wasn’t cozy, it was a chaotic mess.
And not only to me, to my mom as well. She never felt happy or cozy at home. She was never relaxed and chilled. My mom was depressed. I didn’t know it back then. I assumed that’s what it meant being an adult.
My mom couldn’t get rid of anything. Maybe she was so used to having her stuff for so long, she wanted to keep it – no matter what.
It didn’t matter if she hadn’t used it for the past 30 years. It didn’t matter if she even remembered why she got in in the first place.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t like it anymore…
“It was always there, so it stays there.” was my mom’s answer.
What if the “house” was your mind?
What if you could declutter your mind?
What if we could “spring-clean” the bejesus out of our minds?
Don’t you want to get rid of ‘the stuff’ that doesn’t serve you anymore?
Don’t you want to declutter your mind from thoughts and habits that make you stressed and anxious?
I do!
And I have. And I keep decluttering my house and my mind, as often as needed. Until the moment I won’t allow any clutter to enter my house or my mind. How?
1. Stand guard at the door of your mind
That’s how I started.
I started by standing guard at the door of my mind.
I watch not only WHAT comes in, but also WHO is delivering it.
Same goes for my house. I do choose carefully who I invite into my home.
You can start doing the same. Watch what you allow to enter your “home”.
2. Learn how to let go
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down,” Roy T. Bennett
I know it easier said than done. But it is crucial to allow yourself to let go of habits, thoughts, and emotions that are no longer serving you.
3. Declutter your space
The next step would be the actual decluttering of your space.
They say “we are what we eat”. Let me add to that “and what we see, think and believe”.
The less clutter we have in our vision, the less we have to worry and stress about.
The less ‘garbage’ you have laying around just because you’ve always done it this way, the less space you have for things that can help you achieve what you want in life.
Besides, you already know that people with messy work-space are less efficient and more stressed and frustrated than those who have an organized space.
So what do you say? Mind full or mindful? The choice is yours.
When you make that decision, I’ll be here waiting to guide you all the way.
I know YOU CAN! Do you?