6 Steps To Clearing Emotional Clutter
Spring has finally arrived. Time to shake off the cobwebs and clear the path for new beginnings! Spring cleaning is an excellent launching pad to embark on a new season of personal growth.
Spring cleaning is not only about beautifying your home or office. It can also be very therapeutic. Clutter is more than a matter of external debris; it is a reflection of your inner state. It is a symptom that has now become a problem in its own right. Remarkably, while putting your external world in order, things start changing internally as well. This is one time when working from the outside in can be extremely effective. Spring cleaning releases an untapped source of energy that revitalizes you mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Clutter is defined both as a confused or disordered state as well as a disarranged collection of objects. The word is derived from the Middle English word 'cloteren' which means to coagulate. Clutter creates a blockage in your energy flow. It stagnates you physically and is detrimental to your health. In electronics, clutter refers to unwanted echoes that confuse the observation of signals on a radar screen. What a wonderful image of what happens to your thinking when you are surrounded by clutter.
Few of us are aware how detrimental clutter is to our overall sense of well being. Clutter is a tremendous emotional and mental drain. If I am feeling stuck, scattered, or uninspired, it is probably reflected in my working and living space. Clutter is literally and figuratively a self made obstacle course that prevents us from processing our thoughts and feelings and moving from point A to B. Just looking at it makes us feel tired, overwhelmed, and even depressed. It also keeps us locked in the past. Think of all the things you've held on to that are a part of an old identity, past jobs, defunct relationships. Where is there room for the new you to emerge?
6 Steps to Clearing Emotional Clutter:
First, select an area of your home that is calling for attention. Where in your home do you like to spend your time, where do you get the most accomplished, or just feel the happiest? You might think of your home as a map of the body; where is your heart? Once you determine the room, next focus on what is the heart of that room. It might be a desk, a reading corner, a workbench.
Second, start removing every object from that space that does not represent who you are now, what you love, or how you want to devote your time and energy. Have three containers ready: one for disposal, one to give away to an organization like Goodwill, and a smaller one for storage.
Third, organize and categorize what remains, giving each item a home equal to its importance to you. Have fun with this. Purchase some attractive and clever organizational baskets, files, or shelves.
Fourth, bring in something new to your space that represents the direction in which you want to grow, something that gives you joy to look at and reminds you of who you want to be. Again have fun selecting this item; make it a special gift to your self.
Fifth, enjoy your new space. Notice how this reclaimed space has caused your energy to shift. Take the time to basks in this new feeling. Perhaps write about it in your journal. Sixth, when you are ready, spread the joy! Move on to reclaim the next area of your home or office that is calling to you. Arise, go forth, and conquer!
Copyright (c) 2010 Karin Marcus
Spring cleaning is not only about beautifying your home or office. It can also be very therapeutic. Clutter is more than a matter of external debris; it is a reflection of your inner state. It is a symptom that has now become a problem in its own right. Remarkably, while putting your external world in order, things start changing internally as well. This is one time when working from the outside in can be extremely effective. Spring cleaning releases an untapped source of energy that revitalizes you mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Clutter is defined both as a confused or disordered state as well as a disarranged collection of objects. The word is derived from the Middle English word 'cloteren' which means to coagulate. Clutter creates a blockage in your energy flow. It stagnates you physically and is detrimental to your health. In electronics, clutter refers to unwanted echoes that confuse the observation of signals on a radar screen. What a wonderful image of what happens to your thinking when you are surrounded by clutter.
Few of us are aware how detrimental clutter is to our overall sense of well being. Clutter is a tremendous emotional and mental drain. If I am feeling stuck, scattered, or uninspired, it is probably reflected in my working and living space. Clutter is literally and figuratively a self made obstacle course that prevents us from processing our thoughts and feelings and moving from point A to B. Just looking at it makes us feel tired, overwhelmed, and even depressed. It also keeps us locked in the past. Think of all the things you've held on to that are a part of an old identity, past jobs, defunct relationships. Where is there room for the new you to emerge?
6 Steps to Clearing Emotional Clutter:
First, select an area of your home that is calling for attention. Where in your home do you like to spend your time, where do you get the most accomplished, or just feel the happiest? You might think of your home as a map of the body; where is your heart? Once you determine the room, next focus on what is the heart of that room. It might be a desk, a reading corner, a workbench.
Second, start removing every object from that space that does not represent who you are now, what you love, or how you want to devote your time and energy. Have three containers ready: one for disposal, one to give away to an organization like Goodwill, and a smaller one for storage.
Third, organize and categorize what remains, giving each item a home equal to its importance to you. Have fun with this. Purchase some attractive and clever organizational baskets, files, or shelves.
Fourth, bring in something new to your space that represents the direction in which you want to grow, something that gives you joy to look at and reminds you of who you want to be. Again have fun selecting this item; make it a special gift to your self.
Fifth, enjoy your new space. Notice how this reclaimed space has caused your energy to shift. Take the time to basks in this new feeling. Perhaps write about it in your journal. Sixth, when you are ready, spread the joy! Move on to reclaim the next area of your home or office that is calling to you. Arise, go forth, and conquer!
Copyright (c) 2010 Karin Marcus