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How often do you focus on clearing clutter in your house? It could be draining your energy!
The past year has been interesting for me. Of course, there is still a global pandemic happening that has changed how we all move and live in the world. It’s created a new sense of normal. But of course, my life changed even more when my sweet father left this world on September 23 of 2021 year. My siblings and stepmother and I have spent plenty of time going through all of my father’s belongings. And there was SO much stuff. Of course, there were a lot of memories and things that held great meaning to my father. But there was also a lot that we know probably didn’t mean a lot…and yet those things were kept and were taking up space.
Of course, I brought plenty of the important things that belonged to my Mom and Dad back home with me after my siblings and I sorted through my Dad’s belongings. We made decisions about who would take what. It was a strange experience in a way, and yet one that so many people face every day after loved ones passed.
An overabundance of stuff
Going through my father’s belongings made me start to take a look at my own things. When you really start to look around, it’s amazing how many things you begin to accumulate over the years and decades. And I’ve gone through my belongings in the past as well. I did when I bought my house in 2005. I did it again after my ex-husband and I separated in 2014.
We place a lot of importance on material possessions. Most people chase material possessions with the belief that if they accumulate those “things” then it will help them to be happy. And getting a new car, or the latest gadget may feel good for a little bit, but lasting happiness doesn’t come from material things. External things will never be able to make you happy for very long. Happiness is an inside job. But many people don’t realize that and spend their lives chasing external things (jobs, houses, cars, relationships, money, etc.).
The pull to purge
I’ve been finding this inner calling to begin going through my belongings once again. It’s time to purge and begin clearing clutter. I’ve made the decision that the next year will be all about getting rid of everything that is no longer working in my life…beliefs, habits, relationships, and material things. Anything that isn’t aligned with who I truly am is being removed from my life.
When it comes to intentionally creating the life you want, your new life can’t come in if you’re still holding onto the old. You’ve got to clear the old away so that there is energetic space for the new to come in. And I can feel that there is a whole lot of new making its way into my life. So the old has to go.
The energy of clutter
Have you ever noticed that you feel more fatigued if your house is cluttered or messy? And you may feel overwhelmed as well. Everything around you is made up of energy. And if you happen to be sensitive to energy, having a lot of things surrounding you can be overwhelming to your energy. So it can deplete you and make you feel tired. Most empaths and highly sensitive people do better when their homes are relatively free from clutter. If you look around your house and it feels overwhelming it may be time to get organized! You may need to start clearing clutter to decrease the drain on your energy.
What if Clearing the Clutter is Overwhelming?
That is certainly a possibility, especially if you are an empath or highly sensitive person! The key is to do a little at a time. And don’t get overwhelmed looking at everything that needs to be done. If you shift your focus to clearing out one drawer or working on one area of a closet it can make things easier. You have years and even decades of material possessions to work through, so it is a marathon and not a sprint.
It is also important to realize that doing a deep clearing is going to take time. A LOT of time. And you face some emotions as you begin going through all of your things. So if you find yourself needing to step away after working for a bit, then go ahead and do just that. Don’t try to look at the room as a whole. Just focus on one little spot!
Ask for help!
If things are too overwhelming, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It can be very easy to become so overwhelmed that you just become paralyzed and avoid the cleaning and organizing that needs to be done. And that can cause the stuff to grow out of control. Enlist the help of a family member, friend, or even professional organizer to help you sort through all of the stuff. It can really be helpful to have an extra set of hands, or two. It can make the tasks less daunting to you too.
What isn’t being used?
Clearly you will know what items are garbage and need to be tossed. But what about the things that you just never use? You will most likely find that there is clothing and lots of household items that just never get used. Some of those things may hold sentimental value. You may want to continue holding onto those things. But others things don’t and are just taking up space in your home. Those are the items that would be perfect to sell or donate.
If you want to sell them, you can have a garage sale, sell them on marketplaces such as Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. Or you could find a local consignment shop that can sell your item. Or if you want to donate them, find a great local charity that has a thrift shop. I have a couple of animal rescues and a homeless shelter in my area that have thrift stores that they run as a way to help animals or people in need.
But what if I may need that item…someday
When it comes to clearing clutter I have a general rule for my things. With clothing, if I haven’t worn it in a year, then chances are probably good that I’m not going to wear it again. Now I use this rule primarily with everyday clothing and not formal wear which gets used less often. I did a post a while back about how I know if I’ve worn something within a year. You can find that here!
I typically will pull those pieces of clothing that haven’t been work in a year and will try them on. Anything that I don’t feel great in is immediately tossed into the donate or sell pile. Anything that I’m not sure of will usually always get thrown into the donate and sell pile too. If there is a piece of clothing that I really love but maybe forgot about, I may keep that. But it definitely helps to reduce my clothing.
For other items, you just need to ask yourself if you are really going to use it. If you have all of those craft supplies sitting in a closet, but you haven’t taken any time to do anything crafty for two years, do you really need to have those items taking up space and cluttering your energy?
Give yourself some tough love
When making those decisions you may have to give yourself some tough love and be totally honest with yourself. What are the chances that you are actually going to use that item within the next year? I got rid of a few small appliances in my kitchen in the past year. I had great intentions to use them, but just hadn’t used them for years. So I let those things go so that someone else could use and enjoy them! Good intentions are not the right reason to keep something!
Clearing clutter help you to feel lighter
Having a lot of clutter laying around makes you feel heavy. Literally. After my divorce many years ago, I spent a month doing some DEEP cleaning and clearing. I had many bags of garbage. I had even more big garbage bags full of things to be donated. But as I brought more of those things out of my house I noticed something amazing. I physically felt lighter. I released the things that had been taking up space in my home and life. And in doing so it cleared the energy of that “stuff” from my environment too. I found that I felt calmer and happier with fewer things in my space. And I had a lot more energy!
But because we are always buying new things and adding to the possessions in our space, it is important to clear the clutter out regularly. That is why I am going to focus on reducing the things in my space again. Because it just feels good! I hope you’ll consider doing this too! Feeling good is worth it!
Do You Need Some Additional Help?
When it comes to tackling clutter it is okay to admit that you are feeling overwhelmed! You see all of that stuff piled up and just don’t know where to begin! I found this great ebook with unique tips and tricks that can actually help you to declutter much more quickly than you would otherwise. I am an affiliate for this company, but I only promote products that I believe in and that truly can help because I don’t want to waste my time or yours. So check it out if you want!
