This weekend as I walked through the living room, my daughter-in-law offered to help me organize my sewing center. I froze in my tracks! Panic and fear coursed through my body – my mouth went dry, and I got a lump in my throat – I quickly said, “No, thank you. I’m not ready to face it.” Do you feel the same way about decluttering, too?
Decluttering My Mind
You see, those of us who have a clutter tendency often have an emotional response to throwing things away or organizing the items we want to keep. It’s not necessarily the items themselves that we’re attached to, but rather the uncomfortable emotions associated with the process of handling each item and making a decision as to what to do with it.
I continued to feel panic and fear for a brief time. Then, I felt guilty for quite a while. Later, I decided that even though I’m not an avid meditator, I should sit calmly with these emotions and just recognize that that’s what I was feeling. I didn’t analyze them or try to get rid of them. I just felt them. I was at ease when I walked back through the living room.
This morning, I woke up and looked around my bedroom. The yarns were stashed and un-stashed all over it. That’s pretty typical. I thought, “I’m ready to declutter my yarn and hooks.” And so, I did… Calmly… By decluttering my thoughts, I was able to declutter my room.
Takeaway
I guess my takeaway would be, that before solving anything, you have to mind your personal state first. In my case, I wasn’t able to declutter my room without first decluttering my thoughts. It’s important to prepare yourself whenever you have to do something big or change something. Had I not tried to calmly approach the situation, I wouldn’t have been able to do what needed to be done.
By paying attention to what I was feeling at the moment and the state of my mind, I was able to deal with my emotions and address what was bothering me. Once I had that figured out, it was easier to keep calm and form a decision to declutter the room. So I suggest that before making a huge decision, you must first “declutter your mind” by trying to understand your emotions.
So take a deep breath and listen to your emotions. Make sure you’re at peace and that you’re in a calm state.
What can you declutter today?
~Gail