Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self

Have you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe so unresponsive to your needs and desires, that you couldn't help it: you just had to clean up? By paying attention to these impulses we recognize the deep connection between our personal environment and our innermost selves. It's as though by shifting the arrangement of our belongings we hope to rearrange the molecules of our emotional lives as well.

Feng shui teaches us that our spaces both reflect and affect our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. When our homes become cluttered and disordered, other aspects of our lives tend to feel gridlocked as well. It's a chicken-and-egg kind of situation. Not only does a cluttered home reflect a distracted and cluttered mind, it also makes it hard to focus and think clearly. It gets easier and easier to stop making the item-by-item decisions that could put you back in control of the mess and help you to feel more in control of your life.

Eventually, we give up. The task seems overwhelming, and the clutter is so pervasive that we can't figure out where to begin. We slog through our days thinking "someday when I have the time I've got to clean this up." Clutter clearing becomes an abstract goal that awaits a mythical future time when our calendars will be free of obligations, we will awaken one weekend morning well-rested and energized, and mysteriously through some unseen grace we will have acquired the focused clarity and enthusiasm that will finally inspire us to dive in and get it done. We wait for the moment to be right before we begin, so beginning never happens.

We're approaching the clutter challenge backwards when we think this way. Regaining a sense of clarity and order is more easily achieved by putting our space in order than by trying to order and control our thoughts in a disorganized space.

Clutter saps your energy and erodes your spirit. Clutter makes it difficult to get things done, enjoy peace and quiet, or spend time the way you really want to. It adds to your stress, slows you down and drains your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Clutter is disempowering.

In feng shui terms, clutter is both a symptom and a cause of stuck energy. Opening the dictionary we see that "clutter" derives from the Old English word "clott", which means: "to cause to become blocked or obscured." Like a blood clot blocking circulation in our veins, clutter prevents energy from circulating through our homes and our lives.

As a feng shui consultant, I have worked with many clients who complain of feeling creatively or professionally blocked, or who bemoan the lack of a sense of purpose or direction in life. What I usually find in their homes are lots of things that don't reflect their personality or future aspirations. These people are surrounded by objects that have been allowed to wander in unchecked at the door or that linger on the shelf long after the relevant stage of life is past.

On an energetic level, all this stuff is preventing a clear vision of self. Anything that is neglected, unwanted, or unappealing to you will drag your energy down every time you look at it. Even a beautiful object of great value does nothing for you or your home if you don't like it. This is why we include "anything that you do not love" in a holistic definition of clutter.

Everything that surrounds you should be working for you in some way. If the things in your space are not supporting you and contributing to the positive quality of your life, it is time to do something about it!

The defeat, fatigue, and depression that you feel when you think about your clutter will start to evaporate as soon as you put yourself in action. The hard part is getting started, but once you do the magic will begin.

Clutter-clearing creates space for us to discover our true path in life and to define who we want to become. With this new vision we can consciously choose to surround ourselves with objects and imagery that reflect and support our authentic concept of self.

© 2003 Stephanie Roberts

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What Clutter-Clearing Can Do For You

You can get a pretty good idea of the benefits of clutter clearing simply by imaging your life free of all the negative effects of clutter: lack of focus and clarity; feelings of being professionally, creatively, spiritually, and/or romantically stuck; insufficient time and attention for self and family; increased stress, irritability and depression. Wouldn't it be great to be free of all these?

No matter what other factors may be dragging you down, I guarantee you that clearing your clutter will dramatically improve your mood and energy. And then any other problems you are confronting won't seem quite so bad.

When you first start clutter clearing you may be surprised at the emotions triggered by the simple act of dealing with your stuff. You think you're just cleaning out your home, but what you're really doing is rooting around in dusty corners of your psyche and coming eyeball-to-eyeball with unresolved business from the past. The personal relics that lurk within your clutter - college papers, family memorabilia, detritus from a long-dead marriage - can be easier to ignore than to carry to the dump, which is why they've been haunting the back of your closet for so many years.

As you persevere with clutter clearing a moment will come when you realize how much lighter and happier you feel. In the process of coping with your clutter, you've reconnected with your inner self, with dreams and wishes long ignored. Those you've outgrown can be released with a fond smile. Those that make your heart leap with recognition and longing... well, now you have the space, time, and energy to pursue them.

Clutter clearing gets you out of your rut. It shakes loose frozen aspects of your soul and allows them to journey into your heart where they belong and where you can listen to and act upon them.

Eventually, you will find yourself turning to clutter clearing instead of aspirin or caffeine when you notice that you're not as clear-headed, focused or insightful as you'd like to be. If you're feeling lethargic and don't want to exercise, you'll know to examine whether you've allowed a zone of stagnation to creep in around the couch (where you are most likely to be having lazy thoughts in the first place). If you can't seem to decide on priorities for your business, you'll realize it's time to clear off the desk and catch up on paperwork. And if you're not eating as well as you should, you'll remember that clearing off the kitchen counter and cleaning out the fridge will help get your eating habits back on track.

What this all boils down to is that managing your clutter helps you feel like less of a victim and puts you back in control of your moods and your life. You have greater confidence in your abilities and decisions, so you feel more hopeful and optimistic about the future. You respect yourself more, and will probably find that other people treat you better as well. You feel less stressed, and have more courage to try and do new things. You stop turning to material objects to make you happy, because you are content with less.

Clearing out your clutter creates space for possibility. You may find yourself deciding to go back to school, change your career, start your own business, go out on a date, take up painting or singing or ballroom dancing, try out for a part in a play, or... what's your dream? (No wonder clutter clearing can be a little scary! Suddenly there are no more excuses for why you can't pursue that dream.)

Your friends will say you look terrific. They'll wonder where that sparkle in your eye came from, and how you manage to look both energized and serene at the same time. It's because you have released from your life everything that is no longer useful to you. You have let go of the past and are no longer hoarding for the future. You have made space for living freely in the present, where peace resides.

© 2003 Stephanie Roberts