Why would you make the effort to purposefully declutter your physical space?

Are you feeling stressed out?

If you are then you are not alone, each month more and more people complain about fatigue and stress, and each month they are advised by alternative healers, Vastu and Feng Shui practitioners to declutter. In other words clean up their living and working spaces, one of the forms of stress relief according to  ancients in India and the Orient.

Here’s why you must declutter your space?

By decluttering, you free up your mind of space and allow fresh, relaxing energies to come in. You breathe better and you feel a few kilos lighter.

It’s a fact, the more we hold on the more we suffer. It could be atitudes, relationships even clothes of the wrong size. Our possessions are symbolic of our mind space – is it crammed with ideas, atitudes, beliefs that are no longer needed. Are we weighed down by too much to do, too little time kind of feelings or are we daunted by some of our duties?

Whatever be the cause of mental stress, declutter works when we divide and delete by at least 50%. Which also involves being a little ruthless in our acts.The best thing about it is that it can be done anytime anywhere.

Here are a few time tested tips I’ve learned from experts over the years:

• Fill one trash bag. Early in our journey towards simplicity, one of my favorite decluttering techniques was to grab a simple large trash bag and see how quickly I could fill it. While much of what I collected was trash, this could also be used to fill a bag for Goodwill.

• Take the 12-12-12 Challenge. A simple task of locating 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home can be a really fun and exciting way to quickly organize 36 things in your house. On more than one occasion, this challenge actually became a quick competition between my wife and I… and your kids don’t have to be too old to participate as well.

• Change your perspective. Unclutterer offers a powerful approach to decluttering when they offer a number of strategies to help you change your perspective and begin to notice some clutter you may have missed. Among their ideas: take photos of your house, invite over a toddler, or ask the boss to meet in your office. With all of the examples, the hope is to cause you to see your home in a new light.

• Claim what is truly important to you and discard what is not.

• Throw away the useless and the old, re-cycle or donate. The act of giving is leads to peace.

• Spend an afternoon in front of your wardrobe and wear every item you own, then give away clothes that no longer fit or match your image.

• Clean out your paper and computer files, your address book, old correspondence,etc.

• Avoid and distance yourself from relationships that drain you.

• Monitor your thoughts, and edit the negative.

Decluttering is nothing but simplifying. The less we surround ourselves with the freer we feel. Freedom leads to peace. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Let’s start today!

Email Manali at  [email protected]  to try her Fit-Yoga Class  or to try a Reiki Session to experience complete relaxation.

 

Manali is a Certified Lifestyle Coach with over 20 years of work experience and has helped many people establish the mind and body connection and balance in their lives.