Spring Clean Your Cluttery Space and Your Cluttered Mind
YOUR ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
Some may find cleaning out old things daunting. Others can’t imagine the thought of parting ways with something that has significant value or meaning. Yet there are those that have zero attachment to anything and find joy in purging the unnecessary clutter that can eventually create a nightmare space. Yet, clearing away things that no longer mean anything to you or that you do not need, can uplift and revitalize the space you are living in or working in. The changing of the seasons is always a nice symbolic time to prepare for the new. Yet in order to do that you must get rid of, or at least lighten up on the old.
Many people are unaware that the way their environment is organized and structured can affect the energy that the space holds. If you are sensitive to energy, you know exactly what I am talking about. If you are not, then you might not think anything of it. If the energy and feeling of a space affects you, then you know when it’s time to re-arrange, clean, or eliminate certain things to allow the energy to move freely again. If you have teenagers or even small children, isn’t it amazing how oblivious they can be to clutter? Throwing trash on the floor of their bedrooms or leaving small toys in every crevice of your home can be exhausting. Not only is it exhausting to remind them to pick up after themselves, which they rarely do, it becomes an eye sore for you to look at. You might find yourself closing their bedroom doors because you can’t even begin to understand what is happening in there!
Whether you have kids or not is irrelevant. They just contribute to the chaos faster. However, we all have the ability to get stuck with too much stuff, too many papers laying around without a home, collectibles filling every shelf, even when we no longer like them. Do you collect certain items and they are literally everywhere? Are you a lover of books and you are losing places to store them, yet you keep buying them anyway? What about your pantry? Is there food in there from 2 years ago? Do you have a buildup of personal forms, letters, tax information, just laying around piling up to God knows where? Closets, drawers, shelves, and countertops can become overcrowded zones that no longer function.
DONT’ WAIT, GET STARTED!
I had the privilege of cleaning out my son’s cluttered bedroom situation last week. Let me tell you, how in the world he lives in that filth is beyond me. He has items from months ago just laying around the bed in bags, dust bunnies collecting in every corner, empty energy drink cans stacking up, bags of all the latest hot and spicy snacks, dirty sheets, an unpleasant odor, and a pile of random papers and receipts tossed around in every which way on the top of his desk. What’s the point of having a desk if you can’t even use it? Teenagers, although he is nineteen and should be well aware of the pollution he is creating in his room. He recently complained of not sleeping well, having no motivation, etc. So, I suggested, “Let’s start in your room! Clean it up and clear it out ASAP!”
If you find yourself feeling the same way, stuck in your space, heavy, lack of motivation or struggling to get comfortable, look around you. Does your space look jam packed full of things, or is there space to breathe? Are you feeling down and therefore neglecting the home you are living in? Notice if your mental space, the thoughts roaming through your mind, is taking a toll on your physical surroundings? It’s quite common during a rut to let the space around us feel the exact same way. If you are feeling like my son, and not quite sure how to get out of the funk, then start by cleaning up around the things around you. It might be the key to get things moving again. It may not solve the clutter in your mind just yet but begin on the physical level and see if it leads to a change in your mind.
After the clean out of my son’s danger zone, he said he felt so much better! What a surprise, not really. Not only did he feel better, but his sleep was not interrupted. Imagine sleeping in an energetically stagnant mess. Nothing feels good about that. Then top off closing your door and locking in all the air flow with the unpleasant smells that were permeating, and you can begin to see why you will wake up throughout the night. There was no space for anything to flow freely. The entire room was drowning in heaviness, energy bouncing off of everything, making his space feel not only disorienting and downright dirty, but overly chaotic. Now it is fresh, clean, minimalized, organized, and breathing again. Now let’s see how long that lasts.
STAYING COMMITTED TO LIVING CLUTTER FREE
If you are trying to avoid recreating a common unsettling occurrence in your home, then it’s important to get disciplined in order to create the space you really love being in. The space isn’t going to miraculously put itself into place, is it? Before you start tearing apart your room, or your entire home for that matter, consider what has occurred that has allowed your space to get so clogged? What habits and patterns are contributing to the energetic stagnation? What is going on in your life that might be affecting your space? Is there something disruptive happening that is causing an explosion in your home too? Don’t be afraid to look at what is going on in all avenues of your life and especially inside of your thinking to discover how you allowed your environment to pile up with extras you simply don’t need?
The physical clutter we experience is stemming from somewhere, and the first place to examine with a magnifying lens is in your own mind. When the mind is racing, sabotaging you with mental dramas and fictional stories non-stop, it can distract you from creating something that truly works for you. Think about the times you’re depressed, unhappy, with no motivation to do anything. Do you want to get up and clean? Hell no! However, this can be a great opportunity to get out of your stupor and make the environment you are in feel a whole lot more comfortable. It won’t solve your inner turmoil, but it just might get the ball rolling, and honestly, that’s all you need. You need something to get moving, to get this space functioning again. Who knows, maybe it will spark a desire to go deeper into your thinking mind and get to the bottom of why you do what you do.
If you are living alone, this can be easier to do because you are the only one creating a mess. But if you are living with someone else, whether it be a roommate, a significant other, a spouse, or your children, this is a much harder task. Asking everyone to get on your page may be a challenge. However, when you show them what it feels like to live in a space that feels harmonious, peaceful, and enjoyable, they too will want to contribute to the cleansing process. If they don’t then ask them to keep their piles in their own spaces, then close the door behind you so you don’t have to look at it!
SIMPLE WAYS TO GET YOUR SPACE IN ORDER
Organization is a huge trend today. You are not deprived of massive amounts of information, books, shows, and celebrities demonstrating how they transform their dysfunctional space into a masterpiece. However, hiring a service to come and do it for you, although easier, can cost you more money than you may be willing to spend. The truth is, reworking your space does not have to break the bank. You can absolutely find simple cost-effective solutions that work! And you can learn to make this process creative, fun, and part of your regular routine, even if it’s only seasonal.
Once you are ready to dive into the hoard, no matter how big or small, and you’ve mapped out the possible reasons for this disaster zone, it does not have to be burdensome. Getting into the right frame of mind will make all the difference. This dreadful feeling will become a project you cannot wait to get your hands on. So, turn on your favorite music, get your favorite beverage, and plenty of trash bags to get started! Don’t forget cleaning rags, a vacuum, and a mop because you’re going to need them.
If you have lots of trash or things you don’t need, start by picking out all of these items and either put them into trash bags directly, or put them in a pile that is considered trash.
If you can’t decide if it’s trash or not, then do the opposite, select the items you know you either want or need to keep. This can be decorative items, collectibles, clothing of any kind, linens, kitchen supplies and gadgets, paperwork (which is often the most daunting), books, DVD’s, CD’s, old technology, etc.
Donate anything you think is still worth value that you may longer need or wish to have. Larger items can be donated to Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and any other donation service which will often come pick up your items for nothing.
Before you add anything new, clean the space from top to bottom. Use non-toxic cleaners and fresh scents, for example essential oils, to set the mood you prefer. If the temperature allows, open up your windows and let the fresh air in. Indoor spaces often become stagnant because zero fresh air is being let in.
Rearrange the space, reorganize a drawer, or change the furniture layout to see what feels right and comfortable to you. You may not want to block windows and doors, but that is also a personal preference which depends on the size and layout of the room. This is your space so see what you like in the moment. You can always change it if you realize it’s not doing what you thought it would.
Any furniture you are tired of but can’t afford to purchase something new, PAINT IT! Use Annie Sloan’s chalk paint and get creative. If you hate it, paint over it, that’s the beauty of her paint. No sanding or primer necessary. Now that’s what I’m talking about! Make it easy to switch things up.
When you need storage solutions such as plastic bins or drawer organizers, some of these can get pretty pricy. Look at cheaper online sites that can still solve your problem without putting you into debt. Amazon, Target, and TEMU have great options and price points to help solve your problem. Getting your junk drawers into order using smaller plastic organizers makes all the difference.
Finally, if you are looking for new things to make your space feel the way you desire, make sure you LOVE it. Don’t spend money just to fill the space, you’ll end up regretting it. Wait until you come across the perfect item that really speaks to you. This is your environment, and you want it to feel exactly the way you want, so be patient and you’ll come across the right things when you need to.
The more exciting you make this process, the more you will want to keep it a functional, desirable, and peaceful environment. You and everyone who comes into it will love being there, and they may not even know why.