De-Cluttering For Body, Mind & Spirit

For me the average household chore is only temporarily rewarding, because before you know it, the serenity which comes from the cleanliness and order you’ve just created is short lived. Dust and chaos return in a flash!

On the other hand, I find ‘de-cluttering’ much more rewarding, and more so knowing that a lot of ‘stuff’ not used in a while is either going to someone who can use it, or to help in raising funds for one of the animal charities I support.

More frequently these days, people are adopting a minimalist feng shui approach to furnishing their homes – and also in other areas of their lives – because somewhere deep down we all long for the space and lack of gadgets and stuff that our forefathers managed quite happily without.

Much has been brought to our TV screens these days in the way of reality shows about compulsive hoarding, bringing awareness about how the obsession of accumulating a vast amount of things is actually an emotional issue, rather than one of material usefulness.

Advances of modern civilization are generally limited to the material. So, our spiritual and mental progress hasn’t kept up with the material, hence people’s anguished stories, which I feel is accentuated because their spiritual development hasn’t kept up with their worldly achievements.

The benefit of clearing out that which no longer serves us helps in two major ways:

Physical Benefit

‘Out with the old and in with the new’ makes space for new things and room to bring about the manifestation of those new things on your ‘wish list’.

If an item of clothing doesn’t fit you, it doesn’t really serve your ‘space’ to keep it. Junk food, which doesn’t feed the cells of your body, does not really serve you either, so replace it with more nutritious foodstuffs. Items like these get accumulated over time and drain our energy physically and emotionally.

Sometimes we hold onto stuff because we think we ought to or because it would dishonor a deceased relative to get rid of it (trust me, I know, I still have a box of my dad’s old sheet music and he passed over 6 years ago).

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak ~ Hans Hofmann

Emotional Benefit

We can move on emotionally if we de-clutter items with any negative or sad memories attached to them. If a mental image or a memory pulls you down, perhaps it’s time to let it go.

A simple ritual can help this process by jotting down the painful, negative memory on paper. Let your emotions flow as you do this. Once this is done, rip the paper into little pieces and throw it out – preferably outside of your living space. Then allow the healing to take place. Watch your spirit and creativity soar!