by Lynell Cavner, Owner & Master Certified Bowen Practitioner, Lynell & Company
Art museums know about clutter, and they don’t want it around.
A piece of art is hanging on the wall with a simple, low bench in front so a visitor can sit and contemplate, imagine and dream about the piece without distractions. The curators know how to give their visitors calm.
Clutter distracts our focus. Daydreaming doesn’t stand a chance against clutter distraction.
There is a reason that the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness” has stuck: Cleanliness and less clutter help improve our physical and mental health. Mess and clutter increase stress and cortisol production.
Just imagine your home, garage, car or office becoming clean and well organized. Hopefully it brings a smile and a sigh, then a sense of calm. We can all use a little more calm in our hectic lives. And who knows, maybe you will find that one item that you have been looking for during the last few years!
To declutter, start with the smallest room first.
Take a trash bag and for each item you have not used for one year, place it in the bag. Once the bag is full of the items you are willing to let go of, let it sit for three days to see if you can recall any of the items you placed in the bag — without looking of course.
If you cannot recall any of the items, then donate that bag to a charity of choice. If you’ve ever had a garage sale or donated bags to charity, how many items can you recall letting go of?
Sometimes, it’s fear of giving something away and then needing it the next week. How often does that really happen? What is the worst that can happen if it does? You replace it and may just find something even better!
We often have emotional ties to our stuff, and those feelings can be very strong, resulting in hanging on too long to “stuff” because we want to be reminded of the feeling or memory that came with it. Allowing those items to be released from our grip doesn’t mean the memory goes out the door with them — it just lightens our load.
Letting go of stuff is as important as forgiveness that I wrote about last month. It can set you free!