Have you ever experienced waking up and wanting a wider space? Sometimes, it’s weird to be feeling extra motivated to get rid of things, especially if they aren’t as useful as before. However, what’s weirder is the difficulty of letting them go. Surely, we can all relate to that idea.
Excessive clutter is often a symptom and a cause of stress and can affect every facet of your life, but the very idea of getting rid of our possessions strikes fear into the hearts of many. Decluttering can make you feel better mentally, physically, and emotionally but, honestly speaking, it is easier said than done.
Tidying your things up
Here are the things we should consider when we want to declutter our things:
- Just like what Marie Kondo says on her famous Netflix show: ‘Ask yourself if your item still sparks joy in you, then thank this item for its service before hitting the kerb or the donation box.’
- Start sorting and categorising your things. Picking things and sorting it according to their categories, one item at a time.
- Lastly, maintaining. Keeping a clutter-free room is a decision and a journey. It takes continual maintenance like air duct cleaning service in NYC to free your space from clutter.
Declutter your mind
Clutter in our mind may be the worst kind of clutter. We may easily do decluttering of our things, but how do we declutter our mind?
- Organise what you keep, start journaling and listing things down like a to-do list, short term and long-term goals, random ideas, and things you want to learn. Before you go to sleep, put pen to paper – make it a habit.
- As the news easily comes to us via different social media and platforms, learn to not ingest every negative thing. If worse comes to worst when it is bottled up in your mind, do not be afraid to speak your mind to your trusted support system. It doesn’t matter if it is face-to-face, over the phone, or through online, what matters is you get things out of your mind.
- Change your state – go for a walk, get a cup of coffee, take a nap – if possible, to reset your thoughts and break unhelpful patterns. Talk to a colleague. There’s no need to feel guilty, but it’s incredible how quickly the brain gets to work when you give it some much-needed breathing space.
Life’s clutter
We may all feel overwhelmed and exhausted from our life’s clutter. We all want to reduce stress and change positively our lives.
- Remove toxic people from your life. Start evaluating all of the people in your life and then remove the people in your life who aren’t worth the time or energy. It doesn’t mean that you have to remove every person in your life, rather it is choosing who you surround yourself with, people who help to bring out the best in you.
- Simplifying life goals. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals, it gives you focus, motivation, and allows you to check your progress. Review your goals to make sure that they’re not too broad or unrealistic.
- Do not forget to unplug and unwind. You owe yourself a time to rest and recharge. As a result, you’ll be more productive and less stressed. Allow yourself to have a walk, read, or look out the window for a couple of minutes. Disconnecting your life allows you to reduces the amount of media that you’re consuming, giving you more time to reflect on your life.
Decluttering is a magical process and a never-ending task so start kicking the clutter! Tidy space and tidy mind lead to a tidy life. Let us free our life from clutter.
Dina Relojo is the social media manager of Psychreg. She is a teacher from the Philippines.
