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Creating a healthy, energetic home or office relies on diligence. It’s much easier to let your home or office become cluttered and messy than it is to keep on top of papers, throw out old magazines, or otherwise dispose of the things that you no longer need, want, or use.
For that reason, many people don’t bother with this kind of routine maintenance, and that’s what decluttering is: just another part of regular home maintenance.
It’s easy to close the closet door or shut a jumbled drawer, but you know it’s there and every time you go to open that drawer or door, that mess is there waiting for you. Simply knowing it’s there and not going away can be a source of stress.
That’s why regular cleaning — and decluttering — is so important.
How did it get that way? Only you know.
Is it a habit of dropping clothes in one spot? Maybe it’s an addiction to paper or it’s the clothes you can’t part with because you know you’ll lose that extra 10 pounds eventually.
It could be you’re not taking the time to regularly look at all that stuff and turn a blind eye to the messes and clutter you know are there.
YOU ARE THE EXPERT at your own mess.
Give yourself permission to forget about the reason why it got this way, and instead, make regular dates to declutter and let go of your excess.
Let’s go over some basics about dirty, cluttered homes versus clean and organized homes…
What does a messy, cluttered home do to you?
It makes you feel tired.
A cluttered home is a visual and psychic drain. All that stuff makes you fatigued. One of the most fatigued people I know is a collector. Antiques are her specialty. Everything is collectible. But that doesn’t mean she has to collect it. This client is slowly letting go of her addiction to collecting and her energy is rebounding.
It makes you feel hopeless.
Simply put, too much stuff is overwhelming and you can’t handle it all, so you throw your psychological hands in the air in frustration. This leads to that hopeless, it’s-all-inevitable why bother? feeling.
It drains you of money.
Ever notice the homes of the mega-wealthy? They’re a study in restraint. You notice their homes because their stuff isn’t everywhere.
Time and time again, the environments of people who are struggling to make ends meet are often jammed with clutter and mess. It’s important to keep that huge baseball cap collection in check. Be mindful of your possessions, like collectibles that have taken over the house, or if you simply have too much stuff. Get rid of all but the most meaningful things. You can do it.
How does clutter hurt you?
It makes you feel out of control in your life. That’s because the stuff is in control and you’re not.
Put yourself in the driver’s seat of your life and take control of all that stuff by donating it, throwing it away, or organizing it. Today there are more organizers available to help you find a place for almost everything in your home.
What does a clean, organized home do for you?
It gives you a sense of calm.
Imagine walking into a room where the tops are cleared off and there are no papers and mess scattered about. How does it make you feel? That’s the AAAHHHH feeling you get when you walk into a hotel room…it’s neat and you can actually see the room and not all the stuff.
It gives you back your health.
Dirty, cluttered houses can make you fatigued, constipated, have back pain, and congested. Not only because there’s stuff everywhere, but because there is dust on all that stuff, and dust is nothing but negative energy. Unclog your home and see improvements in your health and well-being.
It gives you wealth.
Think about the times when you were doing well financially… As money worries pile up, did you ever make the correlation that so has all the stuff around you? Get rid of it and you will see financial flow again.
It puts you in control of your life.
Suddenly, once decluttering has happened, order appears in the Universe, you can find what you’re looking for, the feeling of being overwhelmed isn’t omnipresent and you look forward to things; life is sweet again.
What do you want from life? Check the list below for ideas on where clutter is stopping the flow.
LOVE — Clear out the SOUTHWEST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Clutter here can manifest as problems with relationships or can create health problems such as a large stomach, reproductive or elimination system problems, or bulging middle.
MONEY — Clear out the SOUTHEAST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Clutter here can create problems with lack of savings (accumulated wealth), low returns on investments, and difficulties in the hips, legs, and knees. Start a savings program — no matter how small to jump-start your wealth accumulation energy.
FRIENDS, FAME, RECOGNITION — Clear out the SOUTH corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Clutter here can create problems with receiving recognition, difficulties with friends and social contacts, as well as health problems like vision and heart issues. Brighten and lighten this area up and create open space (air feeds fire!) and watch stress come down and fun rise.
HEALTH, FAMILY GROWTH — Clear out the EAST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Problems here result in difficulties with family members, tension in the house, and problems with skin, liver, and feet. Beautify with water images to feed the wood energy of this sector and improve health and family relationships.
CAREER, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES — Clear out the NORTH corner of your home, bedroom, living room, desk, and office. Problems and clutter in this area create problems with kidneys and ears. Brighten and lighten this area, and create space to improve flow for the water energy here that brings career and business opportunities.
CHILDREN/BABIES, CREATIVITY, PROJECTS TO FLOURISH — Clear out the WEST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office to watch projects come to fruition. Clutter in this area creates problems with children, lungs, the mouth, and teeth. Add metal to this area to create movement in projects and help children.
EDUCATION, PERSONAL GROWTH, SPIRITUALITY, WRITING — Clear out the NORTHEAST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Clutter in this area keeps you from thinking clearly, and making good decisions and keeps you feeling anxious and uncertain about your life. It also affects your hands and can cause problems such as arthritis.
TRAVEL, MENTORS, HELPFUL PEOPLE —Clear out the NORTHWEST corner of your home, bedroom, living room, and office. Clutter in this area creates problems with men, the man of the house, international business and travel, and with finding people to help you and assist you in life. Excess mess in this corner can create problems with the head, such as worry, high blood pressure, and headaches. Open up this space and the world opens up for you!
Books that can help you declutter AND have good feng shui
- Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. EXCELLENT book every since feng shui enthusiast should own. This is my hands-down favorite.
- Lillian Too’s 168 Ways to Declutter Your Home by Lillian Too. The guru of feng shui (and my personal teacher) explains the connection of clutter and feng shui — including mental and spiritual clutter.
- Stop Clutter from Stealing Your Life by Mike Nelson. Nelson talks about the mental health side of clutter and how to get out from under the control of clutter.
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