Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Kemal Bas
Twenty years ago, clutter in my home and office was still a sizable impediment and irritation for me. Our son, Dave, stilled lived here with us at the time. Whenever Dave would see me trying to clean up, he would quip, "Who's coming to visit?" I'm sad to say that it was often a valid question! Ugh. It pulls my energy down just to think about it.
Fortunately, since then I've learned to work with my environment instead of against it. In this holistic world of ours, our personal environments have an inter-developmental relationship. The task of decluttering our home and office spaces feels very daunting at first. I like to begin with the exposed surfaces that I use the most. This gives me a lift both emotionally and practically.
photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Luis Pedrosa
So, once you've established momentum with this cycle, you climb "mountains"! Be ruthless about things in your environment that you have psychologically outgrown. Donate, recycle, up-cycle, or otherwise dispose of the things in your environment that are not serving your current best interest!
If you have trouble parting with things that you know you need to get out of your environment, here's a tip to try. You'll need a friend or family member to help you, because the trick is to not to touch the items!
Ask the other person to hold up each item so you can decide, hands free, whether you really want to keep the item. Make sure they take all the "no" items with them for proper distribution when they leave. You don't want to take the chance of regressing, which can be very tempting, so ask someone to get it out of your sphere right away!
My Dream House
A mansion with six bedrooms and filled with antiques? No thanks. Actually, I don't have to find my dream house...I just need to finish uncovering it! Michelangelo said that, to make the statue "David," he chipped away all the stone that was not part of "David," and there he was inside! I don't think I could sculpt a statue that way, but I can find my Dream House that way! I'm steadily removing all that does not reflect my husband and I as we are now.
We both run home-based businesses, so right now it's still a bit crowded in our modest home. We also have a little dog, toys and books for our grandson, and several hobbies! All of these are important to us and will definitely stay. But when I finish chipping away everything that is out of place in my Dream House, we'll have plenty of space and great Feng Shui, right here where we've been living for over 30 years!
Best of luck with your masterpiece,
Susan
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***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***
P. S. to those on my snail mail list: I'm discontinuing my paper newsletter, and I'll be communicating mainly on this blog from now on. Many thanks to those of you who, over the years, have told me that it has made a difference for you! May creative4life be useful and inspiring to you as we continue with 2011: The Year of Audacious Self-Care!
And a P.S. for all readers: contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com or 610-385-3766 if you'd like a tour guide for the adventure of Creative Living! .
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Kemal Bas
photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Luis Pedrosa
