Monday, May 5, 2008

De-cluttering is not always calming

I guess I encourage people to de-clutter. I say this because a friend recently emailed to tell me she had done some de-cluttering. YAY for her! (I recalled my bridal shower where friends reminded me of fun experiences we had shared. I would guess that over half of my friends mentioned something about me helping them de-clutter or because of a conversation they had de-cluttered or gone through their closet.) I love talking with people about this topic. This friend that emailed said that her efforts weren't the calm, feng shiu type of de-cluttering. I emailed back to encourage her to de-clutter when you've got the "bug" or urge to do it, and that in my experience de-cluttering isn't necessarily a calming action. De-cluttering tends to bring up a lot of issues. I can choose to let the item (and it's associated negative energies and/or memories) go, or I choose not to. Some things are harder to make a decision about when it comes to decision time.

Do I use it? No. Do I keep it? Yes. Should I keep it? WRONG question to ask! Should is not a nice word. It implies expectations. It often also shifts the responsibility of keeping the item to an external "other" that we are trying to please. Should I keep it? Should implies that you are trying to seek or are seeking the approval of some outside being (or someone or something other than yourself) to determine if YOU are going to be responsible for keeping that object.

So, there's a lot going on when you are de-cluttering. Issues are brought to the forefront of your mind again (both good and bad), you are faced with making a decision about the item(s) or post-poning the decision again, and then there is always disposal. De-cluttering is not what I would call calming, but I often am energized by de-cluttering. And I LOVE the feeling of a room when a lot of "guck" has been cleared out of it!

So, de -cluttering does not necessarily equal a calm experience, but I find that the end result is a more calm environment and feeling better! Happy de-cluttering!

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