Declutter to find your joy

As I continue my life’s work with clutter it is clear that people are being robbed of their joy. Joy is the deep peace within oneself that offer us our deepest connection to God and our relationships, including the one with ourselves. Joy is not being deliriously happy or happy all the time. Many people mistake joy for that type of outward expression. It is within oneself.

Clutter is really the devil in disguise. Any description of the devil you can think of fits in referring to clutter.

Suffocating-it sucks the life out of a room and the inhabitants

Distorted-tells us we are not worthy or that we don’t have a problem.

Liar- clutter hides and lies just like a cheating lover. It hides all of your secrets for a while anyway. Rationalizes the irrational.

Dark-hides the light in a room or in a soul

As one is caught up in clutter, it is easy to see why it’s so difficult to break from it. Emotions such as shame, guilt, sadness or doubt adhere a person to the clutter. When one is caught up in this atmosphere, there is no room for joy. Joy is light and there certainly is no light in all of this, is there? It feels very heavy as a big burden does.

What can we do to break free from the clutter to find joy?

First and foremost, this is the perfect opportunity to seek help. A therapist, good friend or Professional Organizer can really help with eliminating clutter. Decluttering is much easier when you have help.

If seeking help is not an option, here a few things you can do declutter your space.

1. Pick one area (if the entire home is filled with clutter, start small)
2. In this area, decide why you want to declutter-write it down. *this is very important because it provides focus and clarity.
3. Identify the goal for this area. Is it to be a room? Is it to store items in an more organized way to help find them at a later time? There has to be a goal to work toward! WRITE it down.
4. Work in one smaller area, going through each item. As you do ask yourself if you would like to keep it, donate it or throw it away. Permission given to throw away items that are broken, torn or stained. If you have an item you are unsure of, put it aside and keep working. Please keep this process to a 45 minute window. Take a 15 minute break. Remind yourself of the goal and get back to work. Plan to work no more than 2-3 hours if you’ve never done this type of thing before. If you have, stop at 4 hours. The reason I say stop is because your decision making will decline with each hour. The longer you go could mean decisions that are of lower quality.
5. Once you stop, make note of your success! Determine your next opportunity to work in this space and schedule it just like you would an appointment.

As you complete each area, take note of how the space feels. Note how you feel. When you feel as though you aren’t making any progress, refer back to these notes. There will be messes within the project, don’t panic. It all works out in the end. With each decluttered space, freedom from clutter will lift your soul and this will enhance your mood.

Removing obstacles such as clutter will better allow you to feel joy. It is a lifted spirit that enjoys order and organization.     Happy organizing!!

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