Most people believe that decluttering is an act of returning things to their rightful places and getting rid of what’s not needed. While that’s a more practical approach to decluttering, there is a mindful approach to it that needs to be understood if you truly wish to transform your home.
Every little thing in your house carries energy that has the power to dictate how you feel. Don’t you feel a sense of discomfort every time you find yourself surrounded with clutter? That’s exactly what they call negative energy. And this negative energy builds up in your mind and body thereby affecting your productivity levels in a negative way. Similarly, when you surround yourself with only the stuff that’s useful, you make way for positive energy that adds up to your productivity levels.
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Mindful decluttering isn’t just about putting things away or rearranging them. It’s about strengthening your connection with your possessions and allowing positive energy to flow in. It also means that you need to be getting rid of stuff that you don’t feel connected with. Mindful decluttering requires you to allow your senses to feel the energy flowing from the objects in your home and get rid of what makes you feel numb or lifeless. In simple terms, if you hold an item of clothing and you find yourself focusing on how worn out it is rather than how comfortable it is, maybe it’s a sign that the negative energy exuding from it has overpowered the positive energy and you must get rid of it as soon as possible.
While mindful decluttering takes time and practice, it’s benefits are incomparable. If you want to add a more mindful touch to your decluttering efforts, here are a few ways that can guide you through it:
1. Pay Attention To Your Senses
What if I told you that your five senses have the power to guide you through the process of decluttering? They can actually alarm you of the clutter your house has been carrying thereby signalling you to get rid of it. All you have to do is to listen to your senses when they are trying to deliver a message and act accordingly.
What do your eyes tell you when they see a piece of clothing that is worn out, tattered or stained? What does your nose tell you when it smells something odd in the refrigerator or the pantry? What does your skin tell you when it touches a surface that is dusty or rough? What does your sense of hearing tell you when a faulty appliance makes weird noises or an old alarm clock stops working? And what does your tongue tell you when a food item tastes odd? Paying attention to what your senses say can go a long way in making your home clutter-free.
2. Shop Less Often
Consumerism makes you want to buy things that you didn’t even know existed. One moment, you are doing just fine with whatever stuff you have and in another, you find yourself wanting to own irrelevant things displayed in a store. Shopping less often will help you cut down on the stuff you bring into your house thereby eliminating the need to declutter more often.
3. Surround Yourself With Right People
In today’s day and age, there’s a dire need to surround yourself with only the people who influence you in positive ways rather than pushing you to buy unneeded stuff. Seek inspiration from people who are happily embracing minimalism and are content with what they have. Don’t let social media talk you into buying stuff you don’t need. If needed, unfriend and unfollow the people whose lavish lifestyles make you want to buy everything that they have.
4. Reason With Yourself
It’s important to ask yourself a set of questions as you pick items to declutter in order to figure out what goes and what stays. Answering a few decluttering questions can help you get a clear picture of what you actually need in your home. Below are some of the questions you can ask yourself:
- When was the last time I used this item?
- Will I buy this again?
- Do I have a similar item?
- What’s the cost of replacing this item?
5. Make Do With What You Have
Avoid bringing in new items however possible by repurposing the ones you already have. This will help ensure that there aren’t too many irrelevant items piled up in your home thereby minimizing the need to declutter. There are many ways to repurpose old items into new ones:
- Use old kitchen containers and jars to plant pots in your garden. You can also use an egg carton to plant saplings.
- Use scraps of old craftwork to create something new
- Reuse the old gift-wrapping paper instead of buying new ones
- Use lidless jars as pen holders and old towels as cleaning rugs for your pets
6. Find Joy In Sharing
‘The ultimate joy of sharing’ can be a great motivation to declutter your home. If you have a hard time parting with your stuff, consider decluttering with the intention of donating. Ask yourself if there are any items in your house that can be more useful for someone else than it is to you. If yes, drop it off at a donation centre. This will help strengthen your connection with the items you’re donating, and you’ll be surprised to learn that sometimes, even the most useless of things can turn priceless if they are passed into the right hands.
There’s a reason they call decluttering a spiritual act rather than just a practice. It has the power to reduce stress and allows the flow of positive energy into your home. I cannot talk enough about how decluttering has changed my life and continues to do so. I hope this mindful decluttering guide helps transform your life by teaching you to be more aware of what you own and what every item means to you.
Keep decluttering!