Declutter Your Life

Your mind will thank you for it

I just moved and it was an excrutiating endeavor. I’m not new to moving, I did that quite a few times in the last 10 years, but this time it consumed me more than I expected. I was exhausted. The reason? I had a lot of stuff!

I had lived in that last place for no more than 2 years, but between new business adventures and using shopping as a coping mechanism (it was cheaper than therapy, I kept telling myself), I had accumulated a lot of things. And now I had to do the famous keep, toss and donate pile. It wasn’t easy and it took a lot of my time. I had to face my clutter.

I don’t like the word clutter. I do love stuff! I like to show off my books and art, photos, and decorations. I like furniture. But of course, I don’t like a mess. I don’t thrive in a space where things are out of place (who does?) and where all the stuff, as special as they can be, becomes a burden to the eyes and mind. I end up spending a lot of time organizing and cleaning. There’s not much reward for this kind of job — you will have to do it again soon (especially when you have kids, like me).

After a few weeks of abandoning my writing — because I just couldn’t focus on that during the whole moving process — I finally went back and this time with a dedicated, clutter-free space to write. I still love the freedom the laptop brings, I can write anywhere, but now I’m having a chance to work from an office, with a table. And, although I’m still trying to get used to working from an office (and not just anywhere — like at the dog park or my kids’ friends birthday parties), one thing in this new experience for sure is making a difference for me: distraction is not an issue (unless I want to find an excuse to get out of the chair). It’s easier to focus.

Decluttering feels good, whether you do that to your home, your car, and even your digital life. Let’s face it: you won’t read all those hundreds, maybe thousands, of emails accumulated in your mailbox.

Disorganization can mess up your life. There are always a thousand things to do, but when they are all in a blur of a mess in your mind, the easiest thing is just to sit in front of the TV — or find any other distraction — and let the time go by. Which will make you even more frustrated for not doing your job and reaching your goals.

So set aside some time to declutter your space and your life. If just thinking about it makes you feel overwhelmed, don’t worry. Take baby steps, but do it. It’s worth it.

You can do one area at a time. Maybe your home, the computer, or even just a drawer. But you’ll feel accomplished and a little lighter. And that’s a great way to declutter your mind as well. One less thing to think about.

Declutter your home

You’ll only know how much you really own when you put it all together in a pile. So empty the drawers, and kitchen cabinets, take all the clothes out of the closet and start selecting. Some things you’ll keep, some you can donate and others go straight to the trash, no tears. You’ll be surprised at how many clothes you don’t use anymore or how many food items are already expired.

You can still store some items with sentimental value digitally — just take a picture. That’s what I did with the huge box full of arts and crafts from my kids. I plan to make a photo book out of them, which will be a neater way to store those memories.

If you want to go a step further and organize your clothes by color, as my daughter did, it will be a feast for your eyes!

Declutter your life

While I had a chance to start over and make my new home clutter-free, I noticed another area in my life that became cluttered: my life.

A friend of mine would always complain about how busy she was and show me her calendar, completely filled with commitments. I felt sorry for her because she was, in fact, extremely busy. At the same time, I felt bad for myself. It didn’t seem I was as important or had an interesting or fulfilled life because my calendar wasn't as colorful as hers — even though I was also very busy.

Today’s world seems to value too much how busy you are, both professionally and socially. Even children are sometimes extremely busy, with a ton of after-school activities and their own social calendar. This is a good thing and can enrich your life, but it can also become too much. You don’t want to be stressed. And you do need your sleep!

If you feel your life became so cluttered you’re not really living and enjoying it, it’s time to clean it up. Start by setting priorities. Whatever is not adding value to your life — be it commitments, chores, or even some people — shouldn’t be in the way.

You don’t need a packed calendar to feel fulfilled. Learning to say no can be hard, but it’s liberating.

Pay attention to your routine and make changes that will simplify your life. For example, instead of small loads of laundry every other day, choose a day of the week to do everything. Another day to do all the shopping. And another just for you, because you need to take care of yourself too.

Declutter your mind of so much noise. You don’t need to check your social media profile all the time or be on top of all the news. Take time to walk in the park and spend some quality time with the family.

The bottom line is that life can be so busy that you have to be intentional about ignoring some of the things on your to-do list to focus on what really needs to be done. And you’ll find it a lot easier to do those things if you work on a clutter-free ambient. It will be easier to find things, easier to focus on a task, and easier to get it done.

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