http://www.care2.com/greenliving/declutter-for-peace-and-beauty.html
Declutter Your Way to Peace and Beauty
By Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment (Rodale, 2005).
Practitioners of meditation have long known that spiritual growth leads to less clutter, but a new trend does it in reverse. People are now decluttering their way to spiritual growth! The end result from both processes is the same: Simplicity brought about by a yearning for peaceful beauty. Peaceful beauty! Such a place is not where you find old stuck energy that has ended in a confused mess! No wonder the No. 1 rule of feng shui is to remove clutter! Declutter your way to spiritual growth using Clutter Codes. Here’s what they are, and how they help:
Decluttering your way to spiritual growth is about dealing with the issues of our lives that come up when dealing with the clutter. Are your mother’s ashes on the mantle piece? Are you 50 years old and still have every test and paper from high school? Instead of seeing clutter as a meaningless mess, you can classify it and begin to understand its place in your life. Some clutter can stay, some must go. Coping with the meaning of the clutter provides spiritual healing.
Tag all of your clutter with one of the following Clutter Codes. I’ve given some examples for each one. Once you’ve coded your clutter, resolve clutter that falls in the “stagnant” code first. Stagnant energy holds you back and festers. On the other end of the spectrum, “active” clutter can remain. Active energy is alive and vibrant!
Stagnant: Things that you can no longer use.
A pile of magazines and catalogs that has been read or are no longer relevant and out of date. (You know you will never go back to them.)
Clothes that no longer fit.
Old vitamins and pills.
Expired coupons.
Stuck: Things that you will probably not use.
Papers, magazines, fliers that you think you might peruse but most likely will eventually become stagnant.
Books you may or may not read, but probably won’t.
The high school papers, mentioned above.
Broken items that you want to fix, but probably won’t.
Unfinished craft projects.
Waiting: Things you use very occasionally or seasonally.
Holiday and seasonal decorations that aren’t stored coherently.
Seasonal clothing and sporting equipment that don’t have an off-season home.
Active and Disorganized: Things that you use regularly, but not frequently.
Clothes, papers, projects that are may be used within a few weeks but that are “homeless” in that they are not filed, processed or stored in a way that is out of the way. (This is more about “mess” than “clutter.”)
Kitchen appliances that you use only occasionally.
Active: Things that you actively use
Activities of the day, or the next few days, that are in process.
Things that you like easy access to for daily use—sunglasses, coats, schoolbags, etc.
More from Annie B. Bond (3251 articles available)
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115 comments
add your comment »Regarding clutter, I read somewhere: "If it doesn't tug at your soul, let it go."
This has helped me decide what to keep and what to toss.
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LaShaune-yes, sometimes its people that are "cluttering"
up your mind, your attitude and energy, its importnat to keep positive people around when we are changing and trying to unclutter our minds and homes!
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WoW! I have to save clutter on the outside is proof of what a person is like on the inside (the heart and/or the head). I have found myself in such a predicament... I am in the process of ridding the clutter from the inside and out. It is lots of work. Perhaps, because people are soooo judgemental. As they say, damned if you do and damned if you don't. However, I am the person that must live with me. I decided to make me a better person regardless of anyone or anything. Now,I am a single, 38 yr. old student, with dreams, aspirations, accomplishments (with scars), but oh, so very worth clearing the clutter. Clutter can be people, events, thoughts or things. Its is important to take the trash out routinely. Sincerely, L.A.
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well, when you have lived in dysfunction and the clutter that goes along with it, you really have no idea how good it feels to live another way, it took me doing a lot of work on my insides, to make my outsides different. It wasn't easy, a lot of blood sweat and tears, but sooo worth it!
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Hi Brenda,
It's great that you are living in a clutter free environment! Congratulations! Hope you are happier and your space feels good to you.
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I lived like that for years, I was dysfuntional and so was my ex husband, niether of us were very orgainzed when we met,and both ADD, undiagnosed at the time.We had 3 babies in 3 yrs, living in a house that was 100 plus years old, in major direpair. Eventually, I changed and he didnt, needless to say, 8 years later, Im living clutter free, and much happer, its like dr Phil says, "ya can't change what you don't acknoledge"
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cool
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Hi Gitie
In response to your post, yes, it's important what the heart wants and sometimes people become obsessed with perfection. That is not my case. I have a friend whose home was condemned by the fire dept. She and her aged mother had to move because the home was unfit to live in. She went to the opposite extreme and never cleaned or did any organizing at all. It's very sad she could not control any of her clutter because she's out of her own home now! I don't even know where these two women are living at the moment. Obviously, there has to be a healthy balance in this.
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While its important to declutter, some people get very obsessive about it. That is not healthy either. Ultimately its what's in the heart that matters.
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Hi V
Yes, I was responding to the various posts because they are in my IN BOX in my AOL mail! I am happy to help with suggestions for things I've done in the past. Some people write to me for more info. I've never heard of anyone doing any decluttering before bed, but I have heard of people doing chores as a way to cope with stress or other issues. I say...whatever works for you! :-)
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