Letting go of the old to make way for the new...
October is here! As we are in the last 3 months of the year, in order to start the New Year with fresh and high energy, I’ve decided to work on healing and shifting my abundance mindset during this last quarter of the year.
Before starting any healing or mindset program, there is one thing I do without fail! DECLUTTERING.
There are so many resources online about decluttering and minimalism. Some people use decluttering as a tool to live a more simple and minimalist life. I want to talk more about the energy and unseen healing side of “decluttering”.
What is decluttering and what are the benefits?
Decluttering simply means to ‘remove unnecessary items (from an untidy or overcrowded place)’. It is a method of getting rid of the things that you do not need anymore and tidying your space. Marie Kondo recently made this word trendy with her popular show on Netflix.
Living in a tidy clean space has many health benefits: it reduces your stress, helps you to focus better, and keeps you calm. We all know the difference that a “freshly cleaned house” compared to a “1 day before cleaning day house” can give us 😀. For me decluttering goes a bit deeper than just regular tidying and cleaning, it is also about letting go of the energy of the old.
For me, the most important benefit of decluttering is “Letting go of the old energy in order to create space for new”. This is why I do a deep decluttering day or week before starting a healing program.
How can throwing away old clothes and papers help my healing transformation?
Remember the famous quote by Einstein “Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it”?
As everything is energy, all the unnecessary items we have in our home take up space. For me unnecessary items are not just physical objects that take up space but they also can be energetic ties to old ways of thinking or relationships. Sometimes we also need to declutter the relationships that are not serving us anymore in order to create space for new, more nourishing ones.
Here are the 3 top areas of my life which I always like to focus on when decluttering
1/ My home
Home decluttering is the main 'physical' decluttering that I always recommend. Over the years I realised that I was holding on to so many things in the house (in my energy field) that were not serving me. Usually I found that I was holding on to them for 2 reasons; to maybe use it one day in future – that day never comes or just because they are presents and therefore in my mind I don’t want to hurt the feelings of others.
Our home is where we spend most of our time and so the energy of the home affects our energy. Therefore the lighter and cleaner our homes, the better our energy.
In order to decide what to declutter I tend to ask myself 3 questions, and if the answer is NO to all of them then I let the item go…
a. Does this item give me joy?
b. Is this item functional?
c. Have I used it in the last year?
By asking yourself these questions you will start to see how much stuff we accumulate which doesn’t give us joy or have any practical benefit.
Decluttering the house all at once can be too overwhelming. This exercise needs to bring you the feeling of clearing and releasing and not frustration and wanting to burn everything!😀 Here is an approach that I like to take:
1- Start with the most used room (example living room, kitchen)
2- Declutter papers weekly (they pile up frequently)
3- Tackle junk drawers one by one . Choose one to do each week and spend half an hour tackling it (for me, this is always the most boring task)
4- Get rid of the gifts that you don’t use and don’t feel like you have to keep them just because they were gifts.
5- Get your family to support you. Explain the concept to them and make it a regular thing in your home.
After putting all the effort to let go of the old, it is important to mindful on the new things you buy 😀 You might feel a tendency to immediately fill the gaps with new things but keep in mind the one golden rule after decluttering - think twice before you buy new items 😀
2/ My Relationships
Let go of the relationships that do not nourish you or hurt your mental state! I know that this may be very difficult to accept and some of you may wonder how I can even talk about relationships within a decluttering newsletter. After all they are not items. I am adding this in here, because I believe in order to transform your life, you need to learn how to let go of relationships as well 🤗
Often we can spend so much time decluttering our home environment making it a beautiful calm space, and then we force ourselves to meet with some old friends, colleagues, or relatives that just drain our energy, and take our positivity. I’m talking specifically here about the relationships in your life that are hurting your physical or mental health. Maybe it's time to reconsider how much time and energy you want to spend continuing to nurture this relationship.
I’m not saying to just abandon every relationship. There are many ways to restore a relationship that has gone off track and there is always the possibility that people can change. However there comes a time (and often you know already in your heart and gut) when it is no longer a relationship that is good for you anymore and that despite trying it remains the same…It is the time to LET GO!
Often you can tell you have done the right thing because you cannot believe how much lighter you feel in yourself, as if a burden has been lifted from your shoulders 😀. Another benefit of letting go is that often we want to feel that people need us and by letting go you help the other person realise that.
3/ My Habits
Letting go of old habits is a tricky one, and often you need repetition and time before you can fully let go.
Every time I declutter, I take one simple habit that I want to declutter as well 😀 The word simple is meaningful here because you don't want to overwhelm yourself with too much change. So for example in this quarter I am working on my abundance mindset and for me “being abundant in time” is priceless.
Therefore, I decided to declutter the habit of checking my phone when I wake up and see how I want to fill that space instead. I am not trying to adopt a new habit straight away. The idea is to just declutter; when there is room a new more intentional habit will form. Maybe I can use this time to prepare my morning coffee or meditate. Initially however there are no expectations, just the process of trying to let go of the old habit.
Why don’t you choose one habit that you want to declutter like an object next time and see the effects that this simple shift has on you.
Does it really work?
You might ask does decluttering really work? I say YES 100%, from bottom of my heart. I cannot give you exact facts and figures but from my own experience and perspective adopting decluttering has helped me to create profound shifts and transformations in my life.
And you will be able to experience similar shifts in your life by just choosing one area to declutter, and committing to it for a short time daily or weekly. Every little step counts! 😀
As a special gift I have included my top decluttering checklist that I normally only share with my 1-1 clients to help you stay on track with your decluttering!
Now is the perfect time to let go of old energy so that we can create space for the NEW…And yes I am hopeful for 2021 😀