How to Clear Clutter to Clear Your Mind

Our living space is vital to our physical, mental and spiritual health. Our homes are not only retreats for our bodies but are also, in the profoundest sense, home for our souls. By clearing clutter in the space we live in, we transform our home into a harmonious environment for spiritual renewal.

If you are at home now or the next time you are home, take a moment, find a comfortable seat and visually scan your living space.
Then, let your eyes gently close and move your awareness to rest inside your body. Become aware of all the thoughts, all the sensations, all that is happening. Become aware.

How do you feel? 

It is not uncommon to feel restless, anxious, stressed, impatient or fatigue when living in a crowded space. When clutter fills our dwelling, our minds are also filled. Excessive external stimuli can overload our thinking process.

Here’s how you can transform your dwelling into a space that supports your physical, mental and spiritual health:

1.) Start with your most commonly used room – this can be the kitchen, the master bedroom, any room you use the most.

2.) Without tidying up, take a picture of the space. We’ll use this later.

3.) Now, get together some friends, play some music and put out some snacks. Make this fun!

4.) Get three large bags – one for items to sell, donate and throw out. Label each bag.

5.) Then get boxes – the number will depend on how much stuff you have. These boxes are for items you are keeping. Label the first three – one for frequently used items (everyday, or at least every week), one for rarely used (once a month or more) and one for items that do not belong in the room you are working on. Set the extras aside.

6.) Now, start placing every item in the room in those bags and boxes. Everything! As the boxes fill up, simply use one of the extra boxes that you put aside, but remember to label it!

7.) Next, place your sale, donation and garbage bags by the door.

8.) Now, let’s start with your frequently used items. Put the other boxes to the side for now. Start categorizing these items by type. Then put them in order from most often used and necessary items down to least. Now, referring back to the picture if necessary, think about where you use each categorized items the most (starting with the most often used) to decide where those items will go.

Tips: Closed shelving is always ideal. For frequently used items, use shelving that is easily reachable (waist to chest height). Once all these places are filled, next use low shelving and for the items you use the least, use high shelving. 

9.) Label (post it notes work fine) where each categorized group of items will go in the room.

10.) If you find you don’t have space for any group of items, place those items back into the box to come back to later.

11.) Next, as long as you didn’t run out of room to put your items, repeat steps 8-10 with your rarely used items.

12.) Now put everything back into their new designated spots!

13.) Repeat all steps for each room, progressing from the most used space to the least and remember to use the stuff from the box you filled with stuff that doesn’t belong in the room you just did, categorizing them into the new boxes for the room.

14.) Left over stuff? Carry them over to the next room to be de-cluttered. And if there still seems to be no space? If it’s sentimental, take a moment to treasure, reflect and take a picture if you need to, then let it go. Then decide to place it in the sell, donate or garbage bag.

When you’re done, take another moment to reflect in your new cleared space and observe how this has had an effect on the quality of your mind.

Deep Love,