THE CLUTTER SERIES
The ‘Clutter Series’ discusses important aspects of the clutter in our homes and minds, including the close relationship between clutter and our general wellbeing.
Click here to read a summary of the main insights of this series.
What are the negative side-effects of clutter?
If we struggle to make let-go decisions, if we keep things in our life that no longer serve us, we end up with clutter – in our homes, in our relationships, in our work, our finances, in/on our body, in our behaviours and habits.
The clutter in our home and life is all caused by the clutter in our mind – unhelpful and self-limiting thoughts.
However, it also works the other way around:
Having too much clutter in our home, for example, can create additional clutter in our mind, and can make our life unnecessarily difficult and frustrating.
Clutter steals our energy, it limits our personal potential, and decreases our decision-making ability – we tend to feel stuck, overwhelmed and stressed. We often struggle to take action to change our life to the better.
Living in a cluttered environment can be very harmful to our general well-being, mental health and social relationships.
These are just some of the many negative side-effects of physical clutter:
-
-
- It’s difficult to feel energised and excited if clutter pulls us down.
- It’s difficult to gratefully appreciate what we value and love if it’s hidden under layers of other stuff.
- It’s difficult to get active and take control if we feel encircled and besieged by an ‘army’ of clutter piles.
- It’s difficult to focus on projects and tasks if the clutter around us suppresses our attention and creativity.
- It’s difficult to engage with family and friends if our clutter leaves no space to entertain them.
- It’s difficult to sit back and just relax if our clutter stares at us and makes us feel lazy and guilty.
-
Change needs space.
If we want to change our life to the better, and especially if we have to manage a major life transition, getting rid of clutter becomes an absolute necessity:
We have to be willing to let go of the old to make space for the new.
However, our physical, mental and emotional clutter is very powerful in holding us back.
To move forward, into a new phase of our life, we need to make sure that we are no longer surrounded by stuff that’s related to the past and no longer of value to us.