‘Talking’ to our belongings can open a door to our unconscious mind
Asking our belongings for their feedback is a playful way to gain more awareness about the things we have accumulated over time. Questions like ’‘Why am I not using you?’ help us uncover what’s going on in our mind.
If we are willing to listen to the honest answers we get from our stuff, we begin to understand our subconscious attachment to things that no longer serve us, and we find it easier to make let-go decisions that are over-due.
Wardrobe clutter conversations – Your clothes know what’s going on in your closet
There are many ways to declutter and organise our wardrobe so that getting dressed in the morning becomes simple and enjoyable.
One way to understand the situation in our wardrobe better and to simplify the decluttering-decision process is to ‘talk’ to our clothes and ‘ask’ them for help.
EXERCISE
You start the ‘conversation’ by taking everything out of the wardrobe that you haven’t worn for a while.
Spread it out on your bed or another suitable flat surface.
Then take each piece of clothing in your hands and ask it,
‘Why am I not wearing you?’
All sorts of answers will come up and they will help you clarify your relationships with your clothes.
Making confident decluttering decisions gets easier if you hear (and accept) the truth.
Your clothes might give you answers such as
‘You’re not wearing me because
-
- I have stains that you can’t get out’
- you’ve never tried. Look here, I’ve still the price tag on’
- you never liked me’
- I am out of fashion’
- you forgot about my existence’
- you have so many clothes similar to me’
- I don’t fit you’
- we don’t fit to each other’
- your lifestyle changed and you no longer need me’
- you don’t look good when you put me on’
- I give you negative emotional associations’
- you don’t like my colour/style any longer’
If you are willing to listen to your clothes and trust their answers, you will find it easier to decide what you want to keep – and to say thank you and goodbye to those clothes that gave you honest and tough answers – because they no longer want to stay with you.
Decluttering your wardrobe can make decluttering your life easier
If you plan to not only declutter your home but other areas in your life as well, getting your wardrobe sorted out is a great starting point.
Many of us feel emotionally attached to at least some of our clothes. This can be the reason why we postpone decluttering our wardrobe again and again.
As soon as we get curious and ask ourselves (and our clothes) questions about all the stuff in the closet, we start to come up with answers that help us clear up the emotional ballast – ballast that causes not only the clutter in our closet but also in other areas of our life.