One day you find yourself surrounded by clutter and wonder “How did I get here”. Well you bought that stuff. It’s about accumulating “more” and the underlying reason why. There's a reason why you feel that you have to buy and buy and end up filling up your interior living spaces. It comes from somewhere within.
This need to purchase the biggest, best, brightest, and newest comes from a deep and profound need to draw security and meaning from physical things.
None of this is meant as a personal judgment. You just have to be aware that this is what you're doing. Once you're aware, you have to ask yourself, "Is this what I really want? Does this reflect who I want to be?"
If you're perfectly happy with that, go for it but if you find yourself in a situation where you are trying to fill a deep emotional or spiritual hole in your life with physical things in the vain hope that somehow someway they will make you happier or make you feel that your life has meaning, listen up, this is clutter.
People buy and buy and they get nowhere closer to who they want to be and want they want to feel. That rush of novelty that they get when they buy their latest trinket quickly goes away because when your neighbor or friend buys the exact same stuff, you no longer feel special. Or it blends into the background of your life and no longer gives you that spark you had when it was brand new.
So then you want more of that buzz and that leads you to buy more and the process repeats itself. The same thing applies to food. You can eat and eat but its not about physical hunger but rather emotional hunger. If you eat for comfort you will never be full. This is clutter.
Clutter manifests as this external physical thing but it starts with your internal states. You fill your space with all this stuff but at the end of the day it doesn't really serve you all that well.
You have to clear that mental and emotional clutter for you to eliminate physical clutter. With that said, here are the 3 effective clutter clearing ideas.
Focus on what you really need
This is a straightforward idea but it's not as simple as you think. Many people have actually convinced themselves that the things that they want or desire are actually their needs. If you're completely honest with yourself, you will quickly realize that you need very few things in life. You need a roof over your head, you food on the table, you need your health and finally you need your friends and family.
That's it. It's pretty straightforward. You then need to question anything beyond this and do you really need it to be happy. When you train yourself to buy and hang on only to things that you really, really need, then you go through an emotional housecleaning. You end up re-examining your priorities. It turns out that a lot of the things that you desire are absolutely unnecessary.
A lot of the stress that you face on a daily basis is due to the fact that you are trying to maintain this house of cards built on your unnecessary desires and wants.
Don't be afraid to throw things out
The majority of people have separation anxiety when it comes to their possessions because they feel that their possessions are part of who they are. Throwing away stuff is equal to losing a part of themselves.
You are not your things. Who you are is much deeper than that. You can be a kind, loving, smart person and that has nothing to do with what’s in your closet or your garage. The real expression of your character is how you serve other people and the value you bring to their lives. Life is about experiences and about the people that you know and love.
If you're able to focus on this, you will be able to let go of a lot of things in your life that make it unnecessary stressful, expensive, and toxic. This doesn't mean that you have to give up everything and move into a cave. It’s okay to have some toys and have fun. As long as its not a “drug” trying to fill an emotional wound.
Eventually, you rediscover who you are the power of being content and happy no matter what is happening around you. There's nobody to impress, there's nothing to explain, and there's nothing left to prove.
Reconnect with friends and family
They find a key aspect of longevity is the depth of your relationships. We are social creatures and we are meant to live in groups and tribes.
What does this have to do with clutter? Oftentimes we don't feel love and appreciation in our relationships. We feel like we don't matter. We fill that empty void with food, drugs and buying stuff since all of these things make us feel good on a temporary basis. But that high only lasts a short while and it doesn't address the underlying issue that is eating at you.
Cultivate and grow your relationships with the people around you. Your family, your friends, your neighbors. Develop new relationships. Importantly, develop depth in those relationships to the point where you have people to share your thoughts and feelings. People you can lean on in tough times and in the good times as well. This is what should fill your life.
By focusing on the ideas above, you are able to let go of clutter both outside of you as well as in your mind and heart.