You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk. – Louise Smith, Author
I despise clutter. Clutter is, without a doubt, one of the worse attractions for bad energy known to man. Clutter is sneaky. Clutter creeps up on people without them knowing it, in a slow, sometimes hidden fashion. And, by the time one realizes there is clutter, problems have already started for the occupants in the space. If you want to declutter your home, take a look at these backyard sheds as a storage solution.
There are many forms of clutter, and a plethora of reasons why clutter comes about. The most extreme examples are hoarders; those who are unable to part with the smallest of possessions usually due to some kind of emotional barrier or trauma. Some people in this kind of situation might need help from professionals like ServiceMaster of Lake shore to deal with the massive task of decluttering. But clutter can also be a cultural thing. Some feel that America’s connection to clutter began in The Great Depression, when so many went without everyday necessities. Therefore, people began to save things just in case they might need them.
And then there is everyday clutter that each of us deals with on some level, which comes about from normal living. However, one can minimize the amount of clutter that collects in their environments over time. The main rule when it comes to clutter is: Love It, Use It, or Loose It. If you truly love something, keep it. If you have a solid use for an item, keep it. If the items do not fall into either of these categories, consider getting rid of them. You will not miss these items once they are gone.
Here are some helpful tips on a few of the different forms of clutter, and how to deal with them:
- Clothing. Are you holding on to clothes you haven’t worn in more than four years? Are you keeping clothes that no longer fit properly, or at all? Go through your wardrobe and try everything on. If you haven’t worn an item in four years, it doesn’t fit right, or doesn’t have extreme sentimental value, get rid of it. Same goes for shoes. Donate the items to a local thrift store. Doing this will free up more storage space, making way for more beneficial energy (and possibly some great, new clothes).
- Paperwork. Due to the marvels of modern technology, many paper documents we once filed are now able to be stored online. The IRS states that most hard copy paperwork should be kept for at least three years. More information on record storage can be found on their website here: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/How-long-should-I-keep-records. Paperwork should be stored neatly in an organized fashion, preferably in a file cabinet or box of some kind. If you are someone who likes keeping physical copies, as well having a digital version, that’s not a problem. At least you’ll have a backup. But in order to keep your home or office looking a bit more spacious, the idea of self storage may come in handy. It may be worth looking at sites such as keepsafestorage.com.au to get an idea of the benefits of self storage and what it could potentially do to help you create a cleaner office environment. You can keep all unwanted files in there too, to make space for future documents. This would definitively work out in your favour. Getting rid of unwanted paper will make the occupants of any home or office environment more productive and feel less overwhelmed.
- Dust. Dust is one of those subtle forms of clutter that everyone must contend with. It is vitally important to dust on a regular basis, because dust is literally a layer of grime covering one’s environment. More on how to combat dust and its negative ramifications can be found on my post here: https://euphoricfengshui.com/2014/10/18/dustbattle/.
- Garbage. Empty garbage cans when they get full, and remove the waste to a remote location out of the space. Same goes for recyclable cans and plastics. Store them away from the main environment until they can be collected or redeemed for cash value. No one wants garbage hanging around and smelling up the place. Garbage can also make the occupant feel very oppressed if it is not dealt with in a timely fashion.
- Project Clutter. Are there a variety of uncompleted projects lying about the space? Have these projects gone untouched in weeks? Months? Years? Unfinished art pieces, clothes that need mending, or half-way completed DIY’s are just a few examples of negative project clutter. Putting off completing these tasks can make one feel stuck in a rut, unable to move forward in various aspects of life. Either choose to finish these tasks, or get rid of or put away these items. You could always utilize a storage service like Boombox to safely take away and store your items, as well as return them when and when you need them. See here for Boombox’s competitive storage unit prices.
- Broken Items. Any broken item, such as torn clothing, furniture, appliances, dishes, and the like can attract negative energy (also known as sha). Either repair or fix the items, or repurpose the objects in a clever manner. Otherwise, these things need to be removed from the space. Broken items can attract all kinds of bad energy, and on some occasions can be dangerous (getting cut by broken glass lying around=not fun).
- Virtual Clutter. When feng shui first originated, no one conceived the possibility of indoor plumbing or electricity, let alone computers. In today’s day and age, the majority of us spend lots of our time gazing at the screens of our little machines, so much so that they become our own virtual environments. For a computer, one should go through and clear old documents, bookmarks, and unused programs. (Check with a professional or someone who knows about technology beforehand should you have any questions.) Same can be said for smartphones, though here you also want to get rid of any contact information of people whom you no longer want to be associated. After the unnecessary items have been cleared, run a system defragment/clean-up for your machine. Not only will they use less energy, they will probably run faster, too. Hence, clearing clutter from your own virtual environment.
I have said it before, and I continue to say it: Clutter is Bad! It is something that all of us deal with on some level, but we can strive to eradicate the amount of clutter that exists in our world. On that note, I’m off to clear out a box or two that has been lurking in the hall closet…