time to Declutter…
Make it stand out
𝗱𝗲·𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘁·𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 (𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲)
I’ve been dealing with a personal blockage that’s prevented me from being my authentic self.
When I feel this way, I pull back, second guess myself and self isolate. It’s happened time and time again. It is frustrating, debilitating and leaves me anxiety ridden. But since working with an amazing personal coach, I’ve learned that when you resist shedding the old version of yourself, when you’re striving to be the new & improved version of yourself, you can only get so far without peeling the onion & releasing all that no longer serves you.
And that brings me to today…
Since moving from my childhood home in 1991, a blue plastic bin has followed me and has since been joined by 8 other bins full of life memories. I’ve been hesitant to go through them, unsure of what the reminiscing would trigger within me, positive or negative, but boy, am I glad I decided to de-clutter!
Through the process, I uncovered my 1985 Hello Kitty Diary! Written on the inside cover, in my 13 year old bubble handwriting, is this, “I hope I show this to my daughter. If I do, don’t laugh half of it is pretty stupid”. So I did what my younger self hoped for & shared my diary with my daughter. I watched her flip through the handwritten pages that shared the secrets of my 13 yo self. Oh she did laugh, but only because I had written “not sure it’s nighttime” when reporting the weather. Most of it was nothingness, but the nuggets of insecure thoughts were all there for her to read. She looked up at me asking if I really thought those things of myself and I nodded yes. I realized in that moment that what I want most for my daughter is no different than what I want, and wanted, for myself which is to learn to love oneself in order to live an authentic life & learn to let go of the rest.
World renowned artist and teacher, Hans Hofmann, once said “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” A lot has transpired in my life since I was 13 & I’ve come to realize that my life purpose of supporting others & providing guidance so they can break free from what holds them back begins with me using my voice authentically & in order to move forward, I needed to take a step back, heal from my past & declutter once and for all.
If you desire to declutter but don’t know where to start, start with these tips:
If you are able, identify a space in your home where you can freely sort through the items. Most often, these type of projects take time so to have the ability to break from it is useful!
Grab a few trash bags and pieces of paper to write one for each - keep, throw away, donate. Plastic bins are also useful to store things you are keeping. but be sure to label them!
If you are unsure you want to get rid of something, put it away & if it comes to mind over the course of a few days or weeks, keep it! If you don’t think of it at all, get rid of it!