As a stand-alone practice space clearing is immensely valuable; however, when space clearing is done in conjunction with clutter clearing, the results are much more powerful. To fully transform your living spaces with space clearing, consider also doing some clutter clearing.
In order to understand the deeper forces at play regarding clutter and why clearing it is such an excellent complement to your space clearing, it’s essential to look at the energy in our homes and realize how it affects us. True clutter clearing is a kind of alchemy that can transform every aspect of life. But in order to activate this alchemy, we must understand how we are influenced by the frequencies and energies of the objects in our homes and why clutter clearing can be a spiritual pursuit.
What many do not realize is that the energy in your home and the objects you surround yourself with profoundly affect the energy you radiate into the world. Your “stuff” can produce a remarkably negative (or positive) influence on the way you feel and on every aspect of your life. When you surround yourself with objects filled with love and happiness, the energy in your home or office will lift you up. That positive vibration stays with you even outside of this space.
It’s important to note that simply clearing the things you don’t love and don’t use is not enough. You need to get to the source of what your personal clutter truly represents. For example, if your clutter represents your fear of not having or being enough, then just getting rid of your stuff will not solve the problem, and it will likely accumulate again. Once you understand your inner blockages, you can clear them at the source. You can step beyond that fear, acknowledging that you have enough and that you are enough. Once you gain the faith and the confidence to believe that all is well, you can remove the energetic wall between you and your potential.
The ultimate goal at the end of this process is not just a more organized and clean home, but a sense of having room to breathe, the ability to move more freely through each day, and the feeling of being more vibrant and empowered in every area of life. Clutter clearing is so much more than cleaning or organizing, it is the alchemy of life. It can help you heal and empower your life in wonderful ways.
Clutter is an accumulation of things that are no longer needed or loved. The following are all examples of clutter in its simplest definition:
From a spiritual perspective, however, letting go of physical “stuff” equates with letting go of blockages and barriers in your life. This is because clutter—whether it’s physical or emotional—is never just about the stuff; it’s a signpost that indicates other things going on in your life beneath the surface. The following are all examples of clutter from this perspective:
So why do we keep clutter? Often, the root cause is fear. For example, we might worry about needing a particular item in the future and being unable to replace it. By thinking this way, you create your own need and stop trusting that the universe will provide for you. This belief becomes self-perpetuating, because fear of the future tends to create a fearful future.
If you believe all your needs will be met in the future, they usually will be. What you expect in life often becomes reality. A person who expects to have a bad day is usually not disappointed, while someone anticipating a good day is usually rewarded. If you are holding on to junk because you are fearful about the future, get rid of it! Trust that you will be exactly where you need to be in the future. No matter what your reason for keeping clutter, it clogs the energy in your home, your body, and your life.
The following are the most common reasons—not all of which are bad—that we keep clutter:
Anytime you need a little lift in life, consider a small session of clutter clearing. If you have been feeling sluggish, uninspired, or overwhelmed, then this is an excellent time to do some clearing. Even the simplest act will have a positive effect on how you feel if it is done with the intent of transforming the energy in your life and the energy you give off.
Even if you intend to clear only one object, it is important to take some time for preparation. This will dictate how powerful the transformation will be from any clearing that you do.
You do not need to go through all the steps of Stage 1 as you would for a full space clearing. Your preparation might simply be cleansing, such as taking a shower or a bath, before you clear the object. It might be lighting a candle with a prayer. It can even be a short blessing such as, “May Higher Wisdom be with me as I clear this object with intention.”
Your intuition is crucial in sensing the energy of an object while you clear clutter. When you have quieted your thoughts, visualize one of the objects in your home that you are considering letting go of. Imagine connecting with the consciousness of the object. Tune in to it. Sense the deeper energies within it. Does it carry the energy of people who might have owned it before you? Does it seem to hold the emotions of the place it was created or the people who made it? Does it have a message for you? Does it desire to stay in your environment, or is it ready to travel onward? Use your imagination … and trust what it reveals to you.
Clearing clutter involves doing so with intention. Simply throwing things away or donating them to a charity won’t necessarily change or heal your life. However, when you release items with the intention that something changes in life, so it shall. The following questions will help hone your intention for clearing the one object you choose for this exercise.
Take a moment to close your eyes so you can get clear on each answer. You won’t have time to practice this process with every object when you’re doing a major clutter clear. However, by taking the time to do so now with a single object, you train your intuition and increase your understanding of how the process works.
After choosing your item with intention and answering these questions, stand in silence. Visualize the positive outcome now and in the future. Affirm the positive outcome.
Consider writing your answers down. You may begin to detect a pattern with the answers to many of your objects. Record anything you feel happens as a result of your experience. It will be beneficial to see your growth in just a few weeks of releasing things from your life that you don’t love or use.
Honor the things that you clear from your home, and honor the things that you decide to keep. By doing this, you’ll maintain your energy and open your life to beautiful possibilities.
One way of releasing your attachment to your clutter is by talking to the objects and communicating gratitude: “Thank you for being in my life.” After expressing thanks for the joy, meaning, or learning that this object has given in your life, you can then release it with grace.
Another way to honor objects you’d like to let go of is by taking photos of the objects. This is a wonderful option for things like mementos, gifts, or heirlooms that you don’t really want to let go of, but don’t have the space for. You can create an album or collage, whether physical or digital, so you can connect with the objects whenever you like.
You can also journal about cherished objects. Write the story of how they came into your life, how they made you feel, and how much you appreciated them at one point. Write out any old memories associated with them. Give them life through your words, and then let them move on with their journey.
Now you’re ready to start clutter clearing! To do so, you’ll need five boxes designated in the following ways:
Depending on your personality, you may want to add the following boxes as part of your sorting process:
The next step is to set some reasonable goals. Attempting to categorize everything in a room may get a little overwhelming, both physically and emotionally. I suggest clearing one small area at a time. Go drawer by drawer, or wall by wall. While some folks prefer to empty the entire closet, clean it until it sparkles and only put back items they use and love, this approach can be too extreme for others.
For most, clutter clearing is not an activity that happens all in one day. You may get through a bedroom or closet in one day, but even that may be too emotionally exhausting for you. Clutter clearing should be a healing process, not an overwhelming task that you dread each time you clear a space. Take your time, be thoughtful, and make sure that love and sacred intent goes into every movement during your clutter clearing sessions.
Part of setting your goals is to figure out how much time you have to clear. Once you figure out what to clear, set a timer for half the time you have. You will empty and clear until that timer goes off. For the rest of the time, you will clean, organize, and put things away.
After you’ve set all these logistics, it’s time to tap into the energy of your space. Ask yourself these questions each time you start a new room:
The way you answer these questions will help guide you as you clear.
From a feng shui perspective, clutter can affect your fortunes and every aspect of your life. Clutter in your kitchen can affect your finances. Clutter in the bedroom can affect your love relationships. Clutter in hallways can affect your arteries. Clutter on a spiral staircase can affect your heart. Clutter in a basement affects your ability to be grounded. Clutter in an attic can mean that problems hang over your head in life, and so on.
The following list may be helpful as you prepare for your clutter clearing. Here is an order of the rooms to consider clearing first:
Sit quietly, close your eyes, and imagine your home. Scan it in your mind’s eye, then choose a room that you feel needs to be cleared.
Visualize yourself in the room. What are you most aware of? What captures your attention? Are there objects that make you smile, or that you enjoy being around? Are there objects that you may prefer to pass over, or that make you sad, or that trigger uneasy feelings such as guilt? Use the questions below to help you understand your feelings about those objects. This process can also allow you to see if you are ready to release an object from your life. Notice any items that might need to be released. Select your top three.
Visualize item number one. Ask yourself:
For instance, maybe you are imagining an old vase that was handed down to you from your beloved grandmother. It does not match the room, you never use it, but you would feel guilty if you let it go. Maybe it would help if you took a picture of it, journaled about the memories you have of your grandmother, and documented having the vase. That might help relieve those feeling of guilt or fear that you are losing a piece of your past, if you were to release the vase.
Remember, the vase is not your grandmother, and your grandmother would never want her gift to you to hold you back or cause you grief. She would, most likely, want you to let it go and open yourself to the opportunity to grow!
Ask yourself the same questions for items two and three, writing down your answers in a journal if you feel called to do so.
We are now ready to begin clutter clearing!
Figure out how much time you are going to clear, then set the timer for half that amount of time. For the first half of time, you’ll clear. During the second half, you’ll organize and put things away.
Then, start clearing. As you pick up each item, ask yourself:
If the answer is yes for the first couple of questions, then the object automatically goes in the Keep Box.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out what box to put something in, sit with your feelings of discomfort. Remember that clutter in one place may not be clutter in another. Perhaps an item feels like clutter simply because it’s in the wrong place. Each item in your home needs its own specific place to live. When all are in their perfect place, they feel uplifting rather than like clutter.