All About That Chi
So, most people think of feng shui as being about manifesting money or good relationship juju (and those are definitely important aspects), but it’s really about cultivating life force energy and having the receptivity to be able to hold that energy.
I don’t mean to bleat on about this, but it’s worth repeating; clutter and chaos (disorganization) block and stifle life force energy, which can lead to all sorts of things, like depression and illness.
The Practical Side of Things
Then there are the everyday consequences. For example, clutter can impact your relationships, your time management, and just your ability to deal with everyday life. It’s like having unnecessary blocks that can really hold you back from living well and reaching your potential.
Addressing Both
In this blog post, I’m going to highlight eleven ways that clutter might be negatively impacting you in both the energetic and practical realms.
This post is not meant to make you feel shame, guilt, or self-blame (those don’t really help, anyway). It’s meant to help open your eyes to how you might be sabotaging yourself with clutter. And once you acknowledge that, you have the choice and the power to change things, for the better.
Honestly, I was hesitant to post this, because I don’t personally love to lean into the limitations and pain. However, my therapist reminded me that focusing on the pain points could be validating for some people. Also, if you’re more motivated by what you want to get away from, than what you’re wanting to work towards, then this might be particularly helpful to you.
Remember to take what speaks to you (what is paining you) about the impact your clutter is having in your life and ask the Universe for the opposite. You’re going to have to take action, though. You can’t just wait for the Universe to do all the work. Also keep in mind that actively getting decluttered and organized can create greater space for the Universe to work in your life in all the good ways.
I Was a Hoarder
Have you ever heard the term “tidy hoarder”? I hadn’t until a few months ago, but it struck a chord with me. See, my stuff wasn’t just thrown around higgledy piggledy. I prided myself in how neat and well-sorted it was. But, I was lying to myself. My life was out-of-control and so was I, because of my hoarding habits. I was essentially a hot mess, from the inside out. I had to work through masses of clutter – and I truly mean that.
I hope it helps you to know that the process of decluttering and getting organized is not just intellectual discourse for me or something that I read about in books or saw on TV shows (though I have done plenty of both). This is personal for me and these are all things that I learned from experience. You are not alone, if you’re suffering from the consequences of clutter, because I did, too.
The thing is that I did the work and have reaped the benefits…while trying to heal from depression and a spinal injury. If I did it, with those hindrances, you can do it, too.
Anyway, ready-or-not, here we go…
Embarrassment
Whenever I would get an inquiry about help with organizing and decluttering, the prospective client would say, “I’m really embarrassed about how bad my clutter is”, or something to that effect. Shame is a close cousin to embarrassment, in this case.
I would say that most people who have a lot of clutter think that they should be able to manage their stuff, have better control of themselves and their home, etc. They also tend to have a really hard time letting anybody in to help, for fear of judgement, rejection, criticism, and shaming.
Keep in mind that this could happen to anyone. You’re not alone. Nor are you a freak. Addressing the embarrassment may be a necessary first step towards taking care of your clutter, because it’s not just about the stuff.
Reflection Time
Do you struggle with embarrassment about your clutter and disorganization? What can you do to forgive yourself, so you can get the help that you need? It starts with you and there are plenty of ways to work through embarrassment. I encourage you to find some that work for you. And if you need help with that, maybe counseling is a good first step.
Chronic Lateness
People who have a lot of clutter and disorganization usually struggle with time management, which makes sense, doesn’t it? If you have a hard time controlling and keeping track of your stuff, because you have too damn much of it and it’s all-over-the-place, that can greatly impact your ability to show up on time. For example, losing your keys or forgetting to pack a lunch until the last minute can easily make you late for work.
I mean, it’s one thing if you don’t have deadlines any meetings to attend or plans with friends and loved ones and you’re on your own free time. But, when people are expecting you to come through and show up for them, because of a previous agreement, chronic lateness can lead to damage in your relationships, loss of jobs or gigs, etc.
Reflection Time
Is your clutter problem causing you to be late to meetings, deadlines, dates, gatherings, etc.? Could that lateness potentially be damaging your work and personal relationships? If so, how important are your relationships to you? Are they worth taking the time and energy to purge all the excess, tighten up your schedule, overcome procrastination, and work on punctuality?
Poor Focus
Pests
Exhaustion
Decision Fatigue
Avoidance
Lack of Productivity
Weight Gain
Isolation
Poor Repair
Excess Spending
Relationship Strain
Stress
Clutter can lead to stress and overwhelm, potentially keeping you in a chronic state of fight or flight. That can contribute to poor sleep, weight gain, a whole host of ailments, and more.
Unfortunately, clutter can negatively impact every area of your life.
Reflection Time
If you struggle with clutter, I’m going to invite you to take a look at what areas of your life are being impacted by it. Acknowledgement of how we’re hurting ourselves is the first step towards making positive change. See if you can take an honest inventory, without shaming yourself. If it helps, go ahead and take another look at the other items on this list. There may be ways your clutter is causing stress that I didn’t cover here, as well. I suggest getting a journal or pad of paper and writing them down, so you can actually see all the ways your clutter is stressing you out.
Conclusion
Embarrassment
If shame and embarrassment are big issues for you, I recommend finding an organizer who used to struggle with clutter, because they’re much more likely to “get it”. Or maybe find a therapist to help you change the patterns that created and keep you stuck in a pile of clutter? Both would probably be the best solution.
Stress
The good news is that all of these undesirable things and high stress levels can be reversed IF you invest the time, energy, and care needed to declutter your life.
And I mean decluttering on every level…not just your home, office, storage units…you stuff…but also your calendar (OMG this is so important!), your computer files, your email, your smart phone, and everything else in your life that you possibly can declutter.
Now, there are other things in life that contribute to stress, of course, so decluttering isn’t going to make all of that magically go away. But, decluttering can decrease your stress, plus increase your capacity to tolerate stress and manage it in healthy ways.
Chronic Lateness
And, of course, getting decluttered and organized can help you be better prepared for whatever kind of meeting, project, presentation, event, or even just outing with friends that you have scheduled. When you get your stuff together and start showing up on-time, people will also start to see you as being reliable and someone who shows respect and values their time. They’ll be more likely to want to continue working with you or getting together for social things.
Let’s talk about COVID for a minute, because it really jacked with peoples’ ability to follow through, be prepared, and show up on time. Or even show up, at all. Many people got sort of locked in their own little world and never really surfaced. I honestly have ended so many relationships, because I felt disrespected when the people didn’t show up on-time and prepared.
Basically, what I’m saying is “don’t be that guy (or gal)”. If you struggle with time management and chronic lateness, I encourage you to ditch the excess and get your act together. You’ll benefit in so many ways.
Carving Out Time to Declutter
By the way, if you struggle with physical clutter, chances are that your schedule is overly full, as well. For example, I had a client who struggled to find time in her calendar for the decluttering process. So, I asked her to give me an example of a typical week. What I found was that she was doing so much volunteer work for this committee and that organization that she didn’t really have time to take care of herself and her mess. I encouraged her to declutter her schedule and she was able to free up about 10 hours a week for the process. That made all the difference!
