I was working with a client on the phone. She was telling me about her life. Her home was an overwhelming situation. Books and papers took up a lot of space. One of her family members had passed away and she inherited some of their stuff and it was sitting in the guest room. She owned a lot of clothes that no longer fit her. On top of this she was exhausted from having two full time jobs, one of which had a great deal of drama.
Before we talked, she read my book and got the inspiration to get rid of the books in her bedroom. She wanted to have a peaceful and serene place to sleep. She moved them into the guest room and was enjoying the new peacefulness in her bedroom. But the presence of the rest of the stuff in her home made her feel stuck.
We talked about the state of her place and she was very aware of the negative effect it was having on her. She felt that she had gone as far as she could. I asked her about letting go of the clothes and she said it was too much for her to do in the moment. She sounded sad. I asked her about other things in her home to find something that would be easier for her to let go of so she could feel a sense of accomplishment. When someone is feeling very overwhelmed, they are aware of the pain they are feeling, but there is often very little of them available to do something about it. It's good to pick something smaller.
She talked about some cosmetics in her bathroom that she hadn't used that were over ten years old. They were now unusable. She felt she could let them go. She had renewed energy in her voice. I asked if she had any empty boxes. She said she had three. I asked if she could go through some more of the books and put the ones she doesn't want to read into the boxes and take them to a library to be donated. She felt good about doing that.
I said, "Clutter Busting is a new skill for you. It goes against the way you're used to living your life. To do the jobs you are doing now, you had to learn new skills. It took some work for these skills to become second nature. The resistance you felt to letting go is natural. It's not part of your way of operating. But it's starting to become incorporated into your daily routine. You read my book and learned some new ways of thinking that inspired you on your own to toss the books in your bedroom. We took an honest look at the way you are living in your home, and you made a decision to let go of some items that are no longer a part of your life. You're learning. That's very encouraging. I think the way things are going, it will become more ingrained into your way of being. It will give space for new opportunities that are waiting in line to come into your life."
I told her to email me and let me know how the clutter busting went for her this week. (I offer this to any of my blog readers who would like to share their clutter busting experiences with me. It can help to share your victories.) brooks@clutterbusting.com