Clutter wears us thin. The presence of so many things that are no longer a part of our lives has a way of continuously agitating us psychically with its high pitch shrill. We never get a chance to rest. From such an exhausted state, it's hard to think clearly enough to do something about it.
I was working with a client who was totally frazzled from living with her clutter. She reminded me of someone who recently had a baby and hadn't had more than an hour or two of sleep at night. She was exasperated and rambled with a neurotic fury. I could see why because every room in her home was taken over by the chaos of piles of neglected things. Living with the unresolved stuff had made her brittle.
We need deep periods of rest. We require times where we can fully relax and be easy and play. If we don't have this we suffer. Our well being breaks down. I told my client that she had no place to be simple and free. That was the source of her great unease. I said we need to take apart the sources of her agitation. I said this in quiet words so she could slow down and be in an open state.
This slower way was inviting to her and we began with the pile of things in her living room. I asked her about one thing at a time. When her mind got caught up in the chaos, I brought her attention back to the next item to consider.
I got the image that her place was like a drain that had been stopped up for months. We were removing things so the drain would open again.