Much of the clutter in our homes is undiscovered. It could be sitting in a box in the back of the closet, or it could be on display on a table. But we don't suspect that it's lost importance to us and is adding chaos to our lives.
At last week's clutter busting workshop, the person whose home we were at decided to go and get her jewelry holder. It had been sitting out in the open on the chest of drawers in her bedroom. She brought it into the clutter busting circle and started asking questions about each piece of jewelry. She realized she rarely wore jewelry. Most of the items were presents from friends. Then she came upon an engagement ring. She's now divorced and realized the ring had no place in her life.
She was quite happy when she was done. Her face glowed and she talked about how much lighter she felt. She was also stunned that she hadn't previously thought to consider whether or not she loved and used the jewelry.
That's the thing about clutter: when something loses importance to us, we often stop noticing it. That makes sense because it's no longer a part of our life. That's also why I encourage the questioning, so you can notice these things and let them go. Otherwise, the clutter sits there and creates a stagnant and chaotic effect.
I like to think of it as noticing and picking the weeds. As your awareness becomes more sensitive to what's clutter in your life, you notice what no longer fits and you let it go. Just like seeing and picking out the weeds from your garden.