A blog reader sent this question in: "How is it that I have walked by an area of my home for years and just at this moment I looked at it and said, 'I'm sick of this and I'm going to get rid of my crap!'? I have been clearing a lot of clutter for the past few months and I have walked by this area and not thought a thing about it until today."
That's because your clutter radar is waking up. The clutter radar is a natural part of you that tells you when you are uncomfortable. As more time goes by, your radar will become aware of even more things that no longer fit your life
For most people, this radar is shut off. We get distracted by so many things that take us away from ourselves. We lose touch with that innate part of us that tells us when we are uncomfortable. We become numb to our feelings.
But if we're lucky, like you are, we get a sense that these things we've surrounded ourselves with are causing more harm than good. That's the waking up part.
I had that experience when I was in college. I used to pile up papers and crap on my desk and didn't notice the mountain I was creating, or that it was making my life more difficult. But then one day in art class, a teacher talked about the importance of having a clear work space so our ideas flow more readily. Something clicked in me and I knew that's how I wanted to live. I came back to my dorm room and suddenly saw the monster on my desk. I thought, "This has to go" and cleared the space and was amazed at how good I felt.
Living with this awareness takes noticing when you are uncomfortable, and wanting to do something to make things better for yourself. Rather than finding someone, something, or some activity to shut off those feelings.
It takes going through your things piece by piece, like you're doing, to see what makes you feel out-of-sorts, and then removing these things so you can begin to feel better.