Clutter is inertia in our life. It's the stuff, people and activities that we've lost the vibrant connection with. We're hanging on to it and them, but we aren't getting benefit.
My clients have gotten overwhelmed and haven't had the wherewithal to ask about these things. But it's amazing how alert and aware they become when they ignore the pull of the emotional attachment and get down to how they are actually feeling about each thing.
I was on the phone with a friend yesterday and he was giving me a video tour of the guitars in his home. He was ecstatic about all of them but one. When he got to that one, he made excuses for it being there. He said his friend lent it to him, but he wasn't playing it. He said he should be playing the guitar. His voice sounded weak and scared. He was afraid to tell his friend the guitar just wasn't suiting him.
I said we don't benefit ourselves or others when we keep our feelings secret and try to please others to keep the peace. We come back to life when we say, "Thanks for lending this to me but isn't for me, I'm giving this back to you."
My client liked how thinking about this took away the edge he was feeling. He called his friend and let him know. His friend was okay with my client's decision. After getting off the phone, my client talked about how clean the interaction felt.