Eight Reasons Why Having a Jolly Good Clear Out Feels So Good

You overcome something.

You may have felt overwhelmed by your stuff and maybe even overwhelmed by the thought of tackling it. Having things constantly around us and especially on top of us is tiring, our brains have to process everything our eyes see. So it's not surprising that the more stuff we have, the more tired and overwhelmed we can feel. Then, the thought of how to face it all, how make decisions about what to keep, what to let go of, how to let it go and how to store the remainder, can be enough to make you shut the cupboard door or close the lid, and decide to put it off until another day.. BUT
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Once you've got over those initial feelings and fears and made a start, once you have made the first 2 or 3 decisions to let something go, once you have got a small system in place with piles for recycle, donate, repair and throw, once you can start to see the clear space emerging, the process becomes quicker, easier and effortless. You want to keep going, you've overcome something, you've made decisions, you are taking back your space and you are empowering yourself. And that feels good!
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Tidy clutter free bookshelf

You can physically see the change.

Seeing the difference you have made to an area, is incredible. The space looks so much better, it may even feel bigger. It's not like you've sat at a desk and typed into a computer or had meetings or watched TV. You can tangibly see what has been achieved and the spaciousness that has been created. Your efforts have made this happen and seeing those results so instantly is incredibly rewarding.


It's a bit like a post work out endorphin rush.

I think that something magical happens when I'm decluttering with a client. We start by discussing what we are going to do that day and setting some goals or objectives, we then start to slowly tackle the chosen area, limbering up we take an item and the client umms and ahhs about whether to keep it or not - it's like an exercise warm up routine. The first few items take careful, slow decisions (gentle stretching to warm up the decision making muscles) but once the warm up is complete, they pick up the pace. By the time we've done 30 minutes we are running at full pace, the client is in the zone and the decision are being made swiftly and effortlessness. This momentum gives the client the energy to keep going, they are no longer thinking about what the discarded items meant to them in the past or what will happen to them in the future, they are focuses on the goal, over taken by the excitement of the work out and where the journey is taking them. Now, I'm not a medic but I'm convinced that some "feel good" chemical is released into the body through this process, producing a natural high similar to the endorphin rush post exercise.


It feels cleaner

It might be because you got the duster out, it might be because it feels more spacious or it might be because of Feng Shui and the energy in your decluttered space can circulate better. Who knows? But the long and the short of it is that IT feels cleaner and that makes US feel cleaner and that makes US feel good!


You've done something good

If, like me, you would rather give your old possessions to charity than see them go to landfill, you will also have the feel good factor of having done something good for others as well as something good for the environment.


You feel a sense of freedom

Over the years I have let go of all manor of possessions; clothes, furniture, books, cooking equipment handed down by my mother, sports equipment from sports I no longer did, photographs from my school years, my half marathon medal, 10 years worth of car insurance documents, etc etc. And I honestly say, hand on heart, that I have not once regretted any of it. I may have spent a long time making some of those decisions, it might have taken me years to feel ready to let some items go. But in the end I did it and I never looked back. I never actually missed any of them once they'd gone. I might have given some a wistful look as I carried them from the car to the charity shop but that's was all. Instead of mourning the parting of these things, I actually felt a sense of freedom, as those items no longer had a hold over me. I didn't need to look after them anymore. I didn't need to find a storage place for them in my home. I didn't need to think about what to do with them every time I opened a cupboard and saw them. I didn't have to decide not to wear them every time I got dressed. I was free from them! And that felt good too!


It motivates you to do more decluttering.

Is it any wonder that after all the benefits and highs of decluttering one space, that we want to do more? You can see the improvements and you feel better straight away so go with that momentum and you may be amazed at what you can achieve. Having said that, don't be surprised if you also feel tired. Making all those decisions can be exhausting, so my advice is to pace yourself. Set aside a couple of hours a week for decluttering. That way you maintain your energy levels and momentum


And finally
By letting go of the old you are making space for the new to come into your life.

Decluttering is not a therapy but it does seem to be incredibly therapeutic. It's as if the things that we keep around us that represent the past, are somehow keeping a small piece of us in the past. Old school reports remind us our our youth, clothes that no longer fit remind of of another time in our lives, a letter from old boyfriends/girlfriends remind us of that relationship and how we felt at that time. However rose tinted or otherwise the past seems to us, it is not helping us to live mindfully in the present and sometimes can even prevent us from moving into the future. By letting go of the old, the energy that was tied up in the past is released and this in turn makes space for the new to come into our lives. Time and time again, clients start out to declutter their homes just to get a bit more space and find that their lives have taken a positive turn.


What has been your positive experience of decluttering?