I have recently been in the process of de-cluttering my flat, and as it turns out, my life. Historically, de-cluttering has been very difficult for me, so this time I chose to ask for support. At the moment a beautiful friend has been coming over every week specifically for this.
We have been tackling one area at a time – whatever area I have been ready to look at.
Now that we have almost gone around de-cluttering every bit of my flat, I am aware most areas have just had the first go. I could in fact re-visit each area and go deeper.
What a beautiful metaphor de-cluttering is for all the issues and patterns I have been getting frustrated with in my life in general. I realised:
- I could look at my life as a big project like my flat, and see each issue as an area requiring a de-clutter.
- I can enlist help to stop me from getting overwhelmed when I have resistance.
- I can look at one area at a time, doing whatever area I am ready to tackle, to the level I am ready to and then later on I will quite likely see I could go back and do even more.
The fact that I was not ready to de-clutter some areas did not mean I was not committed to clearing my flat. In fact, my choice to focus on one area at a time and avoid overwhelming myself was very productive as well as deeply self-loving.
Also the fact that I could see the possibility to do more in many areas by no means reduced the fact that amazing, celebration-worthy changes had already been made.
In fact, my ability to know I could go deeper was testament to how far I had come.
Seeing this as a parallel in my life, I now have a different way of considering my life: that my ability to acknowledge there are issues to be worked on, and my choice to engage with the process in itself, shows how amazing I am. It is fine, and in fact useful, to tackle one thing at a time and at a pace I am ready for.
Enlisting support and inspiration when I feel I need it is being self-loving and responsible.
When I spot that more work is required in an area it is worth celebrating my readiness to go deeper. De-cluttering is an on-going, forever deepening project that will never end, because there is always a deeper level of amazingness I can develop – in my flat and myself.
This way of looking at life and appreciating its reflections has been inspired by the presentations and example provided by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon.
By Golnaz Shariatadeh, BSc, London, UK
488 Comments
I have just de-cluttered my desktop on the computer, and filed away some things I no longer need out and its a great feeling.
It feels great to be appreciating the ever on-going journey of de-cluttering our lives, and accepting the human-ness of re-visiting this over and over. We have expressions like “spring cleaning” that suggest a known fact that we need to do this over and over in cycles as things can sneak in in between if we are not vigilant. It feels so wonderful when its done too, and some of my best childhood memories are around “doing my bedroom” in the school holidays with my mother.
I love Golnaz that you asked for support. It is very self-loving when realise we are feeling a little overwhelmed and most people do when it comes to de-cluttering especially if they have been in resistance or avoidance. Just asking for support to declutter confirms the intention that, yes I am ready to put my home and my life in divine order no matter how long it takes.
De-cluttering is a never ending process. I love how you break down how you tackled it – into areas that supported you. Dealing with one area at a time is so sensible – otherwise the feeling of overwhelm is so huge – and then nothing even gets started!
Thank you Golnaz, I need to also tackle clutter in a house that is not yet fully unpacked after moving, and there are so many boxes that to view it all at once is a sure fire way to just give up. I will indeed tackle it bit by bit, and area by area. It feels very supportive also to just focus on one small area of the house at a time in terms of decorating and making it shine and reflect the love I feel for myself.
Most of us have so much clutter… In our lives, in our homes, and especially in our heads… What Universal Medicine presents is the ultimate de-clutterer, allowing us to steal so much space in our lives
I was watching the leaves as I was walking, it is autumn here in the UK, and many leaves are falling from their branches. It is lovely to watch this and how unique this is in so many ways, the species of tree, where it is growing, its aspect and so on, this made me reflect that we all let go when we are ready to. Accepting this and embracing us in this process is beautiful.
Beautiful what nature, and the trees in this case teach and reflect to us Lorraine; that there is a time to ‘let go’, and this is an natural part of life and death.
“When I spot that more work is required in an area it is worth celebrating my readiness to go deeper” – this is a beautiful reminder, and a very inspiring one, too. Thanks, Golnaz. When I find out I have to re-visit an area I previously attended, I have often felt as though I didn’t do good enough job back then. I can feel constant appreciation is in order for me.
Golnaz, I loved reading of your experiences in de-cluttering your flat. I find clearing things that I now no longer need or use is an ongoing process as the more I clear the more I become aware of what is there to be cleared. Now that I have greatly reduced my clutter I actually love getting into my cupboards to see what else I can let go of in my life.
When we let go of the clutter that weighs us down and trips us up – both physical and mental – we feel so much lighter.
I love the concept of appreciating that you are ready within yourself to go deeper when you feel something needs de-cluttering… it is a beautiful marker of being open to what’s next in a forever unfolding process.
“In fact, my ability to know I could go deeper was testament to how far I had come.”
There lives within us a vastness that we have not yet even begun to tap into. This vastness is our love and it is what we, the stars and the universe are made up of. There is no end to the depth we can go, all we need do is remove that which seeks to block the natural flow to do so.
“I am aware most areas have just had the first go. I could in fact re-visit each area and go deeper.”
This is the key to avoiding overwhelm. How many of us dive head first into our clutter, be it our in our house or in our body (our issues), only to emerge in complete overwhelm at the task ahead? By tackling this as you have Golnaz, and I do love the metaphor, we are better able to peel back the layers that have come to obscure that which is true in our essence. An essence we have covered up with layers and layers of debris (hurts) that we have learnt to identify with. We are not the mess, we are the magnificent space that lays beneath it.
I remember that it took about 3 house moves once before I started to let go of accumulated clutter, things that I thought I could not let go of …. Hmmm sounds familiar!
I have some boxes of various knick-knacks I have been carting around for over a decade. I only ever look in the boxes when we are moving. Your blog has reminded me they are there and I’m feeling I might be ready to let them go.
‘It is fine, and in fact useful, to tackle one thing at a time and at a pace I am ready for.’ This is where I have come unstuck in the past Golnaz. I set myself a task to do it all, and because it feels so big, I end up not doing anything and it gets left. I am learning to be gentler with myself like you clearly have been and do a bit at a time. Once I start, I end up doing more than I planned anyway.
I was recently asked by a friend to help de-clutter her wardrobe. We had fun looking at each item and deciding whether it should stay or go. She got rid of several bags of unwanted clothing that had been taking up space in her wardrobe for years. I think its a great idea to enlist help as the other person can help ask those questions you may not want to ask yourself.
I know when I de-clutter my house it feels much lighter and more spacious and so do I. Reading this I became aware of the de-cluttering I have been avoiding in my own life but your blog inspired me to ask a friend that is very organised and will offer great support to begin this process.
It’s really obvious that we feel clear, more focused and life is more simple when we have a clean and de-cluttered space. I’m amazed that this is not discussed more in school or even in health care and mental health support.
I have a tendency to focus on what needs to be done and don’t combine this with appreciation of what has been done. Appreciation gives us a good foundation to move on to the next layer.
I love this Golnaz and what a beautiful approach to de-cluttering our issues and life. I love de-cluttering my house and am forever going deeper. It feels clear and then all of a sudden one day there is an area that is not ok anymore, even though yesterday it was. Looking at my inner self like this changes things and feels much more gentle and supportive. Things reveal themselves layer by layer.
We sometimes need a little support to attend to certain things, and de-cluttering is one of those tasks. Having a friend’s perspective and an un-attachment to the space needing clearing can make the task so much more than just a tidy up.
I love the fact that you enlisted help from a supportive friend and didn’t force the issue either by rushing yourself, but instead took one area at a time. Great wisdom in that and it doesn’t overwhelm either. Thank you for your sharing Golnaz.
I loved your blog Golnaz, thank you, it is great how loving you were with your self, taking it gently. Looking at issues that come up in my life as a declutter, habit patterns that are no longer useful or never truly were, I am now ready to clear out, it is so simple when looked at from the idea of decluttering.
I loved your blog Golnaz, thank you, it is great how loving you were with your self, taking it gently. Looking at issues that come up in my life as a declutter, habit patterns that are no longer useful or never truly were, I am now ready to clear out, it is so simple when looked at from the idea of decluttering.
Clearing out clutter can be very well compared to working on the issues we encounter in our everyday life. It is a great thing to feel that taking on these issues, and working on solving what is in the way to go deeper in our amazingness is proving how amazing we are. In working on this, I can feel how important it is to appreciate every step, however small it is doesn’t matter, and it is a process of small steps, taking the time we need is deeply honouring of ourselves.
Life is truly beautiful Golnaz, as how we live is reflected by our surroundings and if that space where we live in feels that it needs de-cluttering that is then a reflection of the fact that also something in ourselves needs to be looked at and discarded. How amazing is that! That with cleaning and de-cluttering our houses, we not only work on making the environment we live in more beautiful, but also and maybe more important, we are de-cluttering our inner most in which we create space to hold more love that we held before, instead of the stuff we held onto for any reason we ever have chosen.
“My ability to acknowledge there are issues to be worked on, and my choice to engage with the process in itself, shows how amazing I am. It is fine, and in fact useful, to tackle one thing at a time and at a pace I am ready for” – this is such a beautiful statement. I love it. Sometimes I feel a bit daunted by the fact that there’s more – but what you are saying is so true, it means that we are seeing more and that is worth celebrating in itself.
Great blog Golnaz. As our home is a great reflection of ourselves so it is interesting to observe just where we tend to clutter. De-cluttering is also the ultimate diet as why we hang onto stuff and why we eat more than we need are for the very same reasons; fear of not having enough is one of many. When we are shedding extra baggage that is no longer needed we are creating space where there was none. I am inspired to do another round of sorting stuff out today myself for what have I got to lose except accept clutter?.
A great reflection thank you for sharing. I love how you mentioned doing ‘one area at a time’ whilst being aware of the whole. Sometimes we can become overwhelmed when we discover the circumstances we have made for ourselves, so this is a practical example of how to take one step at a time with change.
Thank you Golnaz for the reminder to take one section at a time as I am about to embark on clearing out my house.
It is true that clearing our cluttering makes space in our living space as well as our bodies. Quite often once I clear a space or cupboard I am usually surprised about how much I get rid of. It’s like when it was there in situ I didn’t bother feeling the effect of it as it was familiar and this is the same when an issue is freed from my body – whilst it was there the behaviours and or how I was with it were familiar so was not paying full attention to the effect it was having on me or others.
I love the parallel between your flat and your life. After reading this blog more than a couple of times since you wrote it, it still helps me take a look at the clutter, (manly in my office) and at me and areas that maybe I still haven’t got around to looking at and dealing with.
I must feel so good to get in every corner of the space that you live. We all know that as much as we resist it, the joy of living in a clear and organised space is nothing short of amazing. So if the above is true, then could it be possible that working through our emotionally issues and connection issues might be the way for us to develop in society rather than sweeping our issues under the metaphorical carpet. Self development like what you have shared in this blog supports greatly.
I am on a de-cluttering program at the moment and I have to say I have been surprised what has opened up at home. With this communication is opening up with my partner at home and the more we look at our clutter together the more this is opening up our relationships. It’s actually quite fascinating and very lovely.
Simplicity is an essence, it is an awareness that if we all understood and lived with this, we would be able to feel so many of life’s paradoxes unravel, because the body, if left to its own devices, keeps things really simple… Our thoughts are the things that really complicate life.
Our homes are great reflections of where we’re at and how we’re living our lives. Love what you say about readiness. Sometimes we’re so stubborn that we’ll leave paper piles unattended for weeks and months or a cupboard or attic unopened. These are definitely reflections of where we’re unwilling to go deeper in our own lives. But the relief and sense of space and freedom when we finally tackle both the physical and the developmental is tremendous and makes us wonder why we didn’t deal with it way earlier.
I also liked that you asked for help to help stop overwhelm when you could feel your resistance. I have asked for help this morning and am feeling trepidation, shame even, for allowing things to drop into disarray. I’m not really even sure how my friend will be able to help me to do something that I needed to do for myself? But as I write, I am feeling myself surrender to the support to clear whatever resistance is in the way of me sorting out something that is really quite simple.
Dear Golnaz
I felt to read your blog this morning as I am dealing with another layer of de-cluttering today.
Historically, I have allowed hoarding and clutter in my life by putting things off to deal with later, yet later never seems to come. And what is not dealt with gathers a heavy energy that repels and so I avoid it.
Over the last year I have de-cluttered most aspects of my life and house and it has been tremendously supportive and evolutionary; tackling one thing at a time. Yet what I celebrated, appreciated and was evolutionary is no longer because I am being called to go deeper, into the area that I have neglected – my accounting and keeping track of my finance in general.
I found it very supportive to see this as an ever-deepening process rather than trying to sort it all out all at once, for this is my resistance this morning, feeling that one weekend will not be enough time to do it all. Beginning feels like the most important step.
Golnaz, I love the symbolism in what you have shared. Everything in life is a reflection of what lays within us and this experience has allowed you to see so much depth within you. To care for our body is loving and to care for the space around us is equally as loving – we are amazing.