Mindfulness and meditation can help clear your mind, but did you realize it can also help you clear the clutter? If you ask an expert in mindfulness, they’ll probably tell you that feeling cluttered in mind and body is closely connected to having a cluttered living space. Cluttered living is a direct result of going through life on autopilot, because we become unaware of the minutiae around us and stuff then tends to pile up while we’re unaware. In contrast, being mindful helps us be more aware of our surroundings and the issues we need to face.
Meditation provides an opportunity to be mindful, to reflect on your life and observe how your thoughts and emotions impact the rest of your life and your living space. The use of meditation and mantras has many benefits for our personal lives. Meditation encourages lower blood pressure, increased immune function, lower heart rate, and less stress and anxiety. Can you see how spending a little time each day could help you relax, reevaluate, and decide how your living space could better reflect you and your desires? Part of taking charge of the clutter is to take charge of the things you have allowed to accumulate. You, and only you, get to decide what takes up space in your life!
Start a journal where you can record mantras that help you stay on track with your decluttering goals. Some examples of decluttering mantras you could adopt are these:
- “Just in case is just in the way.”
- “Let it go!”
- “Does this item make me feel better, or worse?”
- “If I haven’t looked at it in a year, toss it out.”
As part of your mindfulness, meditation and mantras, try releasing emotion before you start any decluttering session. Things tend to build up emotional clutter–such as a family heirloom or a sentimental note. Ask yourself if you love the thing or the person?
Perhaps the best decluttering mantra is one you can repeat often, to remind yourself of the end goal. “The more I declutter, the more free I am to live in the present.”
Amen!
Resources: Spirituality & Health, Gaiam, and Wisebread.
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