Three Ways Decluttering Helps Your Mind 

SUMMARY KEYWORDS 

beliefs, closet, item, space, housecleaning, decluttering, serve, physical, steps, rat race, mental, drawer, longer, purge, book, episode, life, feelings, a little bit, reboot 

I was recently scrolling through Instagram and got sucked into so many short, fascinating videos and posts about reorganization. I came across posts about reorganizing the pantry, the bathroom cabinet, and definitely the closet! I found some really great ideas for my recently gutted and newly redesigned wardrobe closet. Through the commotion of purging and decluttering the closet, I noticed how good it felt to have a clean slate. It always feels great physically when our desk is clear, or when we can find what we need in our handbag quickly, or when our bathroom is tidy.  

That’s because these physical things, whether they are tidy or disorganized, influence our movement of ease throughout the day. I know that I feel more organized and ready to conquer the day when I’m not a “hot mess,” physically or mentally.  

Mental reorganization is as important as physical reorganization because when we can keep our thoughts in alignment with our pursuits, we can begin purging the beliefs that no longer serve us. If you think back to earlier blogs where we discussed paradigms, you’ll remember that our deeply-rooted beliefs run the show when it comes to our habitual behavior. Many things that we do or say, whether they’re on an unconscious or subconscious level, are guided by our old programming (because we haven’t cleaned it out). We often don’t even realize we’re behaving the way we are. Our operating system can slow down when we aren’t cleaning house mentally, so to speak. Doing some mental housekeeping allows us to make room for new beliefs and habits that will elevate us to a higher potential.  

You can start by decluttering your physical space so that you have room to gain mental clarity. Try these three tips for physical decluttering: 

1. Clean out your closets. Take out every single item and put everything into a pile in the middle of the room. Sort the pile into four categories: Keep, Toss, Donate, Sell, or Repair/Fix.  To keep: ask yourself, does this item bring me joy? Does this item fit me? If I saw this item in a store right now, would I invest in it? If you didn’t say yes to all of those questions, place the item into one of the other piles. There’s no room for growth if old clutter is taking up the space. 
2. Start with one space at a time. It can be overwhelming to tackle a lot of clutter at once so maybe just start with your sock drawer. Start with something small, like one section of your closet or one type of thing in your house, so you can purge the clutter and create more space for what brings you joy and ease.  
3. Reorganize with beauty in mind. You want to be sure that items are accessible to you and that you can see them. Maybe color-code your jackets or organize them by texture. Something I learned from Marie Kondo about reorganizing is to take all of my camisoles or tank tops and fold or roll them and stand them upright in my drawer. I’m able to find whatever color tank top I might want for that day, which makes my life much easier. I can easily see the material, texture, and color for each.    

What about in terms of decluttering your mindset? The process is much the same: 

1. Take out every item and put it into a pile. When you have beliefs or paradigms that you know are holding you back, it’s important to take those thoughts out of you because they are not you. You don’t want them to hold power over your potential. Get a notebook and write out beliefs you have about yourself. Create a system for going through them. Maybe circle those you want to get rid of, the ones that are not serving you. Getting those things out on paper allows you to examine them from the point of view of the observer and then separate those beliefs into Keep and Toss. When you do this, think about your goal. Recall the image in your mind’s eye about the life you want to live, how you want to be seen, and how you want to engage in the world. Think about the difference you want to make, how you want to grow and evolve as a person, and how you want to give, and ask yourself: are my beliefs in alignment with my goal? By doing that, you’ll be able to more easily recognize the paradigms that are holding you back or that should be altered. Last, does this belief bring me joy? Does it fit with my future self? We know it can be easy to resist change, and the fear of letting go of our old selves, our certainties, can keep us from finally stepping through the terror barrier. But we also know that once we are on the other side of that fear, we’re able to become our best selves!  
2. Start small! You don’t have to change everything at once. Choose one area, whether that be your beliefs around money, relationships, or your career. Jot those thoughts about that one aspect of your life down. If you know that you have beliefs keeping you from making that career move, amending that relationship, or better managing your money, you want to begin reframing and reorganizing those thoughts by first acknowledging them. If you believe you’re just bad with numbers and it’s hindering you financially, how can you change that? Think: What would be a more suitable belief that’s in alignment with my goal? What is more in alignment with my vision? You can adopt new beliefs in harmony with what you want. If I want to be better with money, I can reframe and think: I love learning about numbers.  
3. Reorganize your mental space with beauty in mind. Just like your sock drawer, you should be able to see and evaluate your goals, pursuits, and desires. When we take the time to evaluate our beliefs, we can be sure that they’ll be most in alignment with our desires.                                                                            

Doing a little bit of decluttering is essential. I like to do it every season, especially with my wardrobe. When I’m looking at my wardrobe, I’m thinking: Who am I becoming? If I’m looking at a beautiful, expensive piece I bought ten years ago, but I’m not wearing it, would that piece be better served if I donated or consigned it so someone else could enjoy it? I regularly work on letting go of the fear of surrendering things that aren’t serving me, even if they may have in the past.  

We can do the same with our mental space and our mental health. If you’re wearing old things that no longer fit you and if you’re carrying around beliefs that no longer serve you, you’re always going to fuss about those things.  

Take a few moments today to think about what decluttering would look like for you. Think about the beliefs you might be holding onto that are keeping you from becoming the best version of yourself. Write down anything that comes to mind for you, and then take inspired action by acknowledging what comes to your mind.  

Please let me know how the decluttering goes for you! How is rearranging and redesigning your physical space changing things for you? Is it creating more mental clarity for you? Leave some comments!  

All of these teachings have been distilled down in my upcoming book: Rat Race Reboot: Unlock Your Full Potential to Achieve Impossible Goals, at https://lauranoelcc.com/ratracereboot. We are so excited about the release of the book! Remember, everything is created twice. First in your imagination and then in physical form.