Why the “simple” act cleaning out your closet can change your life.
I am not a neat freak. In fact, when I was a kid my bedroom contained a very distinctive purple shag carpet. If you could actually see said carpet, which was a rarity, considering the piles of clothes and stuff, there was a rising fear of what could possibly start up a colony or a little village in a carpet that hadn’t seen a vacuum cleaner in a terrifyingly long time.
Fast forward to university. First year. A line of masking tape marking the edge of my disaster and the beginning of my roommates squeaky clean oasis. Second year, a resident advisor, presumably responsible, and in order to reach me and my bed was literally taking your life in your hands, a five foot leap from doorway to bed over a stretching and strewn pile of random material and books. Yep, not a neat freak.
But doing energy work extensively for twelve years has a way of changing a person. And slowly but surely my act has cleaned itself up. I still don’t make my bed every day but those sheets are changed on the regular. I love vacuuming – seriously, I’m in love with my Dyson. I have grown to adore clean lines and fresh towels, a kitchen that won’t kill me some day, a work area that is actually conducive to work (fancy that), an outdoor space that makes my soul and senses happy. And when it comes to closets, there is nothing more lovely than a closet chock-a-block full of things I love and actually use, with a little space for more (because space for goodness is always a good thing). After a dozen years of energy work its hard to avoid the fact that a clear space on the outside goes a long way to create the ultimate oasis for inspiration, creativity and productivity. In fact, it’s hard to get to work if things aren’t feeling at least a little zen in here. Can you relate? Every wondered why?
Here’s just a few of the reasons…
- Holding onto “old stuff” can be heavy. We all do it. We hang onto our old highschool binders (mine are in my parents crawl space so I get it) and that thing-a-ma-jig from Grandma. We cling to old papers and books and clothes and memorabilia. We swear up and down that we’ll wear it again, use it again, look at it again, put it somewhere. And then we don’t. Or we just leave it sitting in the cupboard/closet/basement/attic forever taking up space. Old stuff. No longer relevant in the least. And it’s heavy to carry around. Not to mention cluttery. But here’s the kicker – it actually takes up energetic bandwith, without us even realizing it. This “stuff” drains energy merely by hanging out in the dark corners and doing, well, nothing. It doesn’t have to be in sight to be a pain in our sides and affect our lives. It’s just a touch symbolic really. Ever heard the phrase “skeletons in your closet”? Oh yeah. We all have them. And they are can affect our health, our well-being and our relationships, and not in a good way. Time to bring them into the light both figuratively and literally. Bonfire anyone?
- Clearing feels so so good. You know the feeling. You clear out a room that was floor-to-ceiling full of junk. Now not only do you have a room but you also have, voila, a blank slate. That you can do absolutely anything with. Or you finally have the room to fit new awesomeness into your closet and your life. And yes, everything reflects everything so embrace the metaphor and clear it out! Your insides are going to feel just peachy now that you’re letting go like a boss. And you better believe that life is going to feel different – lighter, more free, more full of what you want and not what you don’t.
- Simplicity is a time and energy saver. There is nothing more annoying than digging through boxes and boxes of stuff you don’t want for the thing you do. Uhgg. And how often do we just give up before we get there? The same is true for our inner landscapes. It sucks when you have to dig around all this other crap to find the thing you need. Which happens all the time when we’re holding onto unprocessed emotions, grudges and stuff. And much of the stuff you haven’t looked at in a while has a reason for it. It’s full of charged emotions and memories that you’d rather forget and all sorts of other energy sucking experiences and people and places. Time to get brave and take the plunge! Make sure to have a box of tissues handy. Gotta sift the gold and the wisdom out of that stuff and move on. So pull out the boxes and give away and recycle and get gone all the stuff but the essentials (and by essentials I mean stuff that you love and you’re going to use weekly for a long time to come). Hard and often emotional work at the time? Yes. Worth it? You better believe it. It’s is beyond lovely to have something right at your fingertips when you need it. And even lovelier when you have the energy and space you need to live the life you want. Bonus!
Chatting the other night with a friend the conversation turned to clothing swaps and then took a left turn to closets and more specifically, closet clearing. She had the ultimate suggestion which I am going to use this week to open up some hangers.
If it doesn’t bring you joy let it go.
Touch it, feel it, have a good hard discerning look. Does it bring you joy? Does that dress make you smile? Do those pants make you feel rock and roll? Do you adore that shirt? Perfect. Keep it. If not, what’s it going to take to let it go to someone else who’s going to feel joyful sporting it? By the way, clothing swaps bring me joy and they might just do the same for you. Gather a group of your favourite girls, bring wine, chocolate and everything from your freshly cleaned out closet and you have yourself an incredible evening.
One more thing. Get help.
Sometimes we just need a little nudge to get started. Or we’ve got an emotional block that is keeping us stuckity stuck stuck (that’s really stuck). Or we just really need someone to hold our hand and tell us its going to be ok. In which case it’s time to call in reinforcements. Work with your fave energy worker (is it me? Yay!) to clear what needs clearing, call in the besties with some vino and dessert, put on your favourite album and turn it up loud, dance like a maniac, breathe deeply, cry like a baby, scream and shout. Clearing can be a really big deal. Honour the process.
Alright. You know what you need to do. Sending you some inspiration and juju for the mission at hand. I know I’m feeling pretty stoked to get into my closet and get this process in motion. More joy coming right up. Happy clearing and cleansing. It is going to feel so so good!
xo
Alexa