{"id":812,"date":"2008-01-08T00:41:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-08T00:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/?p=812"},"modified":"2008-01-08T00:41:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-08T00:41:00","slug":"coping-with-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/?p=812","title":{"rendered":"Coping with the Emotional Aspects of Clutter Clearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"maintextheading\"><span style=\"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintextheading\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Having trouble getting started? Here is an article to help you get going! And please post a comment or two and let me know how this is going !<br \/>Light and Love, Sister Bridget<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintextheading\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\"><a onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=87,height=126,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false\" href=\"http:\/\/voodooboutique.typepad.com\/.shared\/image.html?\/photos\/uncategorized\/2007\/12\/30\/donkey.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Donkey\" height=\"144\" alt=\"Donkey\" src=\"https:\/\/voodooboutique.typepad.com\/bridget\/images\/2007\/12\/30\/donkey.jpg\" width=\"100\" border=\"0\" style=\"FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px\" \/><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintextheading\">\n<p class=\"maintextheading\">\n<p class=\"maintextheading\">\n<p class=\"maintextheading\">\n<p class=\"maintextheading\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">When &#8216;Just Do It&#8217; Isn&#8217;t Enough: <br \/>Coping with the Emotional Aspects of Clutter Clearing<br \/><span class=\"maintextital\">by Stephanie Roberts<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">One reason so many clutter-clearing efforts fail or remain uncompleted is that we have this idea that all that it takes to get rid of clutter is a little effort and determination. While a &quot;just do it&quot; attitude does help you get started and persevere, clutter-clearing is not quite so simple as that. Running unprepared into the not-so-simple aspects of clutter can bring all of our good intentions to a halt. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">For every piece of clutter that has piled up because we&#8217;ve been too busy or too distracted to deal with it, there&#8217;s probably at least one piece that you have avoided dealing with for emotional reasons. The underlying problem is not procrastination, it&#8217;s that dealing with clutter means dealing with our own difficult emotions: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Getting rid of clothes we&#8217;ll never fit into again&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;means accepting our current shape and level (or lack) of fitness. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Getting rid of an expensive item we never use&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;means admitting that we made a poor decision when we bought it. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Getting rid of books and magazines we don&#8217;t have&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;time to read means accepting that we will never have enough time or&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;attention to explore every topic that&#8217;s of interest to us. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Getting rid of possessions remaining after a loved&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;one has died means coming to terms with our loss and grief. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Acknowledge to yourself that clearing out your clutter will involve some emotional risk. Start by exploring why keeping certain kinds of clutter feels comforting to you. For example: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you grew up with very frugal parents who taught&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;you not to be wasteful, getting rid of items that are still useful may&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;trigger feelings of guilt. (This is very common among the &quot;Baby&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Boomer&quot; generation, whose parents may have experienced hardship and&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;deprivation during the Great Depression and\/or World War II years.) <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you grew up poor and hungry, surrounding&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;yourself with material goods may feel reassuring that you will always have&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;enough. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you suffer from low self-esteem or come from an&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;abusive environment, you may unconsciously feel that you don&#8217;t deserve&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;beautiful surroundings, or that you will be punished for trying to create&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;them for yourself. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you have experienced a difficult loss through&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the death of a loved one or the end of a marriage, getting rid of that&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;person&#8217;s things can feel like a betrayal of your love. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you have an attic or basement full of supplies&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;for a hobby you hoped would become a career, clearing it out may feel like&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;giving up on your dreams, or it may force a confrontation with the fact&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that you are getting older. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If you lack confidence in pursuing a long-held&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;dream, keeping your clutter can keep you from having to go out and&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;actually do it. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Healing and growth come from recognizing your feelings, no matter what they are. If your enthusiasm for clutter clearing suddenly turns into feelings of anger, resentment at the task itself, or a vague sense of anxiety, that&#8217;s a sign to pause and reflect on what deeper feelings are being triggered. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Many of our reasons for hanging on to clutter are, at their core, about fear: fear that we won&#8217;t be equal to the challenges of the future, and fear of confronting our regrets about the past. Clutter can be comforting; it acts as a buffer between us and reality. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Here are some points to help you maintain a perspective of clarity as you work on your clutter: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Living clutter-free does not mean living in a&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;sterile environment; it means getting rid of the excess so that everything&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;around you is there for a reason. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">The past is over and the future isn&#8217;t here yet.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Confronting the emotions raised by clutter will make living in the present&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;less threatening. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">In the course of clutter clearing, you may get rid&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of something that you later wish you&#8217;d kept. Emotionally healthy people do&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;feel regret; but then they let it go, trusting that an equal or better&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;item will be available if they need it. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Letting go of regrets about your present clutter&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;will help free you from the fear of regret that drives the accumulation of&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;future clutter <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">People who are able to live without clutter trust&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;themselves to make good choices. As you become more conscious of what you&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;allow into and keep in your home, you will develop a higher level of trust&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;your own decisions. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Hoarding against an uncertain future reveals a&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;lack of faith in the ability of the Universe to provide what you need at&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the time you need it. The antidote is to focus on gratitude for all that&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;you now have, and for all the ways in which you are already being provided&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;for. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">If difficult feelings come up for you as you work through your clutter, acknowledge them. You may discover that you just aren&#8217;t ready to confront some tasks or part with some things yet. It is self-defeating to push yourself all at once through changes that are too large for you today. Be gentle with yourself, take baby steps, and work at your own pace. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">Remember that the space you create by releasing clutter will allow all kinds of gifts to flow into your life, on the physical, spiritual, and emotional levels. Letting go of excess makes room for blessings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintext\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\">\u00a9 2003 Stephanie Roberts <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"finetext7\"><span style=\"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"maintextheading\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Microsoft Sans Serif&quot;\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having trouble getting started? Here is an article to help you get going! And please post a comment or two and let me know how this is going !Light and Love, Sister Bridget When &#8216;Just Do It&#8217; Isn&#8217;t Enough: Coping with the Emotional Aspects of Clutter Clearingby Stephanie Roberts One reason so many clutter-clearing efforts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[474],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feng-shui"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spellmaker.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}