Tuesday, February 01, 2005
What am I carrying with me?
Here's a great decluttering meditation/action.
What you will need:
What you will need:
- Paper and writing utensil.
- About an hour at the place you want to declutter, i.e. don't do this at a coffeeshop or work if you want to clear your home.
- Three bags or boxes.
What to do:
- Sit down and get comfy! Take three deep breaths.
- Close your eyes and think of yourself as a small child. You may get an image, a feeling, hear a sound, or recall a particular childhood memory.
- Ask yourself, "Am I still carrying anything from this time, anything I don't need or that doesn't serve me?"
- Quickly jot down any items that come to mind. (You can look around your space, or mentally scan it if you'd like.)
- Visualize yourself as a slightly older child, and repeat.
- Next, go to your "teen" self, asking the question and jotting down the answers.
- Then connect with your 20-something self, the one who was out on his/her own for the first time, checking in if you are holding on to anything from this time, anything you don't need or that doesn't serve you. Write down anything that you think of.
- Take yourself through to your present age, decade by decade, asking and writing.
Now, it's time for action!
- Take a couple deep breaths and review your list.
- Now, get up and quickly gather everything on the list.
- Keep moving! As soon as you find one item, put it in a bag or on a pile and move on!
- Remind yourself: It's okay to let go of what you no longer need. You are creating room for the things that do serve your highest good.
- Sort the things you collected into three piles: toss, give to charity, pass on to friends.
- Take the piles to their new homes immediately. If you can't do that, write a time in your dayplanner to do so. It's also a good idea to put the bags in the car so you can deliver them the next time you are out.
- If you feel a resistance to doing this, hold on to the feeling that you no longer need these items. You might even want to do a little release or separation ritual, thanking them for their presence in your life and letting them go.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!