In my work as a wellness and skin therapist I look at external, as well as internal, factors and how they will affect wellness and, in turn, skin and physical health. One area that can have a massive impact on a person’s wellness is their immediate physical environment – their home.
Why Declutter?
Do you waste time looking for things?
Do you resist getting rid of certain things because you remember the price that you paid, and it feels like you’re being wasteful throwing it away?
Do you struggle to keep your house clean and tidy because you don’t know where to start and it feels like organising an entire house would be too big a project?
There are many benefits to decluttering – more physical space, fewer distractions, creating more harmony in your home, generating some spare cash through selling old belongs, finding long lost forgotten treasures and less time spent looking for things because now you know where everything is!
I first heard about decluttering about 20 years ago. I’m not naturally a tidy person and, with young children, I found it very challenging having heaps of ‘stuff’ everywhere. Lots of toys with missing bits, clothes that no longer fitted, lots of pictures and pasta necklaces that I didn’t know what to do with but seemed to be collecting at a more and more rapid pace. I had to find a way to make things more manageable.
I was given a book on decluttering that I still love now. Karen Kingstons Creating Sacred Space. She has since written another book that is less ‘spiritual’ and more practical called Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui – I regularly recommend both to clients. (I am also a fan of Marie Kondo)
What is decluttering?
As defined by google: remove unnecessary items (from an untidy or overcrowded place).
Most people have a good idea what decluttering is but knowing where to start is the challenge.
I always recommend reading one of the above books – it helps you understand why it is beneficial but, if you’re feeling inspired to get cracking straight away, I suggest starting with the area that you think will see the biggest difference the quickest. Do 15 minutes a day – and commit to doing it every day. Make sure whatever you’re clearing out leaves the house that day, if possible, or the temptation will be to put it somewhere and then you still don’t get rid of it!
Get rid of electronic clutter
Delete old emails and photographs – they make it more difficult to find the ones you need or treasure. Spend 5 minutes a day deleting emails, old photographs and unsubscribe to mailing lists that you don’t open.
I like to burn incense either during or after decluttering and, because I have people coming to my home every day for treatments, I very regularly burn Nitiraj Original , which I purchase from https://adjureincense.com/. It has an amazing scent that lasts a long time without being over-powering. It is made for Space Clearing. I also like to burn Prinknash Basilica incense which is for a heavy duty Clutter Clearing. I like to shut all the doors and windows for a few minutes and, once it’s really smoking, then I open all the windows – you may find you set the smoke alarms off! After I’ve done it I always feel the area feels much bigger, more expansive.
Once started, you will be amazed how much less stress you feel, when you’re not feeling overwhelmed with stuff. You may sleep better because your mind is not continually being disrupted by unconscious distractions that clutter can give.
‘One mans trash is another mans treasure’ – You may earn money too – you can sell a lot of your stuff and contribute to sustainability! One of the most rewarding experiences I had was giving away what I considered an old wardrobe and seeing the pleasure and excitement of the person picking it up – with a bonus of something being reused rather than heading to the tip! You will definitely save time – knowing where everything is means not having to look for things, which in turn will help you feel much calmer!
These images before and after 15 minutes. So imagine what a difference it would make if you did 15 minutes a day consistently. Even after just 15 minutes there is now space to be able to move things round and arrange in a better way.
Full disclosure : This blog contains affiliate links to Amazon and I am a reseller of Nitiraj Original Incense. However, I only recommend products that I personally love and use.