Day Six Feng Shui life Make-Over
by Deborah Redfern, Feng Shui Studies
Clutter can be incredibly noisy. If you hold it up to the light (with a view of getting rid of it) clutter complains and fights for its right. These are the words you hear in your mind, what many refer to as ‘mind chatter’. Examples of mind chatter are criticisms, recriminations, admonishments; generally energy-draining, unpleasant thoughts.
For example, the mind chatter of a too-small outfit hanging in your closet, the one you never liked anyway, might be: “ you could fit into this if you’d stop stuffing your face and lost 10 lbs” — never mind the fact that all the rest of your clothes would then be too large.
Or the collection of keys for long forgotten locks, and an odd assortment of screws that hang out in your junk drawer: “you’ll need these for sure if you throw them out and then you’ll be stuck.” And yes, it does sometimes seem to happen that no sooner do you get rid of something than a need for that very item arises, but of course you no longer have the actual item to test the theory. Most inexplicable for me are the collections bags of pens, most of which no longer work, that end up in my drawers. I just have to say, Why?
Closets and drawers are collecting points for all kinds of things; from items used on a daily basis, occasionally, seasonally – or never. Clutter in closets and drawers can be a metaphor for the parts of our lives we do not want to deal with, or prefer to keep private and hidden. Or, it could be that holding on to things that are rarely or never used is a way to keep the door open on a part of one’s life that is almost over. It is similar to being immersed in a book you really enjoy or strongly identify with. When the book ends, your experience of being a part of the story will end as well, and often there is a bit of reluctance to finish the story. So we hold on for the memory (sometimes it could be an expectation rather than a memory) that is associated with it.
Day Six Exercise
Today choose one closet or drawer (or, depending on the amount of time you have, one shelf of a closet, one drawer, or one section.) Take everything out and sort through what is stored in there. Notice the mind chatter or memories arise while you sort and clear. The louder and nastier the chatter, the clearer the indication that it needs to go. Keep in mind that the mind chatter does not normally go away and will still be saying nasty things about you the next time you go through the drawer or closet. Who needs the toxicity? Let things go lovingly and gain peace of mind.
Sort through the items and put back only things that have no mind chatter (or at least have nice things to say about you!) Have some boxes and bags handy for the items that you will not keep or that need to be kept but stored elsewhere in your home. Please make sure to follow through. Bags and boxes stored in the garage or basement will eventually creep back into your home if they are not sent on their merry way to their new life, and you will have to do it all over again.
As you have time, continue with other closets and drawers in your home until all thet closets and drawer in your home are sorted through and blissfully quiet.
© Deborah Redfern, 2020. All rights reserved.
So true about the mental commentary! I think avoiding those nasty voices is what stops us making decisions about which items to get rid of, that means we build up a huge ‘decision debt’ over time. Dealing with things as you go, and forgiving yourself ‘mistakes’ which your clutter reminds you of, makes life much more peaceful…
HI Sheila,
I like that term ‘decision debts’! Yes, it is what makes clutter clearing difficult, but also brings profound effects once it is done.