Heroes Not Zombies

In the A to Z of Becoming a “D” verb is “de-clutter”.

What does it mean to “de-clutter”? It’s going to mean something different to each of us. I’m not making the case here for a physical environment which is minimalist (although my personal preference tends towards minimalism).

This photo of the sea at twilight looks calm and open to me. That’s the feeling I want to get when I de-clutter.

It’s amazing how much “stuff” we accumulate unconsciously – both physical stuff in our rooms, our cupboards, shelves, drawers (and floors!) – and mental stuff in our heads which we carry around with us everywhere.

De-cluttering for me is just a process of making conscious choices. Do I really want to keep that (whatever “it” is) and if I do, do I want to keep it just there where it is at the moment. I find when I de-clutter I do throw a lot of things away – de-cluttering the bookshelf consists of putting into bags books I have read which I know I’ll never want to read again and then taking those books to a charity shop, or giving them away to friends and relatives. De-cluttering a room is often more a process of tidying rather than throwing, or giving, anything away. De-cluttering a wardrobe involves trying clothes on to see if they fit (and realistically am I EVER going to be that size again??) and if they don’t, out they go.

De-cluttering might take effort but once you start the liberation and freedom and space which starts to emerge can be quite thrilling.

De-cluttering your mind is something else again. Meditation practices definitely help to de-clutter the mind. Just taking the time to watch the stuff (the thoughts) which are looping through your mind and watching them go is a de-cluttering all to itself.

Go on, make some space – in your room, in your house, in your head!