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Start Where You Are. Use What You Have.
December 24, 2017
Do What You Can. -Arthur Ashe
One of the most common emotions people have about their clutter is shame. They feel ashamed of the condition of their environment and that they are living in a way that they never imagined they would be. I know from my 13 years of decluttering experience that there is always at least one extenuating circumstance that led to the current reality of a client's home. Most times, it's not uncommon to find three or four things that happened around the same time that became more important than keeping a tidy house: a death in the family, an illness, an injury, a divorce, or any of dozens of other major life transitions. These types of experiences are emotionally demanding and quite draining. While each client's circumstances are unique, the one thing that I always say to them in our very first conversation is to be kind to themselves. I encourage them to direct their mental and emotional energies into thinking about and creating the life and environment they want, not into feeling bad about the current circumstance. We each have only so much energy on a given day and the more we focus on our future, the faster things will change for the better.
Here is the question:
What story can you create to shift your perspective about your current state of clutter into something positive?