Do you ever feel like the clutter in your life is holding you back from living? Clutter appears in many forms along with how it keeps us stuck. It can be physical clutter like piles of papers or non-physical clutter like the negative thoughts we focus on.

In the newly released book, Embrace Conscious Simplicity written by my friend, Barbara Bougher, an organizer and coach and her colleague, Teresa Worthington, a social worker and life coach, they write about recognizing the outer and inner clutter “that distracts us from living our best life, and…about empowering our self to make conscious choices about what we want to keep and what we want to let go.”

Being in the organizing industry for over 23 years and from personal experiments, I’ve seen and experienced the transformations that happen when we give ourselves permission to let go of the clutter that’s weighing us down. I’m sure you have your own stories to share too, which I’d love to hear.

There are many hope-filled and inspiring stories shared in Barbara and Teresa’s book. They also included an extensive list of types of physical and non-physical clutter, which are useful in developing awareness about clutter that might be holding you back. As the authors express,

“Becoming aware of both the physical and non-physical clutter that we allow to take up our valuable time, energy, and space is how we begin to empower our self to transform our life.”

 

 Take a look at the lists. Which ones resonate with you?

 Physical Clutter Include Things…

• that we don’t love or use
• that are broken
• that are unfinished
• that are left out
• that we keep “just in case”
• that need a decision
• that are too abundant for a too small space
• that are other people’s stuff
• that are inherited

Non-Physical Clutter Includes…

• Emotional and mental clutter
• Communication clutter
• Word clutter
• Information clutter
• Gossip clutter
• Drama clutter
• E-clutter
• Noise clutter
• Time clutter
• Body clutter
• Financial clutter
• Spiritual clutter

I’d love to hear your thoughts. In what ways is clutter holding you back? What have you experienced when you’ve let go? Come join the conversation!