Clutter is part of our lives. Have you ever thought about nourishing vs. unproductive clutter? One standard definition of clutter is “to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness.” Unproductive clutter drains us. What if instead, we reframed the concept of clutter and only pursued clutter that yielded a positive outcome? What if we only sought out good clutter?

Nourishing clutter has a rejuvenating effect. It fills our lives with family, friends, meaningful work, experiences and downtime. Instead of our homes becoming overrun, we trade the excess stuff that drains our energy for experiences and people that replenish us. By shifting the focus of our collections away from things, we can alter our relationship to our possessions and become more vibrant.

What would be possible if you filled your life with nourishing clutter?

Jackson Pollock, painter

Do you ever have so many thoughts twirling around your brain that it feels as cluttered as a room full of stuff? It seems like our thoughts have nowhere to go and that our heads could burst. We jump from one idea to the next. We lose focus. We feel frazzled. We have no clarity. Details and minutia cloud the big picture. This is mind clutter.

I’ve experienced it and I know many of you have too. Unlike physical clutter, we can’t donate our mind clutter. We can’t toss it in the trash. However, we can do some things. Recently when my mind felt too full, I tried a few techniques that worked.  Perhaps a combination of these ideas mixed with some of your own solutions will help you the next time your mind is feeling cluttered.

8 Ways to Release Mind Clutter

• Grab a Pen – Whether you prefer traditional writing or typing on a keyboard, recording your thoughts to another medium helps to release and make sense of them. Whether you make a list, short bullet points or long paragraphs, the act of transferring the thoughts will reduce your mind clutter.

• Invite a Distraction – Let your mind wander by shifting the focus away from within to an external distraction like watching a movie or reading a book. The focus on a different “story” can help suspend the frazzled feelings.

• Unleash Creativity – Pull out the colored pencils, paints or instruments. Bake a cake or knit a sweater. Find a creative outlet to help loosen your thoughts and unclutter your brain.

• Be Kind to Self – It’s stressful when our thoughts are cluttered. Feeling this way is temporary. Go easy on yourself during these times. Take good care by getting enough sleep, hydration and nutrition.

• Initiate a Conversation – Another great way to release mind clutter is to share your thoughts with a friend or family member. Talking and being listened to, even if there is no resolution, can be a great way to gain perspective and organize your thoughts.

• Change the Scenery – Getting away from your customary environment to another location, can help to reduce mind clutter. It could be something simple like going for a walk or more elaborate like exploring a new town or destination.

• Play Some Tunes – Listening to music can greatly improve your mood and help release extraneous thoughts. Singing or dancing along is an added benefit. I’ve recently started hula hooping to loud, upbeat music. Aside from being fun, it’s great exercise and helps me refocus.

• Eat Some Chocolate – I admit that eating chocolate goes against my healthy eating and exercising suggestions. It’s just that as a chocolate lover, I have to fess up that indulging in a bit of it helps me when my mind gets too cluttered. There are some other benefits to eating chocolate. The operative word here is moderation. I’m not suggesting a chocolate-fest, but a piece or two.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about releasing internal clutter. What works for you when your mind is cluttered?

When you walk into a space, what do you see? Are the floors and surfaces filled with things? Is the space completely empty? Is it somewhere in between? How does it make you feel? Upon entering, do you feel anxious or relaxed? Is the space welcoming or does it make you want to turn away and leave?

Spaces affect our moods. It has everything to do with what is and isn’t in them. Lately, I’ve been thinking about filling and emptying rooms and how the mood of the space changes with the movement of objects.

Back in the fall, we moved our youngest daughter into her college dorm. Since she was the first to arrive, the suite was empty. No possessions occupied the space. As she unpacked, the space transformed as her belongings took their places. The space continued to fill as each suitemate arrived. Clear areas quickly became cluttered.

Nine months later, spring came as Cassie’s freshman year ended. We went to pick her up. She was the last roommate to leave and was all packed when we arrived. The space, which had been filled by six people, was once again empty. The stuff and clutter was gone.

So, what does this have to do with you? You are probably not moving in and out of dorm rooms. You do, however, have the opportunity to start with a clean slate and consider your spaces. You can think about how you’d like them to look and feel. Are they more cluttered than you want? If so, this can be your time to clear and release. Are you ready for a change?  If so, this can be your time to transform your spaces into welcoming, beautiful places.

What can you imagine? Where will you begin?

My least favorite space in the home is the garage. Specifically, I don’t like to enter our garage. Sometimes I think of it as the abyss. Things enter and never leave. Well, that’s not exactly true. In the twenty plus years that we’ve lived here, the garage has been cleared and decluttered many times. There have been points when I’ve actually enjoyed going in there. It was time once again to evaluate the piles that had accumulated. This was one of my spring goals. It was time to face the clutter.

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day. It was warm and sunny. I spent the first part of my day doing some inside work, but then took an outdoor lunch break at the river with my husband, Steve. As we relaxed and ate in the sun, the last thing I wanted to do was leave the river and organize the garage. I procrastinated as long as possible until Steve encouraged me to go.

Back home, I stood in the garage and looked at all the stuff. I tried not to get overwhelmed. I told myself that I would only work for a few hours and accomplish as much as I could in that time. Then I’d stop. To brighten up the atmosphere, I turned on the lights and opened the garage door to let in natural light. I began in one area, evaluating only my items. Steve promised to organize his stuff at another time.

I asked myself questions like, “Do I need this anymore?” “Is it just taking up space?” “If I released it, what would happen if I needed it someday?”  I was ruthless. I began making piles of items to donate, things to recycle, items to consolidate or go elsewhere and things for the trash. In a short time, I saw progress. It felt good. I thought, “Hey, this isn’t so bad. It’s actually kind of fun.”

The organizing was intermingled with some welcome interruptions. A friend stopped to chat while riding by on his bike, there were many phone calls from family and friends and a few snack breaks. After several hours, I had items to donate to Goodwill, lots of things to recycle, a few bags of trash and most importantly . . . space! I swept the floor and dropped off the items to donate.

Reflecting back, there were a few things I did that helped with tackling the clutter. Perhaps they can help you too. They were:

• Scheduled time – set date with self in calendar to address the clutter

• Established parameters – decided how many hours I would work and with the concept of stopping when it was “good enough”

• Created optimal working environment – made sure there was enough light; playing music might have been effective too

• Asked questions – this helped me to be honest and ruthless

• Allowed breaks – the work was less intimidating because I allowed for some “fun” breaks with people and refreshments

• Appreciated the process and result – took time to enjoy the work and admire the progress

What spring organizing projects are on your to do list? What single next step will move you forward?