Mindful Decluttering

Hi friends

Spring is in the air, which is also the official season of Ostara!   Ostara is the goddess of Spring and the Spring Equinox and she represents renewal and  rejuvenation! So I could not think of a better Lifetonic theme for this month than mindful decluttering.

A few years back, I got into the habit of what’s called ‘mindful decluttering. ’ Clutter can really affect how we feel about ourselves and the space around us.  When we plan to take action it can sometimes feel overwhelming because we often approach it without a clear plan or vision.

What is Mindful Decluttering?

Well, it’s first knowing clearly what you want from your home and life, and then consciously working towards that vision by letting go of anything that doesn’t serve that vision.

When you start to feel the overwhelm kick it –come back to this.  Creating a vision board for the space on pinterest can be a particularly useful way to keep you motivated  and on track. Visualising something can often help make it a reality.

photo of a minimalist living room that has undergone mindful decluttering.

Clutter can be defined in a lot of ways, but we probably most associate clutter with having too many things or having a disorganized space.  It’s easy to accumulate items in our living spaces over the years.

And let’s face it, it’s probably fair to say we’ve maybe accumulate a few more things than we probably planned on having at the start of 2020!

Whilst clutter may look and feel different for all of us, reducing it is a really helpful way to lighten our mind and create a sense of calm around us, benefiting our mental health and overall well-being.

The Benefits of Decluttering

In fact, by reducing the physical clutter, you may find that you also feel more focused and energized!

Here are a few other benefits of decluttering:

Reduced stress and frustration when it comes to your daily environment

The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?”

Marie kondo

Ready to declutter mindfully?

To get you started, I’ve pulled together 10 creative decluttering tips that can also have a positive impact on your wellbeing:

Start with 5 minutes at a time. If you’re new to decluttering, you can slowly build momentum with just five minutes a day.

Give one item away each day. This would remove 365 items every single year from your home. If you increased this to 2 per day, you would have given away 730 items you no longer needed. Increase this number once it gets too easy.

Fill an entire rubbish bag. Get a rubbish bag and fill it as fast as you can with things you can donate at Goodwill.

Donate clothes you never wear.  To identify them, simply hang all your clothes with hangers in the reverse direction. After wearing an item, face the hanger in the correct direction. Discard the clothes you never touched after a few months.

Create a decluttering checklist. It’s a lot easier to declutter when you have a visual representation of where you need to get started. You can use this decluttering checklist that I created especially for you!

mindful decluttering clears your space of unnecessary items.

Take the 12-12-12 challenge. Locate 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to be returned to their proper home.  This is a fun one to get kids involved with!

View your home as a first-time visitor. It’s easy to “forget” what your home looks like to a new visitor. Enter your home as if you’re visiting the home of a friend. Write down your first impression on how clean and organized the home is and make changes.

Take before and after photos of a small area. Choose one part of your home, like your kitchen counter, and take a photo of a small area. Quickly clean off the items in the photo and take an after photo. Once you see how your home could look, it becomes easier to start decluttering more of your home.  Remember what I said about visualising!

Recruit help. Have a friend or family member go through your home and suggest a handful of big items to throw away or give to someone else. If you defend the item and want to keep it, your friend has to agree with your reason. If they don’t agree, it’s time to get rid of it.  Just make sure it ends with a smile on both sides!

Use the Four-Box Method.  Get four boxes and label them:  rubbish, give away, keep, or re-locate. Enter any room in your home and place each item into one of the following boxes. Don’t skip a single item, no matter how insignificant you may think it is. This may take days, weeks, or months, but it will help you see how many items you really own and you’ll know exactly what to do with each item.

You only need to choose one of those decluttering tips to get started.  Remember, the goal is to take your first step in decluttering your life and as we always say here at The Lifetonic  Club and Ostara – it’s the small things often that add up to big results!

When we declutter it can also help reduce feeling of anxiety that tend to cause more stress in our lives.  As you accumulate less in life, you acquire more in your heart – space for friends, family, healthy pursuits, even pilates!

If you’d like to take your Lifetonic to the next level, then I’d highly recommend reading Spark Joy by Marie Kondo.

On Netflix The Minimalists is worth a watch and they also have this fun 30 Day Minimalism Challenge.

For a great podcast try this one called How to Simplify Your Life

There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. Deciding how to declutter your home is up to you but I hope you find something here to motivate and inspire you!

Drop into TLC Facebook Community and let us know what one decluttering tip you’re going to try this month.

Cheering you on for a magical April!

Love Julie x


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