It is autumn. As the leaves slowly change colour, and the air becomes crisp and lively, and the days grow shorter I am inspired to clean; that kind of cleaning most people enjoy doing in the latter weeks of spring, I also enjoy doing in the early weeks of autumn. With the start of the school year and with winter fast approaching, I like to clean and declutter my house. I pull everything out of the closets, cupboards, dressers, and off shelves. I wash, I reorganize, and I purge. It feels freeing. It feels inspiring. It feels cleansing.
“As you release things in your life that you do not love, that no longer serve you or that do not represent you at your best, you reclaim life force energy for new passions and pursuits” – Pam Holland
Many months back, when I pondered transitions in my post New Beginnings, I did not quite know the direction I was going, what I wanted to accomplish, and where the transition I was embarking on was going to take me. It has been a slow progress, but after a summer spent in emotional turmoil, and a vacation that granted me an opportunity to heal, I returned home with the desire to transform the spaces in my home and in my mind. I came home with clarity.
Decluttering opens you up to a wealth of unclaimed space in both home and mind. It frees you for new beginnings, new passions, and new pursuits. In the two weeks I spent cleaning, reorganizing, and decluttering our house I rescued our home from unwanted, unneeded, and unused items. I reclaimed space, creating inviting nooks for myself, my husband, and my son so we can each enjoy inspirational writing, reading, and creative play – I was able to create a house that felt like a functional, cozy home.
Decluttering and reorganizing doesn’t always mean purging – sometimes it can mean reclaiming forgotten treasures, cleaning them up and lovingly putting them back into use. Sometimes it means reconnecting with oneself – with long-neglected dreams and desires and having the tenacity to reignite these ambitions. That is what I feel I have accomplished in these past two weeks. By decluttering my home I freed space in my mind. I cultivated a cozy home. I carved a nook for myself. I reclaimed small but very important moments – just for me. And in these moments, in my little nook, I have been tapping into my creativity and I have been staying abreast on opportunities to seize. After faltering in the summer months I now have a profound sense of clarity and peace. I am revisiting the transitions I embarked on in the spring, and I am embracing the hope, the will, and the desire. I may falter. I may stumble. I may feel discouraged, but it is through trying that I will never fail.
The art of decluttering is to not only free space in your home, but also free space in yourself. Dare to declutter… dare to reimagine… dare to dream again.
The Art of Decluttering. Published by Crystal Joy Hall
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