Hey, it's Cecilia. Today I want to talk to you about clearing clutter in a pandemic.
I've been actually thinking about this a lot since things started shutting down in March. At that time I thought about running a clutter clearing challenge and I very quickly nixed that idea because it was such a huge upheaval. I mean, unless you're very old, I don't imagine any have been through a global pandemic before. This is new for everyone. And in March it was really new.
What happens when things are very stressful, when there's a lot of stress and intensity, it can make it much harder to let go. I’ve talked before about the idea that sometimes things in your life make it easier to let go and other times things in our lives push us more towards holding on. And definitely something like a global pandemic is going to push us more towards holding on.
So if you had the intention this spring to clear clutter and you weren't able, to that's okay. It's normal. You're a human being.
Another thing that I want to say about this is that if you are experiencing extra stress, like you just lost your job, you just lost a loved one, you work in the healthcare industry, your business is struggling, etc... I want to invite you to have some tenderness and care for yourself at this time.
If clutter clearing was on your list in 2020 and it didn't happen, that's okay. I've said this many times, clutter clearing is a luxury. Unless you are in some kind of hoarding situation, for most of us clutter clearing is an indication of our abundance. We have too much stuff and it's not necessary. If life is really stressful right now, there’s no need to add more.
Now I want to talk to the people who are sort of in a new normal as far as the pandemic and 2020 is concerned. Things are okay, maybe they're even great, and you're looking around and you’re noticing some piles and you’re feeling ready to start cleaning them up.
(I have to admit, I hid a few piles before shooting this video. FYI Piles are normal. Things build up and then we clean them up, and they get messy again and we clean them up.)
I was listening to a Brené Brown podcast recently, and she was talking about how during this time, it can be helpful to do little projects around the house that give us a sense of satisfaction. I have to say that I agree. This May I found great satisfaction when took all the random bags of bulk food that I had in a big bin on top of my fridge and moved them into mason jars with labels.
Is there a little corner that you could choose to bring some order to? Don't choose the whole house, just a little corner in your house that you can organize or clean up to give you a sense of control when everything else out of control: the US election, systemic anti-black racism, fires, pandemic, children at home when they're usually at school.
2020 is 2020-ing us big time.
Things are crazy out there, but can you make a little space in your home? When you can do that, when you can make a little space in your home, the hope is you can also make a little space inside yourself.
If you're ready to clear clutter, I invite you to join my 3-Month F Clutter Club that starts Wednesday January 13th, 2021 and registration closes January 11th at midnight. There's something really powerful about clearing clutter in community, supporting each other with kindness and compassion. You don't have to do it alone.
Lots of love and F Clutter,
Cecilia