We all need less in many aspects of our lives.
Less stress, less decisions, less clutter, less anxiety, less drama and toxicity, less fear, less insecurities, etc.
Yet we continue to excessively fill our spaces and time with more and more stuff that only feeds into this. As a part of my series to help you detox and reset throughout the first month of 2019, I want to share with you ways to simplify and get rid things that no longer serve you in order to start the year with a clean space and mind.
One of the first things I knew I need to do when I arrived home for winter vacation was to majorly gut the stuff that I owned. After being away for four month and not having any need to touch over half of the stuff that was sitting around my room, I realized how much stuff I was hoarding. All the things plaguing the shelves of my closet, the stuff shoved away beneath my bed and into cubbies of my storage cube, were sifted through and now, only a third of what was there remains.
Doing this has made me much happier. There's less around me to deal with, less things piling up and thrown everywhere out of laziness, and the best part: there's less to chose from. It is immensely therapeutic to get rid of the clutter and have a clean space filled only with items that have a specific reason for being there.
We live in a community that is constantly driving for more. There are advertisements everywhere promoting consumerism and this ideology of more stuff will make you happier. But it's really the opposite.
I used to go through so many clothes. I'd buy a shirt for a cheap amount, wear it a couple of times, and hang it up in my closet one day only to never touch it again. I'd buy more clothing, and the same process would happen. This only led to stress. The indecisiveness of choosing what to wear, the stress about how I looked and how my closet looked, a jumble of different styles, lacking one that was mine, and constantly buying more and more, not just clothing, led me to make a resolution for this year to minimize what I owned. I did this also to be more sustainable, and it is the best decision I have made.
After going through and either throwing away or donating or selling a large portion of my belongings, I feel as though I have detoxed my life; at least, part of it. Of course it can be difficult to part with certain things. We attach memories to objects and we hold onto a lot out of the "but what if..." doubt. But really, there are a lot of things we hold onto that we never touch or actually look at, and it only brings clutter to our lives.
As you go through your stuff, you have to be very honest. To help, I made a checklist of questions to ask yourself while going through your belongings:
Go through your clothing, memorabilia, makeup (if you have it), skincare, odd bits and bobs, etc. Push past the "what if's" and sort through everything. Make three piles: keep, donation, and throw away. If there's something you're unsure with parting from, put it in a box under your bed or in the basement for a month and if you don't touch it for the entire month, then get rid of it.
It's a process I recommend doing throughout a week, but in the end it truly is worth it because your space will be cleaner, and there will be less decisions to make, making more room for you to focus on your goals. What you surround yourself with is immensely influential on your mood, your actions, and your success.
In addition to getting rid of the physical objects that surround us, we also have to detox the other spaces we use daily, specifically on our phones and on the internet. Go through your text messages and delete old conversations, contacts of people you don't speak with anymore, and then go through your social media accounts and unfollow anyone who doesn't bring you joy to see on your feed or who you compare yourself to. It's so important to get rid of negativity and clutter.
Trust me, after donating that old blanket you keep on the top shelf of your closet that you never touch or only keeping the makeup you use every day or giving the books you haven't read in a long time to the library, you'll feel so much better. Anything that is no longer benefiting you through inspiration, happiness, or support, has to go in order for you to move forward to making a better you and specifically to create your best year. Invest in yourself by being intentional on what you surround yourself with.
until next time,
take care.
rachel xoxo
What's your opinion?