De-cluttering

I'm gonna be honest with you: you have too much stuff.  I know you do because most people do and I'm a lot like you. Is there a bunch of clothes hanging in your wardrobe that you haven't worn since the turn of the century? Are your drawyers stuffed with junk and you are afraid that they will explode in your face when you open them so you prefer to keep them closed? Is your old suitcase filled with bags and shoes and things you don't even remember? Check your kitchen counters, I bet they hide things that you have no idea off.

I was forced to face my clutter some two years ago, when I moved to Turkey. I had to downsize my belongings into 3 cubic meters of moving boxes. Less was ok too, but no more. And downsizing was not one of my skills at that time. Pulling out all the things I was hiding in bags and boxes, on shelves, under the bed and inside my drawers nearly overwhelmed me. The idea of moving into foreign territory made me clinch on to every single item I owned. Suddenly there was this deep sentimental relationship I felt with my old stuff. How the heck was I going to decide what to keep and what to let go off?

When I shared my hopeless state of being with a friend, she advised me to read Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. I didn't think a book is gonna safe me but I was in a stage where I would have followed any advise so I immediately bought the book. And I read it in 2 days. After that I was unstoppable. Clutter moved through my hands and into boxes and garbage bags in no time. And I filled up my station rent-a-car 4 times with things I donated to a charity organization. There were moments when I was even tempted to get rid of everything, and leave the country without even a toothbrush. Luckily, I have some very cool stuff that I really,really love and cherrish and use. And there is no way I could find similar things in Alanya so I'm happy I kept it.

But once settled in in our new home in Alanya, we were still missing some furniture. So there was a couple of boxes I couldn't unpack. We decided to keep them in extra bedroom 'just for now'. And quickly and sneeky this extra bedroom turned into our storage room, where more and more things got dumped 'just for now'.  Next thing we knew friends brought some of their stuff because they were moving as well, we kept some stuff for the restaurant in there, my mother in-law placed some boxes there because of lack of space in their own apartment and so on. Because that's what happens: clutter attracts clutter.

But this room started to make me extremely nervous. And unhappy. And irritated. And so I grabbed Karen Kingston's book again and reminded myself of why I should never ever create new clutter in my home again. Because getting started and deal with it is hardddd! But I'm telling you, this book is extremely motivating. I read a bit of it one evening and I couldn't sleep so excited was I to get started with room the next day.
The room looks great now, the negative energy around it is completely gone and I'm in the process of turning it into our home office space. Having a real work space, separated fromt the living room, will surely have a positive effect on my work life as well.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because a clutter free space can change your life. Changing the space you live in will change how you feel will change how you live will change who you are. It's a very profound process.

Clutter holds a lot of old, stagnant and negative energy. Getting rid of the old stuff creates a new, open space in your life where fresh energy can flow through. This can have a major effect on your fysical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being. You don't have to do all at once. Even a small de-cluttering project can have a big effect on you.

Here's a tip from me: if you don't absolutely love it or use it donate it. Because someone else will love it more than you. You can make someone else happy with it. And this thing whatever it is that you posess deserves to be appreciated. It's ok to posess some things you like but don't use, but never, never, never let these things begin to posess you. If they tie you down, get rid of it. Let. it. go.

Repeating the following mantra may help: i will never use this, I will never use this, I will never ever use this. Proceed to the give away pile or garbage bag. Repeat.

Let's begin the clutter-free project. Organize that one corner, drawyer or box that is full of junk before end of this year. Do it. And watch what happens. You will thank yourself for it. If you need help, get your hands on a copy of the book first. Start a de-clutter revolution of your own and pass it on to your friends and family. Everyone should have a chance to know and to benefit from a clutter free life.

Good luck and keep me posted on your progress!
If you have a tip of how to de-clutter your space please share it with us below.

I'll be writing more on what you can do to change your personal space and attract what you love in another post.

For now I'll be sending a lot of clean and clear vibes your way tonight.

And off to the kitchen... that rice pudding has been on mind all day since I woke up this morning. It's all that I want to happen for now.

Two years after moving date I still had some unpacked moving boxes. Now, I'm in no way proud of showing you my clutter. I normally would never do such a thing because it's embarrassing and it's ugly. But I'm doing this because I love you. And because I want you to understand that you are not the only one who is hiding clutter in your home. I want you to take a good look at yours and then get rid of it once and for all.

More annoying clutter just sitting there. Stagnant energy. Uglyness to the eye. Chaos to the mind. Away with that! ASAP please!

My poor books had to put up with this mess for way to long. I made it up to them by giving them a better place in the room and organzing the shelves.

Progress. We f.i.n.a.l.l.y. got rid of the stuff that wasn't ours, organized everything else, had the floor re-done with new laminate and the walls painted in a fresh virgin white. Aah! What a relief. I can see the home office plans happening in here.. bare with me. More updates soon. Oh, and please don't judge me for that lamp.. I know it's hidious. But it has been hanging from that ceiling long before we moved in and I couldn't decide what to replace it with yet. Now that I will start to use that room more, I will make the lamp situation a priority. Promise.