Free of Clutter

We are about to celebrate our nation's independence, and it got me thinking about what freedom means...specifically with regard to clutter and organization. I love looking up definitions of words, so here are a few for you to think about:

Freedom: the state of not being imprisoned
Clutter: to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness

I came across a quote the other day by a well-known professional organizer that I want to share with you. 

Peter Walsh said, "if you have so much stuff it drags you into the past or pulls you into the future, you can’t live in the present." 

Oh my goodness, the visual of this really struck me! Dragging into the past...pulling into the future. Weighty stuff...literally and figuratively.

As I begin an organizing session with a client, I often hear, "I feel so weighed down by all this stuff." It's hard to know where to begin and even harder to wade through it all. 

I get that. 

But when we have finished the hard work, there is often a feeling of lightness that comes with getting rid of the stuff that no longer serves you. It's interesting because the weight of the stuff is real (I know this by all the lifting and loading of stuff in my car to take away – it gets heavy for sure). 

But the freedom one feels when that stuff is out the door is amazing! As I leave a client's house, it's not uncommon to hear them say, "a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!"

This is what I want for you: for you to feel free from the burden of too much stuff. 

Happy Independence Day!