De-cluttering December

This past year I've been "dabbling" in clearing out clutter. I've cleaned out some drawers, organized closets and did a mass cleaning on the basement. Little things like that. I've felt this inner desire to clear more, but have managed to set it aside - until now.

In November, I took the art every day challenge very seriously. Within the first three days of art-making, I rearranged my studio. This is when I felt a huge shift. Moving some furniture and organizing my supplies freed up so much creative energy, I honestly felt swept away by it. It has been amazing.

And now the desire to clear every part of my house is too huge to ignore! As I get ready to share my e-course with you, I am highly in-tune to my observations that our lives are reflections of what's going on inside our heads. That the forms, or symbols in our external world are reflections of our thoughts. So if I'm living in clutter, there must be some clutter within myself that needs dealing with.

I don't think having "things" is a bad thing. I love my things. And, yet, I'm in a new place in my life where I am finding it much easier to know when it's time to let them go. Everything has a time and a place. Just because it served its purpose 10 years ago, doesn't mean it still serves that same purpose today. So why are we holding onto it?

I've come to the realization that many times we buy, or hoard, or hold on to things in an attempt to distract ourselves from dealing with the deeper stuff. You know, the stuff that says we aren't good enough, or don't have enough, or need this or that to feel validated and important. I also find that holding on to things for that day when we might need them, puts out a message to the universe that we don't trust that it will provide for us in the future. I now believe that instead of holding on to every art supply known to man, thinking I'll make something with it one day, I can let it go, knowing that when the time comes, the supplies and the projects will find me. But I need the SPACE, or when it's ready to find me, it won't have anywhere to go.

I know that if I clear old socks out of my drawer and put the pairs neatly together, I feel much better when I go to that drawer where I can find my favorite pair of socks with ease. The same thing has to apply when I think about my thoughts. If my mind is bouncing from thought to thought, regretting the past, or worrying about the future, I know that this mental clutter is taking up precious space where I could otherwise feel more at peace. I see my home as an extension of my body. The closets are the arteries, and we all know what happens when we clog arteries, so I'm seeing that clearing the closets has to help my home (and life) run more smoothly.

To honor my need for space this holiday season, I'm giving myself the challenge of de-cluttering something everyday in December. It can be as small as my sock drawer or as large as an entire room, but it MUST happen. My intention for clearing is simply to create space. I'm trusting my intuition that greater, BIGGER, deeper change is on the other side. (On the right side of my blog I'll post each day what area I've conquered!)

Your Personal Reflection: Are you ready to de-clutter December? Look at the "clutter" in your life and see how you can take small steps towards creating more space. What things" are you holding on to, and what are you ready to let go of?