The funny thing is, I didn’t think I really needed to - I thought that everything in there was pretty current. I have never been one for actually practicing the Marie Condo life, although I consider myself somewhat of a minimalist and think it’s a great concept. But through recent conversations with friends, I started thinking that maybe there’s something to this. Wondering if your physical space contributes to the space available in your mind.
We have so many layers of noise in our world that every layer matters. Recognizing them and minimizing those that we can seems critical to our wellbeing and success.
So I started going through my closet, and asking myself, do I love this? The answers surprised me, I loved a lot less than I thought.
As I write about the process, a couple categories are coming to mind:
THE CLASSICS. There were some things I had held onto because they were “classics”, I always wore them and can wear them when I can’t think of anything else.
THE UNASSUMING. Those that had skated by in the back of the closet undetected for way too long.
THE FALSE ALARM. Some that I thought I loved, until I asked myself and caught my first guttural response, and then I realized I didn’t.
THE TRUE YES. And then there were those that immediately, without hesitation, the answer was yes. I loved them, and I knew it.
And the more I went through the closet, the better I became at answering and knowing whether or not my answer was accurate for myself. I was learning my own voice in a different way. Turns out, I had two large trash bags full of things I didn’t really like hanging around in there. It felt so good to throw them out of the closet that my enthusiasm increased as I took things out. As I continued my evaluation - something great happened - nothing became off limits. When I first started the clean out, I felt guarded, protective of certain things. But as I got into it, and realized how much freedom was coming from getting rid of these things that I didn’t really like anyway, and I trusted the process more and more. So I started going back through some of the things I had brushed by in the beginning and listening, or trusting, my answer, and that’s how I filled the second bag. When I was done, I felt lighter. I guess it turns out that sometimes our spaces can be related to how much noise we have in our minds.
What layers of noise do you experience and what are the triggers of that noise?
What can you clear out to get some more space for the things that matter most to you?
What CLASSICS do you have - default patterns that you rely on that maybe need to be disrupted - UNASSUMING thoughts, relationships or systems that aren’t serving you well and are hiding beneath the surface, FALSE ALARMS - things that you think you enjoy, but you don’t.
What are your true yes’s and how can you say yes to them more?
I wasn’t expecting a closet clean out to be so enlightening, but I have to say I’m glad it was. The thoughts have made me more aware of other areas of my life, looking for anything that’s been there too long, or has been hiding beneath the surface, or gives a false sense of stability, control or happiness, but not lasting fulfillment or joy. This week, be on the lookout for these things, and share them if there are any that come to mind for you - would love to hear about them.
