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“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”
― Joshua Becker

Why would you want to declutter your life? The first few important things that come to my mind are, clutter in any form –

• Drains our energy.
• Encroaches on precious time.
• Adds to our already stressful life.

Getting your life organized doesn’t simply mean going all Marie Kondo on everything you own. It also means getting your priorities straight to focus on things that really matter & make timely decisions. But still being left with enough time & energy to actually enjoy your life.

LIST OF CONTENTS/SECTIONS

• How to spring clean your mind
• Declutter your mind
• Spring clean to manage stress & your time better
• Declutter your life

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How to effectively declutter your life with mental spring cleaning

Spring cleaning your mind is important to let your brain relax. After collecting & processing so much important, could be avoided, & unnecessary information it deserves a break before starting on something different.

So I like to think of it as entering my home after a tiring day out & getting ready to relax. This sequence will also help you remember the steps in the order they’re most effective.

1. Loosen the necktie:

Before you set out dusting, sorting & organizing your mental space, cut your brain some slack. Get it into a mode that makes all the sorting-through simple. Do something that makes you happy, but which you generally don’t do.

Like, trying out a new style of makeup, sort through your old photographs, enjoy star gazing, feed birds in the park, get on a swing, or jump in puddles out in the rain. Whatever makes your brain switch from worries & deadlines to carefree relaxed mode, even if just for a few minutes.

Related:

Relaxation techniques: Fun Stress Relief activities

2. Put the keys & shoes away:

At least organize & declutter the space you’re sitting in if organizing your whole living space sounds too much to do. This is important because physical clutter creates an environment of stress that adds to your mental clutter.

Sort out, declutter, & organize your thoughts by writing them down as different lists. Maintain different lists/journals to keep track of your family commitments, daily tasks, important dates, financial tasks, and every other task you can think of.

Once you transfer all these on to a paper, your mental space frees up for other important things. You are able to focus on related things more clearly & efficiently without other worries jumbling up the whole process.

3. Wash up:

Just like you wash up & change into comfortable clothes as a routine after returning home, create habits out of things that you have to do repeatedly. When you follow routines or make a habit of something, no additional thoughts are needed & your brain space frees up.

For example, you don’t have to think out every step when brushing your teeth in the morning or at night because it’s something you do routinely, right? You can do it automatically, even half asleep. It’s important that your brain has time to relax & get back from the fight or flight state that daily stress puts it into. Stress piling up can lead you to feel overwhelmed by it all & burnt out.

Related:

5 reasons Why learning to say no is an important life skill

4. Put on some soothing music:

Cut out negativity. Distance yourself from negative people as much as you can. Be mindful of how much & what world news you expose yourself to. Take in only that much as you can handle. I like how they print regular newspapers for school students. You get all the important news & updates minus the negative & violent undertones.

But more importantly, stop comparing yourself or your life to others. This is one of the main reasons for mental clutter because jealousy & needless competition clutters up our decision process. Everyone’s life story & struggles are different. Focus on the important things in your life & how far your efforts have brought your forward.

5. Relax & enjoy the music:

Start a brain dump diary. It literally de-clutters the brain transforming all rushing thoughts into written words on paper. Before going to sleep, take 15 minutes & write down all your fears, worries, & ideas.

It’ll help you look at things with a different perspective, transfer not-so-urgent thoughts to paper & clear out mental space. Your brain gets time to relax with all thoughts neatly organized into lists & journals.

Related:

5 realistic & effective coping strategies for stress

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How do I train my brain to be organized

If you basically are an organized person then it would be quite easy. By organized person I mean you wouldn’t be embarrassed by the condition of your wardrobe if it was suddenly to be opened wide in front of a roomful of guests.

Keeping your home clutter free is easier because if nothing else, you would be motivated by the thought of how people would feel about you when they see the condition of your living space. But, keeping your brain organized needs more willpower.

So first you’ve to believe in the reason behind spring cleaning your mind. You have to be convinced about the need for decluttering your thoughts. Like, will it cut a lot of stress for you or will it help you make faster & better decisions by clearing away the mental fogginess, etc.

These words by Buddha will help you see your ‘why’ clearly when you decide to declutter your life – “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind.”

The question is, how do I clear my mind of clutter? Well, the key is to put all your thoughts down in writing so that you can see clearly what you’re dealing with without other distractions. Keep reading on because in the next section we will discuss how to go about it effectively.

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How can I declutter my life & mind

I really like how Cynthia Kyriazis defines clutter – “Clutter is symptomatic of delayed decision making.” Because when you come to think of it, all the clutter you see in your storage, home, workspace is because you or someone delayed putting the stuff back in their designated space or decided to sort through them later.

And in the same way, your life might feel like a bit stressful, overloaded & disorganized right now because –

• You decided to think through a commitment & probably get out of it later.
• Took on too much thinking you’ll somehow find a way to accommodate everything into your limited time later.
• Kept making short-term decisions first pushing the important ones back because you would find time to think them through & decide later.

Do you see a pattern over here?

So when you’re ready to declutter your life & mind –

• Get absolutely clear about priorities first.
• Organize time, energy, & mental space focused on your priorities.
• Do daily mini sorting-through & organizing so that you don’t have to be overwhelmed dealing with a piled up clutter monster.

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Declutter your life with spring cleaning

First of all, why is it called spring cleaning? Because spring is a time of fresh new beginnings & we’re mentally geared to improve things in our life. To create space & time for new things to enter, we have to get rid of all those physical, emotional, & life affecting things that aren’t useful anymore.

Spring cleaning your life is quite similar to what you do for your home or office space. You clear away the dust, dirt & grime so that you can see what you are dealing with exactly. Then you sort & organize them getting rid of stuff that you don’t need anymore. You then keep the daily needs items handy & store neatly away those that would come in use later (like winter stuff).

But, the thing that worries most of us is where do I start decluttering. When it comes to decluttering your life, the first space to focus on is your mind.

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Buddha

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Making lists & keeping everything organized might come naturally to some while others might think it simply won’t work for them. But the truth is, neither getting all obsessive-compulsive about sticking to lists nor always winging-it works. It’s a balance between these two that will keep everything clutter-free & organized yet enjoyable for you.

Life is unpredictable & keeps on throwing unexpected twists-in-the-story at us. If you want to keep it uncluttered, focused, & fun then develop a habit of making time for yourself regularly & setting your priorities straight.

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Which feels easier – keeping your mind or your life decluttered? Let’s take this conversation to the comments below

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