Why and what you need to declutter before the new year

What are you willing to let go of in order to start the new year right?

Prevent yourself from living in the past

We are leaving yet another year behind us and the next stands, daunting, at our front doors. I have always been emotionally attached to time. I would characterize myself as a sensitive person and so I have often caught myself stuck thinking about the past, how time fast times, and how it literally feels like just yesterday that this particular memory happened. What I'm talking about right now are the happy feelings we get from thinking about heart-warming past memories. In these cases, we may be unwilling to acknowledge difficulties that are happening in our present lives, whether or not we recognize them as problems.

Physical items can mirror our emotional state

The alternative scenario is, that your past has been difficult and as much as you tried to persevere, it is so hard to allow yourself to move on or let go of the emotional weight. Often times this can be tied into the material weight you are holding onto. Material items can say a lot about us and simultaneously they can emotionally affect us. The way we treat our material belongings - hoard them, clutter them - says something about us. Are we holding onto material items because we are unwilling to let go of emotions of resentment or hurt? Are we reorganizing crap (instead of getting rid of it) because we are simply unaware of the fact that it represents the way we have been reorganizing our goals, without ever really doing anything about them?

If you feel that this connection between your physical space and your mental state explains the messy situation you are currently in, do not fret! I have outlined three small steps you can take to begin to declutter and create order moving forward into the new year.

Reflect on your year first  

Before we even begin looking at our material belongings, lets first look back on this year. What was this year like for you overall? Without immediately labeling it "good" or "bad," what are a few emotions that come up? Perhaps feelings of courage or strength arise. Maybe love or hurt. Before we can even begin to connect material belongings to our emotional experiences and our past, we need to recognize what happened this past year and most importantly, what has been holding us back.

Ask yourself that question. What is holding me back? What happened this year that impacted me in some way? How did I change? Did something happen that shifted my focus? Did I do something that I need to take responsibility for?

There are so many things, little or big, that hold us back from moving forward because we don't deal with them. We have to deal with our shit before we can freely move forward; otherwise, your shit will pile up and start blocking your way. You will be building a wall in front of yourself made of your emotional stuff and your material stuff.

Take 10 minutes right now. Set a timer and reflect on your year. Be really honest with yourself. You have got to confront what has happened to you or what you have done in order to truly move on and grow from it.

Next, Declutter your material items

With this new year slowly creeping up, I want you to ask yourself this: what material items can I declutter and let go of in my life?

This first step is all about recognizing the excess of clothes, products, and goods that you have that are no longer serving you. This does not need to be a huge and complete decluttering process, but it can include the first few things that came to mind when I asked the question above. Maybe you've known that those items have served their purpose for you and it is now time to let them go. What comes to mind right now? Go get it and then let it go. If you don't feel like you have anything do declutter, take 30 minutes and reorganize a drawer in your closet (or maybe the whole closet!). I guarantee you will be confronted with items that you no longer spark joy or are keeping you in the past, preventing you from moving forward.

Before we move onto the next step, reflect. Have there been any material items created a negative emotional connection? Did you perhaps become calmer after organizing a bookshelf or a drawer? Pay attention to the mental shifts that are happening as you let go of items or a mess that is not serving you.

Now, declutter your goals 

What can you release yourself from? Sometimes we create goals and routines that are far too ambitious and we cannot give them enough focus because they are not our priorities. They may have sounded cool, but they weren't broken down into manageable sub-goals, or maybe they don't light a fire within you anymore.

Get rid of any goal or project that no longer aligns with your goals, who you are right now, or where you want to go! Allow yourself to let go of these past to-do's that are no longer a priority for you. Feel the release of letting them go. You do not need to do everything, and decluttering goals because they no longer serve you is not failure - it's called self-care.

Take it inside 

Now take your reflection, the stuff you decluttered, and the goals you let go of, and let's take a trip into your emotional self. What emotional realizations did you have from decluttering your space or your goals? What emotions do you need to deal with now that you have reflected on your year? How do you need to show up for yourself right now, in order to let all the emotions you have been carrying with you go?

What are the resentments, guilt, and anger you are willing to let go of? Is there shame or embarrassment you can declutter from yourself? If there is someone you need to forgive (even yourself), now is the time.

What are stories that you are telling yourself? What are the false beliefs that are becoming embedded in your mind because you tell yourself over and over that you are too young or too old or not successful or too poor or not lovable or emotionally unavailable? Let go of all of the disempowering stories you tell yourself. Would you say any of these stories to your best friend? Would you try and tear them down the way you have been doing to yourself?

Confront and release the negative emotions, situations, and stories that you have been holding onto. You will not need them from here on out as you enter this new year.

Do whatever works best for you in order to declutter your emotions. Write out the situations and at the end forgive or state how you will no longer continue this practice in the future. Maybe you need to write up everything you need to let go of on individual sheets so you can tear them up or burn them. Maybe you need to take a bath and wash them all away. Do whatever you feel will work best to help you declutter.

I think it's important to add that some emotions need to be worked through with a professional and/or it may take more than a day to let them go. If that is your case, that is okay too. This exercise will serve as a good starting point and the fact that you clicked to read this post shows that you are already in the mindset of healing and decluttering.

Why decluttering mind and space together is so important

The way we deal with emotions or past situations can often show itself through the material items we treasure (or don't) and the way we handle our possessions. So first and foremost, this practice will help you realize what you have been holding onto that is affecting you emotionally in order to help you let go of it.

Second, recognizing the mental and emotional connection to our physical belongings and the declutter that can be done for both spaces, will encourage more intentionality in the future. Hopefully, the four categories of reflecting, decluttering material items, decluttering goals, and confronting emotions and beliefs will stay with you as you move forward. That way, you can be conscious of what you bring into your life or know when something needs to go because it has begun emotionally impacting you.

With that, I will leave you until next year. Thank you to everyone who has joined me on this journey or consistently read and visited D3. It means the world to me and I love sharing on this platform.

A very happy new year!