Hey there, this is Jackie de Crinis and you are listening to the Overthinker's Guide
to Joy, Episode 8, The Power of Decluttering. Let's dive in.
Hey there, you are listening to the Overthinker's Guide to Joy. This is a podcast
for overthinkers, overachievers, perfectionists, type A, stressed out,
anxious people who just want to calm down and feel better. I'm your host,
certified life coach, Jackie de Crinis.
So today we're going to talk about one of my favorite subjects in the whole world,
which is the art of decluttering. So I believe that clutter creates a sense of
chaos. So what is clutter? Clutter can be anything. Clutter can be physical clutter.
It can be mental clutter. It can be junk. It can be trash. It can be just too
much stuff. When we declutter our space,
we declutter our mind. So for my overthinkers, this podcast is right up your alley
because chances are, if you're overthinking everything, there's probably some clutter
in your physical environment as well as in your mental environment. Now,
if you're not naturally a minimalist or you're not naturally tidy, decluttering can
be really tricky. And I have a lot of clients who talk about their stuff,
their things providing a lot of comfort. So it both provides chaos and comfort.
Oftentimes we want to hold on to things in our life because there is a sentimental
nature or there is a fear that we will need something at some point and we'll need
it in a hurry or we'll have to go out and buy it again. And so people don't want
to get rid of anything for fear that they might need it. The truth is most people
who live in that state of mind wouldn't be able to find what they need because
they have too much clutter. So they think it's kind of a fallacy to think well if
I just save this piece of string or if I just saved this bag one earring.
At some point, I might need it. And therefore, if I don't get rid of anything,
I'll always have it and then I'll have it at the ready. But the truth is, you
don't have it at the ready because it's not organized. So where does that come
from? Where does that and I don't want to use the word hoarding because that's a
whole different psychological thing. But we'll use it casually for this podcast.
So what happens is we tend to hold on to things or hoard because there is a part
of our past that comes with a scarcity mindset and we're carrying it through to
where we are today. So sometimes it'll be people who didn't grow up with very much,
You know, if their families were poor, or if they were immigrants, or if their
parents were immigrants, or if their parents came from a war -torn country, oftentimes
there is such a scarcity in your upbringing that you were taught to never throw
anything away, never give anything away, never clear out space because there is a
fear that you'll never get it it again. That scarcity mentality, whether it comes
from your great grandparents or grandparents, your parents, or even yourself, that can
transfer generationally. In other words, a scarcity mentality is something that you
could end up having either learned and or teaching to your own children.
And it's not a good thing. You want to come from an abundant mentality. You want
to come from the belief that you can always create your wealth, create what you
need, and it's with inside you. And the truth is that cluttering or holding on to
stuff, whether it's papers, receipts, old clothing that doesn't fit or has holes in
it and you have no intention of fixing it, or broken pieces of plates that are
broken or things that are chipped that you have no intention of repairing. If you're
handy or if you're willing to go get something fixed, that's wonderful.
It's great to not just throw things into the landfill. It's great to be able to
use and repair and recycle what you have. But if something is broken and you're not
fixing it because you don't know how or you don't have the money to or you don't
care to, then it's truly just trash. Then you're truly just holding on to stuff for
the sake of holding on to stuff. And it puts a burden on your psyche when you do
that. So again, back to this scarcity mentality, when we change the history of our
upbringing. Again, whether it's whether you were raised with this belief that things
are scarce or that at one time there wasn't enough, you're holding on to that
belief you're perpetuating that belief and that will be true for you too.
But when we can empower ourselves to believe that we can create what we need,
then we can let go of what we don't. So one of my favorite things to do is to
jumpstart people who are like, "I don't even know where to begin." If you can start
small with a closet, particularly your own closet, this can be the beginning of
something great. So Feng Shui has this great challenge where if you take 27 things
out of your house, your car, your garage, your tool shed, whatever, and you can get
rid of 27 things a day for nine days, there's a powerful clearing in the number
nine, so all of those are multiples of nine, right? Nine days, nine goes into 27
three times, but part of it is the mindfulness
one T seven things for nine days that changes the energy in your life.
It can change your romantic life. It can change your financial life. It can change
your professional life. It can change just your psychological wellbeing. But by
getting rid of 27 things for nine days, you start the clearing process. So I always
suggest starting with your closet. And what you want to do is you want to remove
everything. You want to take everything out and you want to put it into piles.
You want to decide what can be donated is good enough to be donated. What can you
give away to a friend because maybe you're a different size now and you have a
friend who's used to be that size or what can you throw away because just truly
trash, you're not going to fix it. The moths have gotten to it or whatever.
Starting with your closet and getting rid of those 27 things for nine days. That's
the beginning.
And then organizing by color. So creating sections like so you have your shirts and
you have your pants and you have your skirts or you have your dresses or if you're
a man you have your suits or you have your ties or your belts or women have their
purses or their shoes. But by creating sections in your closet so that you know
where the long and short sleeve things are, you know where the dresses are, you
know where the pants are, and then going by color. That can be a great way to
organize things. But again, it's really about decluttering. What can you get rid of?
Because when you get rid of things, you create more space in your brain. So that's
the closet. What can you do on your desk? I guarantee you there are 27 things on
your desk or in your inbox right now that you can either file, you can scan to a
digital file, you can create a folder for them or an envelope, or you can actually
shred it or throw it away. You don't need old receipts. You just don't.
I mean, maybe you do for tax purposes, but put them in a file. But you certainly
don't need drive through food receipts, you don't need receipts from the grocery
store if it's been a week and there's nothing that you're gonna be returning, get
rid of paper, throw it away, shred it, burn it, whatever you can do,
get rid of it. Again, this counts on your 27 nine things, right? So 27 things a
day for nine days. You can get rid of paper, you can get rid of gum wrappers, you
can get rid of broken things, doesn't matter, just get it out of your house, get
it out of your car, get it out of your office. When we do this, we start to feel
a lightness. We start to feel like we are in control of our own environment.
And it's exciting and it builds upon itself, but the trick is not to get
overwhelmed. The trick is not to take on the whole house it wants. It's to take on
one closet, one desk, one drawer, one room at a time and schedule it.
Just dedicate a couple of hours each day for nine days until you start to see the
clutter disappear. And what you'll find is you'll see your mind starting to
declutter, you'll start to be more creative, You'll start to feel calmer and more
peaceful. It's the most powerful thing you can do. So that's your assignment for
this week, my overthinkers. Your assignment is to get yourself boxes or garbage bags
and mark on them, donate or trash, and pick one place in your house or your office
or your car or your garage that you're going to clean, cleanse,
get rid of, 27 things for nine days in a row.
And it's really important to mark them off on a piece of paper so that you know
you're counting to 27. The mindfulness practice of this is as important as the
getting rid of. So Make sure you're counting and you're, you know, doing little
hashtag marks so that you know exactly how many you're doing every day. And if you
go over it, I mean, in other words, if at the end of nine days, you've still got
another 27 things for nine days, pick another nine days that you're gonna do 27
more things. It's really powerful. You're gonna love decluttering and then you're
gonna love how much space you have in your life and in your brain because good
things are going to come and you're going to feel so much more empowered, so much
clearer and so much more organized. I would love you to drop me a note and tell
me how it's going or leave me a review on this podcast or reach out to me through
my website if you would like more tips on decluttering or decluttering your Mind.
Have a great week. I look forward to talking to you next time. Take care.
Bye for now. If you want to learn more tips about managing your stress and how to
manage your overthinking brain, just go to my website and sign up for my weekly
newsletter at jackiedecrinis.com. That's J -A -C -K -I -E -D -E -C -R -I -N -I -S.com.
You can also follow me on Instagram at Jackie de Crinis. Bye for now. Thank you for
listening to this episode of Overthinkers Guide to Joy. If you like what was offered
in today's episode, I would love you to leave a review and subscribe or follow
wherever you get your podcasts.
