When you do this, you make space for more abundance
/
"Leaders in our lives" workshop. An incredible morning with amazing participants.
In order for abundance to come into your life, there has to be space for it to enter. It cannot enter if everything around you is filled to capacity…Where would it go? This not only applies to the material world, but to your mind and to your spirit. One of my mantras in the past years has been “How do I create space for this in my life?” with “this” being anything from a new jacket I would like to get, to a new friendship that is blossoming. Often, I’ve had to say goodbye to something or activities that are currently in place and that no longer serve me. Sometimes it’s a sad process, though more often than not it is incredibly empowering, lightening, and freeing.
Our home reflects the above. More than once someone has approached me and said “I love the minimalist style you and your husband have.” In reality, we are not rigorous minimalists. I believe in the energetic space that needs to be created for abundance to enter, and both my husband and I also just hate having useless stuff that creates clutter! We constantly ask ourselves if something (furniture, clothing, food, anything…) is really necessary. And despite others noting this about us, we still believe we have LOTS in our home we need to get rid of (I have to confess this is mostly due to me and not my husband!). That is why, when I heard about the popular organization and de-cluttering book by Marie Kondo “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” it was an automatic must-read for me.
I have yet to kick off Marie Kondo’s process in our home, though I can share that just reading the book has been eye-opening for me. Even without a formal commencement of the process, I’ve already learned a ton about myself, my home, and my life. My biggest learning? A greater sense of respect for the things I have in my life, and those that will enter.
I recommend you read Marie Kondo’s book to benefit from her process (or listen to the audible; as you guys know I love audibles!). Here are the 3 core steps of her approach to tidying:
Take a look at Marie Kondo herself breaking down her method.
- Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible. Either do it all in one day, or put aside weekends to do this, and give yourself a deadline (e.g. 3 months). Tidying is not something you do every day little by little, it is a special activity that should have time set aside just for it.
- When you are ready to tidy, start by sorting your things into what you will keep and what you will give away or throw out. When you sort, sort by category, not by location. We tend to go room by room, organizing and tidying the bedrooms first, then the kitchen, the home office, etc. You do not want to do this. You want to tidy by category. For example, tidy all of the clothes in your house first. Then tidy all of the books in your house. Then tidy all of your documents, etc. etc. Marie Kondo says that if you do not do it this way, all you end up doing is moving stuff from room to room.
- Ask yourself: Does it spark joy? When you are ready to tidy a category, you must touch every single thing you own in that category with your hands. You must then ask yourself the question “Does this item spark joy?” If it does not, you either give it away or throw it out. The impact: everything in your home going forward will fill you with joy, which is not only the most incredible feeling, but guaranteed to help you feel relaxed and comfortable in your own home.
I promise that implementing the above will result in a greater level of respect for your belongings and surroundings. I hope this helps you! I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below. If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends and family!
Lots of love,
Judith