A friend of mine recently moved to a new apartment. I don’t know if you’re like me, but the very thought of moving makes me start shaking. It’s the idea of packing up all my stuff that gives me so much anxiety. Over the years, we accumulate so much, and moving means we need to sort through it all, get rid of a lot, and pack up the rest. Whenever I think about it, the task seems monumental.

            My friend didn’t particularly enjoy the packing up either. But she told me she loved the unpacking. In her new place, all the closets and cabinets and drawers were empty, and as she unpacked each box, she decided how things would be arranged in her apartment and exactly the best spot for each item. It’s the only time our closets and cabinets are so well-organized.

            This got me to thinking about clutter. Clutter– physical, mental, and emotional–is one of the things than can block us from achieving our goals. We let things accumulate without sorting through them, and without either getting rid of them or putting them in their place. Clutter of all types is negative energy, and when it fills our lives, it crowds out the positive energy.

            I’ve talked a lot in this blog about mental and emotional clutter, but clearing out the physical clutter is every bit as important. Objects can have powerful associations for us, and holding on to an object can be a symbol of holding on to a counterproductive belief or a behavior. Do you still have that cocktail shaker, that ashtray, that sweater your mother gave you that you always hated, that photo of you with the boyfriend who never treated you well?

            Throw that stuff away–and throw away all the negative energy that goes with it. Imagine your life as cleaned out as my friend’s closets in her new apartment, stripped of what you don’t need all ready for you to decide exactly the right spot for everything.