Mind & Spirit
How to clear the clutter out of your life
Mind & Spirit
How to clear the clutter out of your life
• Remember that nothing is sacred except you.
• If it doesn't fit anymore, physically or psychologically, let it go.
• Take the items that you are going to review out of their space and move them to another room, or outside, so you can get a fresh perspective.
• If you hesitate trying to decide whether something is worthwhile, it's clutter.
• If you haven't used it in a year, it's clutter.
• If you find yourself defending the object because of how much it cost you, it's clutter.
• If the item makes you feel out of sorts, it's clutter.
• Always remove from your home what you know to be clutter. Otherwise, it will continue to detract from your life.
• No clutter is labeled clutter. Clutter is invisible. It was put in its location subconsciously. That's why you have to ask if each thing is truly helpful to you or if it's clutter. Sometimes the most cherished thing is clutter. Count on it. If it's not useful to you now, toss it.
• People can be clutter. Be honest in your relationships. If knowing someone diminishes you, she is clutter. You can speak honestly with her and see if she can change. If not, you can just let her go.
• Toss or give away gifts you don't like.
• Most photos are clutter. You were trying to preserve a moment that felt good to you in that moment. But now it's over. You are collecting ghosts. Ghosts are dull impressions of the original event. Do you want to live among ghosts, or do you want to live in the vibrant living world? Only keep the photos that resonate with this moment.
• Feel good about the process of tossing, and avoid the guilt. Advertisers taught you that things are more valuable than you. They were wrong. You are right.
Page 1 of 3 - on page 2: more great clutter busting tips!
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.• Keep the things that feel alive to you. Things have either a living or a dead essence. When you clutter bust your life and home, you will very quickly become aware of the difference, and you will drop the dead things into the trash can.
• Be ruthless. Clutter will try to trick you. Question everything.
• First impressions are always correct. If your first feeling is that the thing is clutter, it is. No dumpster diving.
• Your activities can be clutter. I guarantee that something you are doing in your life now is clutter. You may be thinking that your value is determined by the activities in your life. That is untrue. You are already valuable! There is no need to prove anything. Those days are over. Ask, "What makes me happy?" Whatever is left over, toss.
• Any piece of clutter could be the thing that stands between you and your happiness. Nothing is too small to be disregarded. Every piece of clutter keeps you from rolling down the freeway of your life with the windows open and your favorite songs playing, with you singing along.
• Toss the trophies, the things that you own only because they are "valuable." Anything you own to impress others is a waste of your time. No one cares.
• Toss anything that makes you feel that the past is more special than right now, that gives you the feeling that life will never be as good as it once was. I don't care how old you are or what you're doing in your life – you are sitting on a gold mine: you, and the current state of your heart and life. The past is as insignificant as old dishwater. Only keep what reflects your life as significant in this moment.
• Nothing should be under your bed.
Page 2 of 3 - Read page three to find out why not to have a garage sale.
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.• You may come across an item that you know is clutter but that you find difficult to toss. Just remember that in a short while you will either forget all about it or not be able to believe how hard you hung on to the thing.
• Make your bedroom a peaceful sanctuary. Toss anything that agitates or distracts you.
• Have only one TV in the house. Watching a lot of TV is lifestyle clutter. Have the most limited cable package. You can watch only one channel at a time.
• Limit your CDs or MP3 albums to fewer than a hundred. Keep only the music that you will actually listen to now.
• Toss anything that is broken, that can't be fixed, or that you won't take to be fixed.
• Watch your thoughts and become aware of the mental clutter. Your awareness will naturally sift out this clutter.
• Be kind to yourself in the process of tossing. Go at your own pace. Drink plenty of water throughout, and make sure to have snacks by your side.
• Take breaks in clutter busting if you are getting overwhelmed. Take a walk outside.
• You can't organize until you toss the clutter.
• Put nothing in storage. Storage is clutter alimony and a waste of your money.
• Avoid the habit of hiding things that you don't want to look at. Even if something is buried at the bottom of a box, underneath other clutter, it still affects you. Everything you own is attached to you in a subtle way. It will drag you down.
• Toss things that you think lend you an image. You are fooling yourself. You are not a style. You alone are more than enough.
• Walk through your house. When you find your attention sinking like an anchor in a particular spot, stop. Your clutter radar has gone off. Investigate judiciously.
• Only your feelings matter. Avoid asking someone if you should keep something. Trust whatever you decide.
• If you suddenly think of something as clutter, it is. Toss it – now.
• Either give your clutter to charity, post it on an online Freecycle site, or put it out on the curb for someone else to find. Having a garage sale spells procrastination for most people, and whatever doesn't sell usually ends up back in the house. Be strong. Let it go. You are intuitive. Trust your decisions.
• Be patient. There's no need to push yourself or try to clutter bust your entire place in one sitting. Approach one area at a time.
• Clutter is sticky. Look for things that have piled up or been layered together. Chances are you can toss it all.
• If you are in a good relationship or want to be, toss old relationship reminders: love letters and emails and special gifts from old lovers. These keep you trapped in ghostly memories of the heart.
• Trying to keep memories alive in things is like trapping a ghost in a box. It will always be a ghost.
• Have fun!
Page 3 of 3
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
• If it doesn't fit anymore, physically or psychologically, let it go.
• Take the items that you are going to review out of their space and move them to another room, or outside, so you can get a fresh perspective.
• If you hesitate trying to decide whether something is worthwhile, it's clutter.
• If you haven't used it in a year, it's clutter.
• If you find yourself defending the object because of how much it cost you, it's clutter.
• If the item makes you feel out of sorts, it's clutter.
• Always remove from your home what you know to be clutter. Otherwise, it will continue to detract from your life.
• No clutter is labeled clutter. Clutter is invisible. It was put in its location subconsciously. That's why you have to ask if each thing is truly helpful to you or if it's clutter. Sometimes the most cherished thing is clutter. Count on it. If it's not useful to you now, toss it.
• People can be clutter. Be honest in your relationships. If knowing someone diminishes you, she is clutter. You can speak honestly with her and see if she can change. If not, you can just let her go.
• Toss or give away gifts you don't like.
• Most photos are clutter. You were trying to preserve a moment that felt good to you in that moment. But now it's over. You are collecting ghosts. Ghosts are dull impressions of the original event. Do you want to live among ghosts, or do you want to live in the vibrant living world? Only keep the photos that resonate with this moment.
• Feel good about the process of tossing, and avoid the guilt. Advertisers taught you that things are more valuable than you. They were wrong. You are right.
Page 1 of 3 - on page 2: more great clutter busting tips!
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.• Keep the things that feel alive to you. Things have either a living or a dead essence. When you clutter bust your life and home, you will very quickly become aware of the difference, and you will drop the dead things into the trash can.
• Be ruthless. Clutter will try to trick you. Question everything.
• First impressions are always correct. If your first feeling is that the thing is clutter, it is. No dumpster diving.
• Your activities can be clutter. I guarantee that something you are doing in your life now is clutter. You may be thinking that your value is determined by the activities in your life. That is untrue. You are already valuable! There is no need to prove anything. Those days are over. Ask, "What makes me happy?" Whatever is left over, toss.
• Any piece of clutter could be the thing that stands between you and your happiness. Nothing is too small to be disregarded. Every piece of clutter keeps you from rolling down the freeway of your life with the windows open and your favorite songs playing, with you singing along.
• Toss the trophies, the things that you own only because they are "valuable." Anything you own to impress others is a waste of your time. No one cares.
• Toss anything that makes you feel that the past is more special than right now, that gives you the feeling that life will never be as good as it once was. I don't care how old you are or what you're doing in your life – you are sitting on a gold mine: you, and the current state of your heart and life. The past is as insignificant as old dishwater. Only keep what reflects your life as significant in this moment.
• Nothing should be under your bed.
Page 2 of 3 - Read page three to find out why not to have a garage sale.
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.• You may come across an item that you know is clutter but that you find difficult to toss. Just remember that in a short while you will either forget all about it or not be able to believe how hard you hung on to the thing.
• Make your bedroom a peaceful sanctuary. Toss anything that agitates or distracts you.
• Have only one TV in the house. Watching a lot of TV is lifestyle clutter. Have the most limited cable package. You can watch only one channel at a time.
• Limit your CDs or MP3 albums to fewer than a hundred. Keep only the music that you will actually listen to now.
• Toss anything that is broken, that can't be fixed, or that you won't take to be fixed.
• Watch your thoughts and become aware of the mental clutter. Your awareness will naturally sift out this clutter.
• Be kind to yourself in the process of tossing. Go at your own pace. Drink plenty of water throughout, and make sure to have snacks by your side.
• Take breaks in clutter busting if you are getting overwhelmed. Take a walk outside.
• You can't organize until you toss the clutter.
• Put nothing in storage. Storage is clutter alimony and a waste of your money.
• Avoid the habit of hiding things that you don't want to look at. Even if something is buried at the bottom of a box, underneath other clutter, it still affects you. Everything you own is attached to you in a subtle way. It will drag you down.
• Toss things that you think lend you an image. You are fooling yourself. You are not a style. You alone are more than enough.
• Walk through your house. When you find your attention sinking like an anchor in a particular spot, stop. Your clutter radar has gone off. Investigate judiciously.
• Only your feelings matter. Avoid asking someone if you should keep something. Trust whatever you decide.
• If you suddenly think of something as clutter, it is. Toss it – now.
• Either give your clutter to charity, post it on an online Freecycle site, or put it out on the curb for someone else to find. Having a garage sale spells procrastination for most people, and whatever doesn't sell usually ends up back in the house. Be strong. Let it go. You are intuitive. Trust your decisions.
• Be patient. There's no need to push yourself or try to clutter bust your entire place in one sitting. Approach one area at a time.
• Clutter is sticky. Look for things that have piled up or been layered together. Chances are you can toss it all.
• If you are in a good relationship or want to be, toss old relationship reminders: love letters and emails and special gifts from old lovers. These keep you trapped in ghostly memories of the heart.
• Trying to keep memories alive in things is like trapping a ghost in a box. It will always be a ghost.
• Have fun!
Page 3 of 3
Excerpted from the book
Clutter Busting: Letting Go Of What's Holding You Back. © 2009 Brooks Palmer. Printed with permission of
New World Library, Novato, CA.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
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