Delete: Delete Internal & External Clutter
February 23, 2015 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever known somebody who could just light up a room . . . when they left? Sometimes known as energy vampires, delete the people from your life who are overly judgmental about you, are not supportive, take more than they give, or who don’t believe in you. They will suck energy right out of you.
There are two types of clutter, internal clutter and external clutter. External clutter is anything around you that “bugs” you such as dusting, people who take more than they give, dirty laundry, unread newspapers and catalogs piling up, the tacky souvenir your neighbor brought you, or other stuff laying around that is visual pollution. This type of clutter distracts you and drains you by taking up your space. Especially draining is clutter left on the floor dragging you down with negative energy.
Internal clutter is such things as dishonesty, secrecy, deceit, debt, unfulfilled promises, worry, anxiety, fear, miscommunication, obligations, or any other “messalanea” which is clogging up your circuits to think freely and be charged up. Delete this emotional, intellectual, or physical baggage and watch your energy soar. There are umpteen books on Feng Shui and the art of de-cluttering and aligning your space to make the energy flow more freely. Check out the perpetual calendar in the back of the book Organized at Last: a Tip a Day to Keep Clutter at Bay by Pat Moore, The Queen of Clutter. Also see Appendix B for other things that drain our energy. Until you plug up some of those energy drains and delete them from your life, no amount of refilling and refueling will have any staying power. Take a good look at your internal and external clutter and delete those energy suckers in order to have a lasting affect on your personal energy and your stress levels.
Unload your excess baggage. Unburden your heart, your mind, and your space by unloading extra emotional and physical baggage you may have been carrying around. Take stock of philosophies, beliefs, behaviors, and the stuff that may have served you in the past that doesn’t make sense today. Take a look at the reasons why you do what you do – can it be streamlined? Review the reasons why you prefer a way of thinking or behave in a certain manner. Is it just a habit (perhaps a bad habit?) or a learned behavior taught by somebody whose behavior may or may not fit your personality or your lifestyle?
Letting go of material items or self perceptions that no longer fit you or benefit you allows for a fresh start and can also lighten the stress load. Be prepared that a change in patterns may cause some uncertainty and stress at first. Sometimes the excitement and enthusiasm for creating a better way and a lighter life outweighs the stress that may accompany the change. Moving through the change at a pace that you are comfortable with and at a pace where you can assimilate it easily into your life will help ease the stress of the change and newfound energy will be a benefit to your life.
Simplify your life and toss out stuff associated with bad memories or junk. Better yet, don’t buy it in the first place and you will save your money/life energy and help the cause against unfettered consumerism and overuse of our natural resources. The same goes for junk food, over-packaging, and junk mail.
Contact the direct mail and telemarketing firms to have your name taken off their lists. For pre-approved credit card offers, call 888.5.OPTOUT to cancel solicitation from all three credit reporting bureaus for two years or permanently. For direct marketing solicitations, including catalogs, coupons, and sweepstakes offers, sign up for The Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service at www.the-dma.org for $5 or for no charge if you send your request to Mail Preference Service, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.
Put yourself on the national Do Not Call Register to avoid those pesky telemarketers by calling 888.382.1222 or visit www.donotcall.gov. The cost of saving junk is skyrocketing and takes its toll on your emotions and your wallet. Save your sanity and your spare time from their clutches. How much excess is in your life? What have your purged lately?
Backspace: Are Your Back Spaces (Attic, Garage, File Cabinet) Holding You Back?
October 23, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Is the thought of sorting and purging these areas draining your energy? Tackle one section at a time and reward yourself for getting rid of unused items and make space for new things in your life. Better yet, don’t replace this stuff and celebrate a more simplified lifestyle. Start a desk drawer amnesty program at work where colleagues clean out their work stations and donate the stuff to a shelter or other needy cause or given to the break room. Coordinate this activity to coincide with national Clean Out Your Desk Day.
Double your good feelings at home when you donate your stuff to charity or sell it at a consignment shop or on E-bay, and then you don’t have to clean around it. Excessive stuff drains your energy and clutters your mind with how to manage it.
Extra stuff also costs extra money to store. (U-Store-It facilities, garden shed, larger home, filled garage, bulging cubicle, more credenzas) Think of the cost of renting a storage locker or pod and multiply the monthly rate by how many years you plan to keep renting it instead of making a decision to toss your stuff or sell it. There is cash in your closets and back spaces – it just takes a little time, effort, energy, and focus to reap a huge payoff of stored up energy that has been leaking into the depths of the dark spaces.
Simplify your life to boost your spirits and get rid of all those responsibilities, excesses, and unnecessary things that drain on your brain. Allowing only the things that you can comfortably handle into your life helps decrease the stress of thinking that bigger is better.
The American capitalistic system is set up to forever strive and not arrive. Rethink how much you really need to be happy, then listen to your inner-voice and not the advertisements or your neighbors. If you don’t need much, own much, or owe much, you don’t have to work as much; which allows more time for family and friends. What obligations, excesses, or other time-wasters can you cut out of your life? Are your back spaces clutter-free or are you closing doors on them in hopes nobody will notice? Are your back spaces representing a picture of you that you would like to present to the world, or are you living in fear that you will have unexpected visitors? Hopefully you aren’t primed to be a guest star on the TV show Hoarders: Buried Alive. Honestly….what are people thinking…..
Home: How is Your Home Life?
June 24, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Is your home a sanctuary of safety and security or is it a part-time job? Is your home a place to unwind or it is a place that winds you up tight? Take a look at the emotional and physical environment that surrounds you and opt for low-maintenance alternatives. How are your relationships and your leisure lifestyle? What we do in our free time speaks volumes more about us than our job title.
Are you creating an authentic lifestyle the way YOU want to live, and not following somebody else’s guidelines? Are your relationships energizing or emotionally draining? Is your home life congruent with your work life? Does your home life recharge you or exhaust you? Does your home accurately represent who you are today or are you living amongst hand-me-downs or yesteryear’s things? Does your home really reflect your spirit and who you want to be?
Look at your leisure-time patterns and adjust them to improve your energy. Our home life needs to be refreshing, rejuvenating, and nurturing for us to recharge for the workweek or whatever the world throws at us. Do an inventory at home and figure out what is holding you hostage. Take action to create a welcome and hospitable home to envelope you in peace, comfort, and joy.