As you move through your journey of letting go and processing the having to being, tangible to intangible, and hand to heart, here's one more ah-ha that might show up as a reason for all the stuff.

The third most important thing I learned. After learning the definition of clutter and that "you can't take it with you", the third most important thing I learned is that when you're not feeling WHOLE, clutter fills the HOLE.  In his book Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? Peter Walsh describes a "yearning" people have when "their lives become busy and unfocused", which leads to this "accumulating more and more stuff and eating more and more food in an attempt to meet the need for 'something more'".    

'Yearning' takes on many disguises.  Let's start with fear.  Fear comes in all shapes and sizes.  The fear that we won't remember them or disrespect them if we let go of their things.  Fear of not having enough like those who lived through The Depression.  Or not being enough.  Does anyone have new clothing with the price tags still on it because you were afraid you'd miss out on a great bargain?  How about filling the hole of loss...of a job or a loved one making us want to hold on to boxes of job-related presentations and procedure manuals or clothing and personal mementos.  And what about depression, loneliness, insecurity or vulnerability that whispers to us that if we go and buy something we'll feel better, more confident, smarter, or be better looking. Or what about boredom and lack of a life purpose or spiritual purpose that promises stuff will fill that void and bring a sense of fulfillment. Walsh concludes, "The hope is material things will bring meaning and fulfillment.  It never works."  

Filling the hole.  I was born at home in 1950, 10-1/2 weeks premature, 20 minutes before my identical twin sister who was born in the hospital we were rushed to.  She weighed 2#14 oz.  I weighed 3#14 oz.  Because her lungs were underdeveloped I lost her when we were only three months old.  My entire life I have sensed this loss, looking for my other half.  Feeling that sense of emptiness--that hole.  When I finally realized this was the hole I was trying to fill, it dramatically influenced the way I spent money, why I no longer felt the need to accumulate, and started me on my de-clutter and spiritual journey to believing that my love for her and myself was enough.  At some point--when we're ready to take the next step along life's path--we have to realize that it's not about the stuff, it's an inside job.  There are underlying issues we need to look at with introspection, prayer, meditation, and perhaps professional help.  Is there a hole you are filling?  Before I give you tips and tools and resources, you have to be willing to look a little deeper, behind the curtain, and under the rocks and begin to understand the WHY so you can start the process of letting go.  

This mess is us. My friend Barb sent me a link to this article in the Denver Post by Howard Mansfield where he talks about the 2.3 billion square feet of self-storage space in America which, he says "is a symptom of our cluttered lives".  What jumped out as significant in this article was my long-standing belief that our clutter problem is a spiritual one--an inside job.  He says, "This mess is us...the de-cluttering gurus can only provide a material solution to a spiritual problem. They are confusing symptoms and causes."  I don't believe I have ever been just another decluttering guru.  My mission continues to be the voice for CAUSE, encouraging us all to look at what no longer serves us: guilt, loss, shame, fear, disappointment, anger, boredom, and not loving ourselves enough--and let it go, so it no longer shows up in our closets, garages, our bodies, and the front door step. I love what Ken Wapnick says, "Clutter in our mind and life is there to keep us diverted and busy and not remembering our true purpose."  So let's get clear about who we are and where we're going and live our lives with purpose: simplified, uncluttered, downsized, and joyous.  

The fourth most important thing I learned. Conquering clutter is not about the ability to get organized; conquering clutter is about the ability to let it go. Once you've shifted your attitude about why you're keeping and understand the attachments you have to your possessions, you can begin to let it go.  You will no longer need to organize stuff you don't love, use or need.  Neal Donald Walsh reminds us, "When you find peace inside yourself, 'needing' things from the outside world drops away.  This brings great freedom from all your fears that we won't have certain things, and without those things we cannot be happy." Karen Rauch Carter tells us that when you let go, you make room for potential--potential for anything! Not void or lack.  It's as simple as shifting your mind set from something and nothing to potential.  Hold an item in your hand and then take the item away and see the space that's left there?  That space is potential for something new.  Imagine the space you've created there now giving huge volumes of potential:  travel, a new home that meets your current and future needs, entertaining, freedom, simplicity, energy, and time. It's time to get excited about your potential and what the future holds for you when you are able to' let it go'.   

This week test your 'letting go' ability?  Men put wallets, satchels, brief cases up on a table.  Ladies put your handbags/purses up on a table.  Set a timer for 5 minutes.  Go through your wallet or handbag and let go of anything you do not love, use or need: expired coupons, empty lotion tube, lip balm you never use, pens that don't work, receipts. Put it in the wastebasket.  How are you feeling? Is your heart racing?  Are you excited or scared? On a scale of 1-10 how much space were you able to create for POTENTIAL?

Until Next Week