Monday Mantra: Cleaning Out My Closet

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: Clear the clutter from your life

In the words of Eminem, I'm cleaning out my closet, both literally and figuratively. It all started with a long overdue closet remodel project. For quite some time now, I've been trying to make my closet glamorous. You know, like those fancy ones you see on Pinterest that cost one and a half bajillion dollars? Like that, but within a normal person's salary. That's where my decluttering act began.

I also recently started reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I haven't made it very far yet into her book because I'm stuck in her first month of the project, which focused on more sleep, more energy, and less clutter. The clutter is what stuck with me and the clutter is what I've been trying to let go of.

The mental, emotional, physical, and technological clutter.

All in all, I'm a very organized and structured person, but being that way doesn't mean I don't still have things I can get rid of. Things that no longer serve me, things that, instead, weigh me down.

After I cleaned out and re-decorated my closet, I started to sort through my memories. Old journals that no longer held words that meant anything to this version of me. Boxes of old photos and online folders of photos, all that needed sorting, decluttering, deconstructing. After I made my way through those, I started to clean out my online life. I put a request in to close my Twitter account, I cleaned up my Facebook page, and I deleted apps from my phone. I've found (through academic as well as personal research) the more involved I get in the social media world, the less I enjoy life. I won't go off on my new soap box, but I will say this: Social interactions will never take the place of in-person ones and, in more instances than not, they create more unhappiness than happiness. Anyway, after just those small acts, I felt tremendously better. And that - the freedom - is what pushes me to do more.

I'm still decluttering. Every day I think of, find, or see something new I can let go of.  Do I really need this? Do I really need that? Nine times out of ten the answer is no. I don't need to be plugged in everywhere. I don't need to hold on to mementos of moments that hold no meaning. I don't need clutter anywhere in my life.

Next time you feel overwhelmed, look in, out, and all around you. Find what no longer serves you and let it go.


Also, I love my closet. I want to hang out in there, drink tea, and ponder life's great mysteries...that kind of love. The second picture is a little blurry because I was overcome with joy. I'm such a girl sometimes.

Beautiful closets: Quite possibly the secret to happiness.

Image "Nothing" via James Mirtle