Lately I had been feeling really flustered and claustrophobic. A big part of this was because of how cluttered the space around me was. Cluttered space = cluttered mind. I knew it was time for a major purge of the space around me.
This could obviously be an overwhelming task if I chose to do a complete overhaul so instead I decided to choose a few areas that I knew were causing the most clutter & stress: my closet, email/mail & social media. After taking the time to clean up these areas I am feeling refreshed and recharged. Here is how I did it:
Closet Clean-out
I try to go through my closet twice a year. Once at the start of spring and again at the start of fall. This way when I transition my clothes for the changing weather I can evaluate what I actually wore over the past few months and get rid of anything that I no longer use.
I recently cleaned out my closet for the first time in over a year. I hadn’t gone through it since last spring before I was pregnant and my wardrobe changed for a bit. But now that I’m back in my normal clothes I was able to do a pretty thorough evaluation of what I actually wear. It feels SO good to get rid of items that are just taking up space! For tips on cleaning out your closet you can read my previous post here.
Social Media Cleanse
I have a love-hate attitude about social media. It can be a great way to connect with others, keep in touch with friends/family & find inspiration. But it can also lead to unnecessary comparison and cause us to feel like we need more to have a full life.
The social media platform that I use most often is Instagram (in fact I no longer have Facebook or Pinterest on my phone). I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of materialism that I see on Instagram and it was causing me to feel like I needed to be buying and shopping all the time. I started to unfollow any accounts that I no longer felt inspired by or accounts that made me feel like the lovely life I have isn’t good enough.
Another great way to do a “social media cleanse” is to take a break from it. Whether you delete it from your phone, shut off notifications or have a designated time during the day where you don’t get on it can be refreshing to unplug.
Subscription Cancelations
Junk mail seemed to be a major source of clutter in my life, whether email or snail mail I felt like I was receiving far too many notifications and catalogs. Time to cut back and clean out those mail boxes!
Every time I check my email I delete almost everything before even opening it. So then why do I bother to keep receiving these emails that just clutter up my inbox? I have finally started to unsubscribe as I delete them. It is usually a super easy, one click step!
Almost everyday I check the mail and receive at least a few catalogs that I immediately throw in the trash. Such a waste of paper! I learned about Catalog Choice from Julia at Lemon Stripes. Its a super simple service! You create an account and then search the name of the catalog that you no longer want to receive. They take care of the rest for you!
How often do you take the time to declutter and refocus certain areas of your life? Are there certain things like our closet or social media that cause you to feel overwhelmed?
Living Taylored 