We all have addictive behaviors. According to dictionary.com, addiction is described as: “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma”.

Sound familiar? Ever try going off coffee? Ever try to stop working-out at the gym so much? Ever try to stop spending money on aimless shopping? Or how about food, surfing the internet. And then there is clutter.

With clutter, it is the emotional co-dependency we have to the stuff around us that holds us in the past. Why? Because the past is familiar. We know the past, we have been there before. We don’t have to adjust to anything new or different than what we already know. Remember, “if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Too much stuff around us dulls the senses, we get stuck and often sick. We drone through life with emotional energy of a slug. And guess what happens when we go shopping for more stuff? Yes, this is addictive behavior. Unconscious shopping suppresses the feeling of not having any direction, or not having anything to do and while we get a temporary fix of obtaining new, fresh stuff the end result is useless inventory that creates more clutter.

Pick a space in your environment that has your stuff and look closely at your inventory with a fresh eye. What items do you have that are no longer useful but have emotional attachments? The letter jacket from college? Your wedding gown from two marriages ago? Old magazines from a project or hobby that you no longer have time for?

Look closely. Pick one category or classification and purge these items by either : giving them away, selling them, or throwing them away. Don’t look back. Now you’ve made room for something current to come into your life. Something that fits with who you are right now.

Start small and go through one drawer, one shelf, or one corner. After you are finished enjoy the new space you have. The space where new energy and fresh ideas can come into. Tap into how you feel. Really get in touch with these emotions. Are you nostalgic? Sad? Relieved? Excited? Breathe deeply and let go of any negative feeling.

Keep breathing slowly. Where are you feeling it? Neck? Stomach? Heart?

All of your clutter is attached to your emotions. All of your emotions are attached to your health and our health is attached to the way we feel about ourselves.

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