Declutter your life to make way for the essential

Sibylle Chaudhuri

1st May 2020

Last Time we spoke about how decluttering our home and office space also clears our mind and helps us to focus on the important things in life. And, there is still more we can do.

Today is a short but very powerful tip how to clear sources of irritations in your home and/or your office, your mind – your whole life. This will help you to gain clarity and focus on the important tasks in your life.

Over the last few weeks I have realised how certain things in the house, the basement, the garden and the garage – gladly we do not have an attic ;-) – irritate me again and again. This of course also means that they are on my mind again and again, taking my concentration and focus away from the important things in my life. In addition, I got really agitated and grumpy over this whole process.

There is my new desk, the legs have been sitting in the basement for 6 months already, while the worktop was delivered broken and I want to look for a new one. I keep thinking that I need to go looking for a new one, just to forget about it again. I need a lockable filing cabinet. There is a broken socket in the kitchen that wants to be repaired. An electrical kitchen appliance needs to be sent into repair. We need a new lamp in the entry hall as well as in my office. I want to make a list for some DVDs we want to sell online. Two plants on my terrace want a new pot, etc., etc., etc.

We all have those outstanding chores which usually keep sneaking into our mind at the most inconvenient time. Therefore, we keep forgetting them, only for them to pop up next time we certainly will have no time tending to them, again. This can easily become a never-ending story and block our creativity and productivity.

Images by, Alexas_Fotos, mohamed Hassan, Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

One busy day many of my outstanding to-dos popped up in my mind, again – one after the other. I had enough and decided to take a break. I took a writing pad and a pen and went through every single room, the garden, the garage and the basement and wrote everything down that was irritating me, what I wanted to be repaired, changed, exchanged, renovated, etc. 

Once I had the list finished, I sat down with my hubby and we agreed on who is taking care of what; what we need help with and who could do so and by when we wanted it done. 

After that I felt so much more at ease and liberated, it is as if someone has lifted a weight of my shoulders. Because I have written everything down and we have discussed who takes care of what and when, my mind can tick it off as taken care off, even though it is not all done, yet. This means I can concentrate better again and focus on what is important in my life. Nothing pops up uninvited at the most inconvenient time. 

Exercise: Write your irritation list

Whether you have done the general decluttering, as I recommended it to you in my last blog article (link), already, or not, doesn’t matter. Just include everything in your irritation list what you want to be taken care of, what has to be repaired, sorted, cleaned, arranged, thrown out, renovated, etc. in your home and your office. It can be anything e.g. sorting my bookshelf, cleaning my cupboard, clearing my work des, repairing a chair, painting my living room, etc. Everything that irritates you comes on the list. 

Just write everything down without thinking about who will do what and when, or how long this is going to take to take care of it all. Everything at once and right now is not possible, anyway. One step after the other. First, your list and even that does not have to be finished in one go and right now. You can do one room or area every day, or just work on your list for a certain amount of time every day, until you have finished it. I would just recommend to always finish the room you are in before you stop for the day, otherwise you start in that room right from the beginning again, the next day.

After you have finished your list – and don’t worry, you can always add to it or change it later – sit down and think about who could help you, who is in charge of which task, and by when you want it done.

You can note small tasks, that don’t take much time, on a separate list and take care of one of them every day or every week.

Making space in our surrounding and bringing order into it usually does the same to our mind. It also improves the energy flow in our environment, within us, and therewith in our life. We make way for the essential, erase distractions and reduce stress.

Keep making space for the important things in your life and be well.

Yours,

Sibylle

inner works for you

sibylle chaudhuri | coaching & training

email: info@sibylle-chaudhuri.com

www.sibylle-chaudhuri.com

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Disclaimer

Everything provided in this newsletter is for informational, motivational and/or educational purposes only. Whether you change/do something in your life is your decision and yours only. You carry responsibility for your life.

The given content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical, psychological and/or legal advice, diagnosis, treatment or consulting. Please consult your physician, therapist, lawyer regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your concerns, symptoms and/or medical condition.

© sibylle chaudhuri | coaching & training