It is amazing how much junk we collect. Our homes and lives collect it constantly. So does the mind. Junk-thoughts intrude upon our minds all the time. Try focusing on silence a minute and you will see how hard it is. Thoughts flit in and out of the mind all the time – random thoughts enter our consciousness from various compartments of the memory bank, as if the brain is running on automatic. It is the same with the home; in every corner of every room, there are random objects – articles of all kinds, small things, big things, fun things, useful things, junk things – that create stress for us.
Our untidy rooms, stuffed closets, and piled up desks can be so stressful. Usually we don’t notice them, but once we try to move on, or the thought of wanting to move on takes hold of us, the junk in our lives start to overwhelm us – and often irritates and distracts us. Material and non-material junk is created by the mind.
Why Clutter is Subjective
Deciding whether something is junk is purely a subjective decision. Someone’s prized possession is another person’s junk. Something that means a great deal to someone else can mean absolutely nothing to you. So dejunking your life means getting rid of things you think of as junk. You are the one who must define what is junk.
Keeping Precious Items
Everything that gives you joy, makes you laugh, and inspires you – for whatever reason – is precious to you as it brings nourishing energy. Surrounding yourself with things you love, and which have meaning for you will always strengthen you. This is because the energy that vibrates around such objects is synchronized with yours.
Discarding Bad-Memory Junk
Everything that causes you pain or anguish, makes you stressed out, annoys you, makes you feel inadequate, brings back unhappy memories, dulls your brain or simply tires you out in any way at all is junk. All of it should be cleared and thrown away, never to annoy, disturb or cause you stress again.
So when you have tired of anything – whether it is a book, newspaper, bag, clothes, decorative object, painting, furniture, curtains or anything at all, however big or small, worthless or valuable, and it has lost its special meaning for you… throw it out, sell it or give it away!
8 WAYS TO REVITALIZE YOUR HOME
- Begin by making a list of all the things that are needed. Start with your own mind and inertia will fly out the window. Motivate yourself by visualizing your home with fresh energy that is clean, clear and auspicious. Give yourself a time frame for this. Decide to do it all in one weekend or over four weekends, allotting yourself different rooms for different weekends.
- Get organized. Spend ten minutes in each room with a notebook. List the things that need changing in every room – all the clutter you want cleared and all the repair work you want to initiate. When you are finished, list the rooms in order of importance. Assign other members of the family to rooms if you want them to become involved. If not, assign yourself different days to address each room.
- Start with the room that is of least importance to you and leave the room that is most important until last. This way, you are sure to finish the job.
- Convert one of your bedrooms into a workroom. This will be a halfway house room for you to place everything you want to give away, repair or sell.
- Buy trash bags – ensure that they are strong and large, as you must throw into them all the things that you don’t want. Clearing clutter is really very therapeutic – and it gets easier with practice. Do not cause yourself stress by being indecisive about what to keep and what to throw away. When in doubt, keep it. It will get junked in the next round of clearing in six months’ time. Also, as you become better at this, you will find yourself becoming increasingly non-attached to possessions. Clearing clutter is not a one-time thing. Over time, you will find yourself doing it regularly – perhaps once or twice a year.
- Revitalize your house with a fresh coat of paint at least once every three years. Get professionals to do this if you can afford it. If not, then make a fun DIY (do-it-yourself) day of it. Paint your home room-by-room. Have fun with colours but if in doubt, use white, which is very yang and suitable for all rooms. Give your home a proper scrub before you begin painting. Think of the layers of negative energy being scraped away and replaced with fresh new energy. The smell of fresh paint alone will make you feel better.
- New light and air is one of the most effective ways to revitalize the energy of homes. Invest in a few extra lights – new lampshades, uplights, and light washes – and you will be amazed at how much warmer and brighter the energy in your house feels. Bring in sunshine energy with window crystals. Wash your curtains and hang faceted crystals in windows in order to draw in sunshine energy. Sunshine has the power to revitalize everything in your home – the walls, the furniture, pillows, cushions, carpets and curtains. Sunshine energy brings fresh new yang energy into the home.
- Let the wind flow through your home. Bringing in the gentle breeze is inviting precious new chi into the home. It is therapeutic and very revitalizing.
