Day 9 Clearing is not what you think.
The dialogue here is very rich. I also hear some confusion, frustration and impatience to get on with it, going on among some of the new participants especially. Consider that it may be part of the design of this clearing program to allow to surface whatever is there for us anyway around decluttering.
These questions get me to see how I'm being in the matter, how I relate to my accumulation and disorder. If I go about fixing and anxiously or begrudgingly clearing my space, it brings on more disgust and shame, then avoidance, and then I'm back to where I started. It's kind of like getting caught in the same old habits of abuse in a dysfunctional family or relationship.
I have been in the clearing process for a few years. For me, it's about having compassion and changing the context. My intent is to make my living space sacred in the way I tend to it, as if it were an actual living being, coming from gratefulness for the shelter over my head and the things that make my life function with ease and joy. It's about looking at the old habits, acknowledging them before moving on and establishing new ones. Stephanie, the founder, talks about this on her website. She gets down to our amygdalas and how we unconsciously go into fight, flight or freeze. How can we relate to our living space and their contents in way such that we are not doing battle with it? I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to relate to my space as a battleground!
If anyone wants a quick fix, Marie Kondo's Tidying Up book is one way to go. She'll whip you into shape if that's what you prefer. I suggest going to the website of the originator of this process we're in. www.spaceclear.com with Stephanie Bennett Vogt for more of a background or to get into more action, get tips, etc. But I assure you, she will have you looking more deeply than that. That's why I chose this.
And of course, if you're not happy, you can get your money back! I encourage you to just be with it. Are you using your journal to hash out your frustration and reading the helpful comments in this discussion? I can bet you will discover something that will open a door for you to get "in action" in a new way.
