Birgit Medele - Clear your Clutter - Manifest your dreams

edition lichtland

© 2011 Birgit Medele

edition Lichtland

Stadtplatz 4, 94078 Freyung

Deutschland

Gestaltung: Edith Döringer

Satz: Hermann Schoyerer

Umschlagfoto: iStock.com/vithib

ISBN: 978-3-942509-24-4

eISBN: 978-3-942509-85-5

www.lichtland.eu

An initiation into the art of letting go

Clear your Clutter

Manifest your Dreams

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank:

My husband, the love of my life

Our wonderful children

My parents, siblings and friends

All those who contributed their experiences, questions and insights (thanks Christine)

My editor Lilias Martin and the publishing team at Lichtland

All those who inspire me through the way they live/d

Life itself

Preface

I Clearing as personal development

II Why we find it difficult to let go

Suppress emotions

Feign security

Create identity

Do the ‘right’ thing

Act out inner rebellion

Keep options open

III Clearing as an art of living

Bye bye prejudice

Letting go without regret

Make those decisions

Take responsibility

Appreciate our unique journey

Energy management as self-management

The art of accepting

Refurbish relationships

The art of letting be

Setting boundaries

Become aware

Clarity and vision

Equanimity

Intuition

Patience and self-discipline

IV Clearing secrets revealed: where to start and how not to stop!

Fine feathers make fine birds

Conquering the paper mountains

The desk reborn as an oasis of calm

V Mental Clutter

Thoughts that take us round in circles

Time management – the end of a myth

Putting off procrastination – once and for all!

Multi-tasking – the end of another myth

Electronic clutter

VI Emotional Clutter

Pointless feelings

Patent remedies

VII Staying afloat

The art of not-buying

Clutter hide-and-seek

Living life to the full

Bonus track The Feng Shui Bagua

Dear reader,

Cupboards crammed, desk piled high, head bursting? You are not alone. On average we own about 10,000 things, most of which we never use. This stuff quite literally burdens us. The good news there is a cure for wanting to buy ever more objects to clog up our home and life. Decluttering lightens our load, being organised is the most underrated shortcut to happiness. “Yes, I know”, you are mumbling now. “But somehow I never get round to making a start. Or I stop, exhausted and overwhelmed, after about five and a half minutes.” Why? The answer is hidden in the realms of energy.

You know how decluttering works, in theory. You do not need a book to tell you how to organise your cutlery drawer. What you are after is the motivation to get going and here is what you were waiting for: a written pep talk! Clear your Clutter brings you an energy supply vast enough to see you through the first half hour of decluttering and then the next and the next. A practical guide that throws open a few cabinet doors; takes a closer look at the stuff that drops onto our head and examines the symptoms of our passion for collecting. What are we trying to store in our drawers, shelves and boxes? Joy, laughter, adventures, inner peace? Often we resort to hoarding stuff in order to get closer to life itself.

Clutter clearing is never about things. It is not about time either, this fleeting something that comes dressed up in hours and minutes and never hangs around long enough to give us a chance to clear the decks. Clearing is not even about struggling with the memories related to our every thing. It is all about energy. Clinging to objects when we can no longer offer them a meaningful life is draining. We banish them to linger in the nirvana that is spare rooms and loft spaces, waiting for a brighter future, the redemption day of decision-making that never comes. Not for them, not for us.

Being disorganised throws us off balance and turns us into one of those absent-minded, lethargic beings we were determined never ever to end up as. Owning too much exhausts. It distracts from mapping out the next goal, from finding meaning in being.

Why can we not let go? Let’s explore the contents of kitchen cupboards and under-bed storage and find out what our stuff is all about. We are fed up with choosing all the time; between 15 varieties of jams and conditioners and customised coffee – grande skinny decaf double shot anyone? We need a break from having to get it right, forever forced to filter relevant data from the dross. It is tiring to worry about missing out, to live in fear of making a wrong decision – should I have chosen strawberry flavour instead?

This book volunteers as a companion for navigating the contemporary information-overload-jungle we tend to get ourselves lost in. It digs out the signposts that have been overgrown by piles and gigawatts at some remote point in time. It maps out a path off the beaten track, away from the superfluous towards the truly good stuff, the deep-down desires that got buried underneath our lovely clutter a long time ago.

You might have put off the odd clearing project. “I’m going to sort through the attic, the sock drawer, the paperwork as soon as I find the time.” Yeah, right! Does this sound familiar? We will never make time as long as we continue to misconceive decluttering as a drag. Why not give the good old clearout a break, have another look and discover its inherent beauty. Clearing is so full of promise, all glittering and sparkling on the inside; no exception here, the inner qualities are those that count. Let’s do it justice at last and rebrand organising as a master class in life skills, an archaeological expedition of a different kind that entices us along on a journey. Instead of digging through pyramids we delve into our own history which is just as exciting and nerve-wracking. We lay bare our past, get back to our roots, while working our way through harmless enough looking stacks of paper. Memories and feelings come flooding in. Clearing is a stripping away of the inessential that helps us cut through the excess to the emotions and desires buried underneath. Assisted by long forgotten possessions, we get acquainted with ourselves all over again. Objects serve as witnesses and we are the leading star in a detective story, trying to establish how that magic flame inside got suffocated by the clutter gang.

Decluttering is not about getting rid of everything. It is about sorting through belongings to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of ourselves. What feels good, what feels right, what has become a burden?

Clutter clearing is more holistic than yoga and meditation put together and the most powerful Feng Shui tool you could wish for. We can while away the hours rehanging mirrors and programming crystals or simply shrink our To-do-list. Hearts and minds clear and open up in an environment that feels spacious, bright and airy.

Getting organised is personal development. It is a journey towards more energy, clarity and joy. Make it into a game, go through closets, chitchat and certificates, unburdening on all levels. Chuck the freed up boxes into the river of life, hop onto the makeshift dingy, set sail and take off towards the next laugh, the next discovery!

Clearing frees up emotional space, it allows for filling this very moment with as much joy as we can cram into it. It transforms us and our surroundings. We stop drifting, break free from the golden cage that our home has become and turn it into the mast of a yacht. Pointless routines go overboard, anchors aweigh, hold on tight and off into an effervescent, raffish life that does not use up all available energy to just, somehow, get through yet another day. Instead we are cruising along with abundant vitality supplies, enough to care about ourselves and others. It brings within reach a life that allows for lighting up eyes. For a moment. For a day. Forever!