Healing your abusive relationship with clutter

Do you have an abusive relationship with your clutter?

Have you ever said something along the lines of:

I need to whip my office into shape, cut through the clutter, and/or kick my own butt.

A quick Google search reveals phrases like:

• Fight and Beat Clutter
• Conquer Clutter
• War on Clutter
• Clutter Busters
• Combating clutter

Um. What’s with the violence?

Seriously.

I mean no disrespect. If you use this kind of language, it reflects a certain degree of frustration with your circumstances. Overwhelm. Fed-up-edness.

Violent language is a concealed attempt to motivate. It’s arguably effective, but at what cost?

If you use violent language about your clutter, you are both the abuser and the victim at the same time. It means that every foray into your workspace to get work done  feels like a battle that you’re simultaneously winning and losing.

Not feeling inspired at work? No wonder.

Make peace with your piles

Making peace with your clutter begins with a simple thing: calling it by its proper name.

Is it really clutter? Or is it bank statements, notes from a conversation, and unsorted mail? Maybe it’s notes about a new idea. Or your kids’ drawings from first grade.

Call each object by its real name. And a lot of that anger and violence will dissipate.

What it’s there for

If you’re like a lot of people who remember only what they can see, having items around and visible is an intention to remind yourself. It may not always work well, but you’re making an effort to care for yourself.

The point is to reflect on the intention of saving the things you’ve saved and honor the choice you made.

We talk about this in more depth in Office Spa Day, but when you can find respect for your choices, the violent relationship dissipates. In its place what evolves is a desire to care for yourself, your space, and your stuff in a loving way.