Time to de-clutter your home and mind

As Marie Kondo, Japans expert de-clutterer rightly stated, “The space in which we live in should be for the person we are becoming now, not the person we were in the past”.

Spring is a time for renewal, revival and new beginnings. We may not be aware of this intention, but when we are spring cleaning, we are doing so to shed the past physically and psychologically allowing space for new things to arrive.

Here are some helpful tips to help you to de-clutter your mind, and gain access to the nooks and crannies of your subconscious.

Paris window technique

This writing technique helps you see an issue from alternative perspectives.

Draw a box with four squares. In the first, describe the problem. In the second, describe how you think others think about your problem. In the third, write about how you feel about how others feel about your problem. Box four is the area to work on. By the time you reach this box, your newfound perspective will enable you to find a solution.

Corrective therapy

This is a tool to analyse the subconscious root of an issue.

Write out the presenting issue i.e. I want to quit smoking. Write five synonyms for each word in the sentence. Write the first words that come into your head. The last line will be the most significant and the subconscious problem.

Projection tool

This works on the basis that what you see is who you are.

Look around and select an object or feature of a room. Make at least four descriptive statements about the object e.g. I am the armchair, I am brown, I have four feet. Then complete the following sentences as if you were the object talking.

1) One thing I like about myself is_________.

2) If I could change one thing about myself I would change________.

3) The way I would feel after making the change would be_________.

4) My function here in the room is _________.

5) But my deeper purpose in life is _________.

You will notice that some of the statements as the object, apply to the chair in a personal sense. This is called projection.

Once you have completed these exercises aim to de-clutter the different rooms in your home, including attics or cellars. If you have ever had a dream about a house you will have realised that the different rooms represent the different areas of your life plus clear, open spaces in a home are associated with improved mood, decreased stress and heightened creativity.