Another Look at Decluttering

Another look at decluttering. 

Blogger Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom writes about how decluttering can help you age gracefully. Now at first glance when you think about decluttering what comes to mind? Probably a closet full of stuff that you no longer want or need. 

Except Davenport takes decluttering a step further. “Purge your life of things, habits,and attitudes that weigh you down.”

Now I’ve done a pretty good job of decluttering the stuff in my life, and although it’s not always easy, it is freeing. The challenge though, is to not bring more stuff back in. I must say that my weakness is books, and I always seem to justify owning another one. 

However, what I find more intriguing about Davenport’s post is the decluttering of old habits that aren’t really helping you. Sometimes we do things a certain way only because we always have. As my eating habits have changed over time I find my grocery list looking very different than it used to.  

By shedding these old unhealthy habits I feel much better, and my clothes seem to fit year round. Getting up and walking first thing at the gym has replaced the habit of laying in bed checking out Face Book. Instead of time just slipping through my fingers, I now listen to a favorite podcast, and get in some activity for the day. 

Even more important is purging some of those limiting beliefs that you have been carrying around for years. As I reached my fifties I found myself becoming much more comfortable in my skin, even though that skin wasn’t quite as recognizable as before. Our attitudes can be like our habits when we simply hold on to them out of familiarity. It might make better sense to reevaluate them. 

Don’t limit the parameters of decluttering. Take it a step further, and challenge yourself to declutter not only your stuff, but habits and attitudes that no longer serve you.