Yesterday I did a MAJOR closet purge. I bagged up about 60% of the clothes that were hanging in my closet – things that no longer felt like me, including lots of “corporate” clothes from my old jobs. I had stuff in there from ten years ago that I’d continued to hold on to year after year. Even though I didn’t wear them, the clothes seemed too nice to get rid of. It seemed better to keep them, just in case.

Yesterday morning I looked in my closet and it suddenly struck me what an energy drain it was. All of those unworn clothes felt like a bunch of unmade decisions.

I really believe that our external world is a reflection of our inner landscape.

When your space is cluttered and chaotic it affects your mental and emotional energy as well. Just like unmade decisions can suck the energy out of your life.

Clutter is often the result of NOT making a conscious choice. Often our default is to accumulate “stuff” in our lives that doesn’t really feel like us, whether it’s actual physical clutter or a corporate identity that we’ve been wearing for years even though it no longer fits.

I wasn’t actively choosing to keep these clothes. I knew I was unlikely to ever wear them again. By holding onto them I was delaying having to make a conscious choice.

Bagging them up and clearing out that clutter was such a liberating feeling. I looked in my closet three times yesterday just because looking in there made me feel so free and CALM! I love that there’s nothing in there now except clothes that fit my life today

When we let go of what’s no longer serving us we have more energy for what we DO want. We create the space for conscious choice about what we truly desire.

Where do you have clutter that might be draining your energy and serving as a physical, mental and/or emotional block to the life you really want to live?

• Are you hanging on to something you never use (or even hate the looks of) because it was free or you paid a lot for it or some well-meaning person gave it to you or there’s some very small chance you might need it again one day?
• Do you have items that seem to stay on your To Do list forever but never get done?
• Is your inbox full of emails you plan to read (or reply to) later but never do?
• Is your calendar full of commitments you don’t really want to keep

Today I challenge you to bring more awareness to your own clutter and how it might be draining your energy and affecting your peace of mind.

What if letting go of some of your clutter was a first step towards finding and claiming a life and a career you truly love?

Send me a note and let me know where clutter shows up in your life and what you’d like to commit to clearing out.