This blog is dedicated to my organizer who led me through this journey and my coach who reminded me of the significance of the process. You know who you are. Both of you envisioned the possibilities by looking past the current view.
This piece is written in two parts – Before and after the declutter -
“….Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us.” Hebrews 12:1
It’s past time …. I read a quote that said clutter is just the result of postponed decisions. My master bedroom closet is a living example of postponed decisions.
One of the side effects of working from home is that you begin to notice more about your home. I wish that I could be one of those people who took the first months of the pandemic to clean up, throw out and organize. It took me a minute … since I am a recovering perfectionist and overachiever …. To give myself the gift of grace.
I noticed the amazing work that this organizer had done with organizing closets .. the before and after took my breath away. So I reached out to her to schedule a consultation. We chatted through the inbox and I asked a few questions about the process and scheduled the consult. I was one step closer to declutter and new closet.
But then she asked me to do something I wasn’t ready to do …..
She asked me to send a photo of my closet in its present condition ….
I was like …… well let me just insert the actual screen shot from this part of the conversation.
It still took me a moment before I sent the photos and video of the space. It was embarrassing. I was going to show someone this hidden space of my home. Everyone doesn’t have access to this part of my home. You don’t walk into someones’ house and go straight to their bedroom closet. Every other room in my home is accessible. But going into my bedroom and then to my master closet … this was my private space. But I knew that if I wanted to have this new space, she would have to see the present condition.
When I sent the photos, I asked her to destroy the photos after she received it. But then she told me something. But she says that when she sees the closet spaces, she sees the possibilities of what it could be, she envisions something that isn’t there yet but sees it already done. Kinda like faith.
I also realize that if there is physical clutter, it clutters other areas of my life. It stunts my creativity. It affects mental, spiritual and emotional space. It weighs you down. That’s why decluttering and releasing affects us in so many ways. The gift is that the organizer realized that this is more than just physically throwing things away and setting up space. This is a spiritual and mental release. Taking out clutter frees us for what is next. My Coach shared with me an article that reminded me that as we cleanse, to watch what changes around you. Cleaning a physical space also places order to our mind and heart. When we practice detachment with material things that just fill up our space, we see how slowly we are able to do the the same with other situations.
This process reminds me how sometimes I give God access to the spaces that are clean and organized. But relationships are strengthened when we have safe places where we can show each other the parts of life that ain’t organized and overflowing with clutter. It shows our vulnerability, yet it is the opportunity for change. Just as my organizer looked at my mess and saw a vision of what could be and said she doesn’t let go until it comes to past. Trust God the same way … the Creator looks at our mess and can still see possibilities …. But the process means there is stuff I have to release and let go. During the week my organizer is sending me photos and ideas that are making my soul leap. She is seeing the possibilities and she knows me. I am excited because I see what is possible and waiting to be created …
But it means I have to release and let it go….
Ya’ll pray for me … Let me exhale and pause before the next part.
Throughout the week, my organizer checked on how I was feeling and reminded me how freeing it would be after the process was over. She showed me possibilites that I loved for my closet ….. but I didn’t think that it would fit in my space. My mindset was still focused on the current state of my closet, even though I loved something, I didn’t see the possibility. There are opportunities and possibilities that God places before us, but if our mind is cluttered with …. what things look like now, overthinking (ME) and whatever else ….. you limit the amazing options that are possible. But my organizer had faith even when I didn’t. When we met for the consultation, she felt my energy and my vibe, her instincts were on point. If she can do that, imagine how much more God knows about every part of us.
My prayer text request on the Decluttering Day.
On the actual day, I sent out a prayer request text to some loved ones to cover me during this process …. yes it may seem extra but I already knew I needed it.
She told me to focus on her and taking one step at a time. We would sort what to keep, what to release and then the maybe pile. It was done in bite size pieces, one step at a time. After each session, she made sure that we celebrated and kept me going. After the sorting process, it came to the point where it was in her hands. I asked if I could help, and she told me that I did everything that I was supposed to do, put in the hours of sorting and making decisions, I did the work and know I had to trust the rest of the process that was in her hands. She instructed me to go back into my living room and rest.
When we pray and put legs on our prayers by moving in the direction of what we prayed for, that’s doing the work. But it comes to the point, that I have to put it in God’s Hands and trust the process. It’s when we’ve prayed and worked, and then God says rest …… the rest of the process is in my Hands. Sometimes I want to go back and help out ……. but there are moments when I gotta go to my living room, lay on my purple couch and just rest and trust.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
Proverbs 3:5 (The Message)
Then the moment came when she brought me into the space. Then I understood, when she walked into my cluttered space, this was the vision that she saw and her drive was to bring it into existence. She saw this image when I didn’t. I lost it, ya’ll.
Releasing opened the door for me to have this beautiful portrait in my sacred, resting and meditation space …. That also happens to be in my closet. My organizer saw this image in the midst of it all.
I Lost it ….. When I looked at the trash bags filled with stuff that was taking up space and blocking me. The literal weight that was lifted. This is now a sacred place for me. I meditate in the morning, I can sit and just be.
This decluttering experience was a journey …. It was a physical experience with a spiritual and emotional manifestation. But once you start, it motivates you to keep releasing.
Lessons
Relationships are strengthened when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Everyone doesn’t have access to your intimate spaces, but there are people who we shouldn’t block. We can grow from each other. Ask for discernment.
Anything worth having means being uncomfortable …… period. (Ugh … it’s the truth)
When you give space to others to flow in their gifts to help you, it can open up the door to make space for you to flow in your own gifts.
After you’ve done all that you can do …….. sometimes you gotta just go into the living room and rest.