We all have times when one bad piece of news follows another, leaving us restless, irritable, and drained of energy. Our minds are overwhelmed with worries, and we urgently need to pause for a moment to find peace and harmony. But how can we do that when our mobile phones keep alerting us with unpleasant text messages, and everyone keeps demanding our attention, and the tasks that were supposed to be done the day before are still unfinished today?
When chaos rules our lives, we can turn to a simple yet miraculous therapeutic tool. It doesn’t cost a dime, doesn’t require any special knowledge, just a bit of time – a commodity in short supply for most of us, but one that’s worth digging out from the depths of our busy days. It’s about cleansing, not necessarily our living room or cleaning windows, but cleansing our souls. To regain inner peace, we need to feel harmony in the space around us. The environment we live in has a much greater impact on us than we’re willing to admit. Self-improvement experts have long been working with the concept of conscious cleansing, offering self-exploration and self-improvement sorting methods. The goal isn’t just to have “a tidy home”; it’s also to achieve the desired inner harmony.
Author of bestsellers, Gretchen Rubin, in her book “Outer Order, Inner Calm: Cleanse and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness,” answers the question of why it’s essential to bother with external tidiness. The 56-year-old mother of two, a successful lawyer by original profession, now an author of motivational books, selling more than two million copies worldwide in over thirty languages. She has a successful blog where she daily shares her adventures in finding habits and happiness. With her own two kids and the occasional overwhelm, when she advises others on bringing new energy into their lives, you can trust that she knows what she’s talking about.
Gretchen acknowledges that in the context of a happy life, chaos on the work desk or an overcrowded wardrobe might seem trivial. But when we gain control over our surroundings, we often contribute to the feeling that we can manage our lives with greater ease. She humorously recounts an anecdote from a close friend who once said, “I’ve finally organized my fridge, and now I know I can quit my old job.” Gretchen knew exactly what her friend meant. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, that are long non-functional, or unflattering, we create space within ourselves (and on our shelves) for what we truly value and what’s essential in our lives.
Just think about what it’s like when you start tidying up around you, getting rid of clutter, and organizing things. It’s as if you’re gradually cleaning yourself up. And it’s not just about stacks of papers on your desk, piles of clothes that no longer fit, or closets full of unused items that you haven’t touched in ages. We’re also surrounded by a type of disorder that isn’t as visible but drains our energy similarly to any other chaos. It might include repeatedly postponed meetings, doctor’s appointments, unfixed broken appliances, unanswered emails, unpaid bills, or missed phone calls.
All these tasks that we keep putting off increase the feeling of tension and nervousness within us, even though we may not be aware of it or admit it. If we found a moment for them, we could easily accomplish them and free up mental capacity. The more we postpone specific tasks, the more we also hinder our lives from moving forward. To re-energize and redirect our energy in the right direction, we need to “check off” these tasks in our heads as completed.
The state we experience when everything around us is organized gives us the strength and energy to take on things we hadn’t even considered before. When we have a “clean desk” around us, we can take a deep breath and embark on new decisions.
