209. Why I Say Clearing Clutter & Chaos Is An Act of Self-Love (decluttering and organizing your life and business)

Our surroundings shape our mood and productivity, and organizing our living and working spaces is more than achieving tidiness, is actually an act of self-respect and self-love. 

A clear supportive space equals a clear supportive mind and in this episode I'll share with you how I discovered this for myself at an early age and how you can start your journey too. 

From Chaos to Peace Consulting Inc - https://connygraf.com

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to my podcast from Chaos to Peace with Connie. I am Connie Graf and your host, and I will explore with you how a few minutes a day can keep the chaos away, and with chaos we're talking about the physical, digital, social, financial, mental, emotional and spiritual clutter that can accumulate in our life and business. In every episode, I want to make you aware how clutter is so much more than you think, how it affects your finances and how clearing your clutter leads to more time, more money and more peace. Let's go. Well, hello, my friend, welcome, and thank you so much for allowing me back into your ears.

Speaker 1: 0:48

It was a gorgeous few spring days lately here where I live in the Vancouver area, and I finally got a Hollywood swing that I also could set up outside in my garden, and I really enjoyed. The frogs are singing, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming. I love spring and if you listen to this when it comes out, then tomorrow is the astrological beginning of spring, or the astrological beginning of the new year, because the sun moves into Aries. So we're now officially in spring season, so excited, okay, and today on the podcast, I want to talk about why I say clearing the chaos is self-love, if you have listened to the podcast for a while, you know I say clearing clutter and getting organized in your life and business is an act of self-care and self-love. And today I really want to dive in a bit deeper and talk about it, why I'm saying this and where this saying came from. And so, in a way, it all started when I was about 12 years old, or maybe it was even younger, but I remember when I was 12 I noticed how my immediate environment had a big influence on how I felt and, as a result, also how I showed up in the world, in school and just in general. I had my own room growing up, but it was tiny, tiny. Only a bed, a small closet and a small desk fit in it, really not more. I often joke and say it was like a little broom closet and because of it, I would constantly experiment with how to set up my room, position the bed and desk differently so it would feel maybe bigger. It couldn't become bigger, but maybe it would feel bigger or at least roomier, and also how to utilize this limited space to the max so that it would work for me. So this is actually where it all started, that I started to notice what a big influence our environment has on us, and also way before anyone was talking about decluttering.

Speaker 1: 3:09

Back then in the early 80s, I was actively clearing clutter and organizing and reorganizing my environment as a 12 to 14 year old because I could really experience how it made me feel better when I've done that and also how I could function better, do the homework better, study better in a space that supported me. So I always said to everyone back then even, and also later when working in the corporate world and as a financial controller and then later as a financial consultant that we want to make our life and business easier, as it is hard enough at times on its own right. We don't have to make it hard on top of it, and chaos really makes it unnecessarily harder. And then around 2017 and 2018, when I hosted the From Chaos to Peace decluttering challenge with WikimeCloud is kind of when I came up with the saying that clearing clutter is self-love and self care, and so this is kind of how it started. Now let's dive a bit deeper and look at why I'm saying that and why I say it's self-care and self-love more than bubble baths and other things we spoil ourselves with like manicures or facials and whatever, especially as women were doing as acts of self-care.

Speaker 1: 4:43

So our environment, especially our home and our home office, is an extension of us, an extension of our energy field, and it works the other way around as well. Our environment and everything in our home directly affects our energy, and how we show up for others in our life and business depends on how we feel and how our energy levels are. And if your environment drains your energy, then you can't show up with a lot of energy. And if that sounds woo-woo to you, then please know, even Winston Churchill, years and years ago, already said we shape our buildings, therefore they shape us. So we could also say our values shape our physical environment, which in turn informs our behaviors and our actions. And this is why it's so important to create a supportive environment in your home and your home office and in your business in general, including the digital space and, most importantly, the financial space, so your private and business finances.

Speaker 1: 5:55

Lots of unnecessary clutter, chaos and messiness in your home and office carries a low vibration of energy, which in turn clutters up your personal energy field and makes you feel stressed, overwhelmed, stuck, heavy, sluggish, uninspired, unmotivated and sometimes even depressed, and there is actually a scientific study out that confirms that that not necessarily we are depressed because our environment is cluttered, but a cluttered environment makes us feel down and, to a degree, depressed. So when your environment looks bad, you feel bad. When we feel unfocused and frazzled, we get easily distracted and we tend to procrastinate on the important things that we want to do. We sometimes can even fall into a who cares attitude and dismiss our own goals and dreams. This sure has happened to me if I'm not taking care of me and my environment.

Speaker 1: 6:58

So when you take a long look at the state and the condition of your home and your office, I call that a love tour. It will help you see if you're in a high vibration state or a low vibrational state most of the time. Now, hold on before you start beating yourself up if your environment doesn't look the greatest. That's not what my intention is. It's about self-awareness and noticing and then pivoting how you do things and then you pivot like pivoting in a slightly different way. That makes you feel better and then gets you in a more positive and into a higher energy state Is the clutter and the messy and hard organized I can't speak anymore and the unorganized surroundings, and even unorganized finances Don't just happen.

Speaker 1: 7:52

So what you need to do is to find out why they happen and how they happen, and for that you need some self-awareness, as I just said, you can ask yourself, for example, what you do when you get busy and when it gets hectic in your life or in your business, what you do when challenges show up during the day, what patterns and stories emerge in stressful situations and where do you drop the ball, where do you stop looking after yourself and after your business and you become frazzled and unfocused. When you start this journey from chaos to peace, when you practice more self-awareness and therefore more self-love, by not tolerating so much chaos around you, either from yourself or from others, you automatically raise your vibes and you will want to continue to declutter. You want to declutter and getting more organized Because now you know how much better it feels, how much more energy you have, and that's why I say clear and clutter is self-love, because it's all about taking care of yourself, your health and your energy state, so you don't make your life harder than it has to be and that you can show up in your life and in your business at your very best. Examples of easy self-care and self-love habits or rituals are, for example, the following Take five minutes to clean up your desk at the end of your workday so you can start in an uncluttered space the next day with a breathing space and elbow room to show up as your absolute best self for your clients. I sure feel the difference big time when I forget to do this or I think I have no time at the end of the workday to do it. You can also set up your coffee or your tea the night before and take care of dirty dishes and chaos in the kitchen so you come to a calm space in the morning. I do that every evening.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Clean out your closet to make getting dressed easier in the morning. That is also a biggie. You don't have to stand there and think I have nothing to wear. You find your stuff. You only have the closet full of clothes you love, and you can clear your home screen of your computer and your smartphone and only allow the files and apps that help you be productive during the day. That is self-love too. You put systems or processes in place to deal with paper and digital files, your inbox and your financial obligations Especially the financial obligations if you want to have peace of mind. And then also for peace of mind, create backups of your data on a regular basis to minimize the risk of data loss. So those are just a few examples.

Speaker 1: 10:45

I am actually in the middle of creating a roadmap for you on what little actions to do every single day, for a few minutes, to move from chaos to peace. So stay tuned for that. I will make it fun and it will motivate you to keep going. Your life will be different if you do this. You will feel stronger, clearer, more focused and you will have all the energy you need and then some to go after your dreams. Most days, you realize it's really not about perfection, but it's more about that you are at peace and that you feel supported in your business, in your life and, most importantly, with yourself.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Ok, my friend, that's it for today. Thanks for listening All the way to the end on why I say clearing clutter and clearing your chaos is an act of self-love and self-care. Have a beautiful week. Talk to you next time, take good care and spread the peace. You can bring your chaos to me. Use the link in the show notes and sign up for a complimentary 30 minute Chaos to Peace Jumpstart call where we will address your most pressing pain point around clutter and chaos and how to solve it in a few minutes a day and, if you're ready, we can also discuss options for moving forward together and how I can help you out with On your Journey from Chaos to Peace. You find the links to sign up in the show notes.