For years I accumulated ‘stuff’. I used shopping as another way to make myself feel better. I had even become a bit of a hoarder, holding on to things for ‘one day’ or because I felt if I got rid of them, they would take away a part of me or my memories. 

But deep down I actually felt quite overwhelmed by all I had. Also living in London and moving nine times in 12 years, each time with more stuff, and much in the same boxes from the last move, was getting tiring!

I knew I needed to do a big clear out. 

I got rid of items I had bought throughout my twenties when I was working full time, that I thought would make me feel a certain way. Items that I thought made me feel whole. Items that reminded me of times in my life, but in all honesty, I didn’t care that much about. 

I had countless tops I’d only wore once on a night out. Clothes with the tags still on, at least two to three sizes smaller than I was, which I was saving for ‘that day’ when I was going to be slim enough to fit into them. I had bags of jewellery and shoes as these two things made me feel better (momentarily) even with my fluctuating weight.

I ended up with about 10 large bin bags full of stuff! Giving it all away felt so light and free-ing and definitely helped me with releasing my emotional attachment to things.

I have a new rule today, every time I bring in something new, I have to also get rid of or give something away in its place, and I’m now moving more towards being a minimalist frequently getting rid of more things, as it suits me. I love the feeling of not having much stuff.

Having an excess of ‘things’ and ‘stuff’ can also be quite overwhelming for an empath as there is often a lot of emotional energy associated with the items that you can literally feel. 

Where do you need to de-clutter in your physical space? 

This blog post is a snippet from my book, Embodied. You can get your own copy of Embodied here or anywhere you buy your books online.

Photo by Ella Jardim on Unsplash.