How to Declutter Your Mind & Simplify Your Life Without Guilt

At 25, I worked three jobs in order to barely stay current on my bills. I didn’t have enough money to put food on the table. I had a 7-year-old daughter to feed and ran up my credit cards to stay afloat. 

With growing credit card debt, big car notes, a child to feed, and bills constantly going late or unpaid, my mind ran in circles All. The. Time. 

I couldn’t plan for the future or take time for myself. Something was always on fire. I always needed more money.

My desperate thoughts kept me awake into the morning hours. I began taking melatonin every night just to fall asleep. 

That never-ending cycle was my life. 

Have you ever had a moment like that where you’d give anything just to quiet your mind? 

It’s a terrible feeling that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but if you’re there right now, then this post is for you. 

The key to getting out of that rut and creating inner peace is decluttering… your mind.

What Is Decluttering? 

Decluttering is when you remove unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place. You can declutter anything - imagine your workspace, your kitchen drawers or your attic. 

In this case, we’re talking about decluttering your mind. That means that we’re going to remove all of the unnecessary things that take up space in your mind to add worry or anxiety to your life.

Why Should You Declutter Your Mind?  

There are three main reasons to reduce your mental clutter: 

Reduce worry and anxiety.

The art of decluttering simply means that you’re going to take away the things that do not bring you joy. 

That could be the car note you’re struggling to pay or the notifications constantly pinging you, adding a sense of urgency to your life which annoys you. You could even remove the relationships that are stressing you out.

Once you start to remove those things, you’ll have fewer things to worry about on a daily basis.

Increase happiness.

When you remove the people, responsibilities, and things that do not bring you joy, what’s left? Only the things that you love. 

Each time you remove something you don’t like, you increase your confidence in your ability to choose what matters. You worry less, which means you savor life more on a daily basis.

Increase abundance in your life. 

What happens when you don’t have to worry about the constant fires and bill collectors calling to stress you out?

You simply have less stress. When you have fewer things on your mind, you free yourself to think about your future, the bigger picture, and where you want to go versus than where you are today. 

You can be more productive in your life because you no longer have to split your time between things that matter and things that don’t. You’ve removed the unnecessary, so all that’s left is the important - the joy.

How Do I Know What To Keep?

I know it can be hard to think about removing things from your life, especially if this is your first attempt at decluttering. 

But don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand through it ;) 

The beauty of decluttering is that you have control over what you remove - and you only remove things you don’t absolutely want to keep in your life.

Understand that decluttering is removing the unnecessary, the stressors, the negative and the anxiety-inducing things that have likely migrated into your life. 

Decluttering requires you to be intentional about your life and choose what you want. Everything you remove if your choice. What could be more powerful than that?

Decluttering only seems scary because you don’t want to get rid of something and realize “oh my gosh, I really wanted that!” 

I want you to repeat after me… “If I remove something from my life, I can always bring it back.”

I removed the TV from my life and realized quickly that I didn’t need a TV to be happy. On the other hand, I stopped hanging out because I wanted to save money and I realized that it made me incredibly unhappy. I need to spend time with friends, even if it will cost me because that interaction truly brings me joy.

When should I declutter?

I’m a firm believer that you can start anytime. You don’t need to wait for “the right time” to start removing the unnecessary from your life. In fact, you can do this several times a year. 

However, some great times to do this are: 

1. During a big life change. New babies, retirement, purchasing a new home or even a break up can shift your responsibilities and your priorities. This can be a great time to realign with what matters to you and remove the things that no longer serve you.

2. When you’re ready for a fresh start. In my life, I was tired of being tired. I couldn’t continue working three jobs, being too exhausted for loved ones, and being unable to pay bills. I needed a fresh start asap. 

3. When you’re overwhelmed with life. Overwhelm and anxiety are signs that you need to reduce complexity. Decluttering your life can help you reduce the number of things you have to think about on a daily basis.

How To Declutter Your Life Without Guilt

Clarify your priorities.

Take some time to decide what your biggest priorities are. Make a list. Do some journaling. Go for a long walk to think. Meditate. Take the time to decide what is MOST important.

Remove things that are not a priority.

Start saying no to events on your calendar that don’t bring you joy or aren’t on your priority list. Put some better processes in place at home to save you time on household tasks so you can spend that time doing things that ARE on your list.

Let go of the outcome.

You can’t make everyone happy. And not everyone will be happy with what you’ve decided to prioritize. Let go of what everyone else thinks about your decisions. This is YOUR life. No one else has to live it but you.

Make a decision… and follow-through.

Whatever you decided on, go for it. You can always go back and tweak your priorities. Just start. Find out what works for you.

Slow down or take a break.

Sometimes slowing down or taking a short break can be the exact thing that you need in order to recharge and start climbing forward with your priorities.

How To Start Decluttering Your Mind Today

You can start small by decluttering your physical space. You can choose to declutter a drawer, a closet, your office, your kitchen, or the whole house. 

If you’re afraid of losing something that you may end up wanting to keep, start by placing everything you’d like to remove in a box. Tape the box up and place it in the basement or a closet that you don’t use often. 

Leave the items in the box for 30 days to 6 months before throwing it out (depending on what feels comfortable for you). If you notice that you don’t touch the box during the entire time, then you truly don’t need those items. If you do need to go into the box, then you can take the items that you need. 

This is a small step to learn how to declutter your space. Once you get started, you might want to remove bigger things - like your TV, annoying smartphone apps, or soul-sucking relationships. 

Decluttering is not about getting rid of things. It’s about getting rid of the things that do not contribute value or joy to your life.

This allows you to make room for opportunities that you enjoy and the things that matter most. When you remove the excess, you’re able to enjoy the moment, be present, and appreciate the life you’ve intentionally created.

What’s one thing you’re ready to remove from your life right now?

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party? 

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!

Is This Really It? 11 Ways To Be Happy (even if you're broke, single and depressed)

Is this really it? 

This is what you ask yourself when you’ve lost all hope. 

At least that’s what I would ask myself when I hit a low point in my life where I could no longer believe in happiness. 

I worked three jobs as a full time receptionist, part-time waitress and in-between time babysitter to throw together every dollar I could. Depression took over my every thought and my general cynicism about the world led me to think about suicide almost daily. 

I couldn’t afford anything beyond my bills. For food, I’d pray the executives at my job had leftover sandwiches that I could take home. 

I wanted out. I wanted some glimpse that I could turn my life around. I wanted a success story where I could “pull myself up by my bootstraps” like many others who triumphed after failures. 

But every attempt at elevation ended in more…. failure. 

Until I broke. 

If that story sounds familiar, then you know what it feels like to hit your breaking point, to cry daily with no one to talk to, and to fail so often that you accept failure as your destiny.

Related Content: 5 Things to do Instead of Committing Suicide

Related Content: What to do When You Can’t Hide Your Struggle Anymore

These are the 11 things I did that helped me find happiness during the most difficult time of my life. 

Make a list of the things that make you smile .

When you’re struggling with depression, it’s difficult to accept a moment of happiness without thinking it’ll be short lived. However, those moments are exactly what you need to keep going. 

Think about the last seven days and make a list of ten moments that brought you joy. When life gets rough, you can turn to this list and remind yourself which elements of your life bring you happiness.

Spend time with the people who bring you joy.

Are there people who made it onto your top ten list? If not, that’s ok, make a list of three people who you LOVE spending time with. 

During my depression, I scheduled a weekly movie night with my grandmother where we’d watch all of our favorite weekly shows and spend the evening guessing what would happen next in the protagonists lives. Spending time with loved ones easily takes your mind off of your misery (and there’s also the added bonus of not feeling alone).

Make a promise. 

Many people have difficulty keeping promises to themselves when they are in a state of depression, but at the same time they refuse to let down their friends and family. If you’re anything like this, then making a promise to a loved one can help you to reach your goals. 

My little sister came to live with me. She was sixteen, bright-eyed and had that teenage life-is-simple mindset that, for me, had become a vague memory. She needed ALL THE THINGS. 

Serving her needs became my outlet. Between viola lessons, SAT prep coaching and college open houses, I could help someone. I could still do good in this world. 

Create “easy win” situations for yourself. 

No one wants to feel like a loser. Yup, it’s that simple. When every day becomes hard. When you can’t get out of bed without thinking about all the bills coming your way or why you’re so alone you have to give yourself something else to think about. 

That’s where small goals come in. Set a goal to reach something easily attainable. Finish a book. Volunteer at a nonprofit focused on a cause you believe in. Spend some time with your family… away from your phone (gasp!). 

Accomplishing the small things re-energizes you to try your hand again at the big things. 

Related Content: 5 Ways Ordinary People Can Start Achieving Extraordinary Results

Create a vision board.

A vision board can help you identify your passions, values and goals. Through this medium, you can easily create a lifestyle where you spend your time, energy and resources in a way that’s aligned with the person who you want to become. 

During my depression, I’d become a person that believed I couldn’t succeed. No matter what I did, I expected to fail. Then, I created a vision board to simply finish something. Yes, I wanted to be a person who finished the things I started. I knew that with that tiny step, I could believe in myself again. 

Related Content: What Materials Do You Need to Create A Vision Board

Related Content: Everything You Need to Know About Creating A Vision Board

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Do what you freakin’ want. 

Do you live your truth? Many people live behind a smile or a version of themselves that they believe others want them to be. You may find yourself agreeing to things that you have no interest in doing. Or putting on a fake work personality that’s not aligned to who you really are. 

When you become someone that others want you to be, you cannot be yourself. Happiness comes when you can show up as yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin. 

Find your biggest pain point.

OK, let’s be honest. If you’re looking for a way to be happy, by default, you’re unhappy. Take an honest look at your life and try to pinpoint why. 

I didn’t have enough money to cover my bills even though I worked around the clock to make more money with every free moment that I could find. Once I could be honest about my pain, I could start to work on solving it. 

Find a way to solve it. 

Solving your pain point might be easier said than done, but you could start to map out a way to get from where you are to where you want to be. 

If you’re lonely, maybe you can brainstorm ways to enjoy your time spent alone. If you’re broke, then maybe you can spend some time figuring out how to advance your career or looking for higher paying jobs.

Respect, don’t accept.

You will find that many people have an opinion on your life. Those opinions can easily seep into your thoughts and make you second-guess the way you feel about yourself. 

Growing up, my family bought the most lavish cars, clothes, and hosted huge parties for family and friends. They had jewelry and all the latest gadgets. Having things was hugely valued and showed a sign of success. 

I believed those things brought happiness. 

However, when I realized that I didn't have enough money to live a lifestyle I enjoyed, I had to step back. I got rid of many of the material items that I had

My family makes fun of my all the time. I have to respect their values, but I don’t have to accept them as my own. 

Related Content: Struggling to Get Out of Debt? Try Minimalism.

Live in the present.

This one is simple - enjoy this moment that you’re in. 

Have you ever spent time with friends, but the entire time you were stuck in your mind? Instead of enjoying their stories and company. You were worried about the bill waiting for you at home, or hoping your ex would call you back, or wondering how they don’t notice you’re depressed. 

Living in the present means you take the time to pay attention to the people around you. Notice that they’ve gotten a haircut. Hear their stories and ask questions. Enjoy the wine you’re drinking. 

Those bills you’re worrying about, they’ll still be there when you get home. :) Making an effort to live in the present gives you a gift of simplicity. 

Get some freakin’ sleep.

A good night’s sleep can help with your emotions, focus and energy. When you’re more focused, you get more done. When you get more done, you build confidence in your abilities. When you can feel confident in yourself, it’s easier to be happy with the person you are each day. 

Sleep has many benefits, but when we’re struggling we often have a hard time getting to sleep. Prioritizing sleep can add immediate benefits to your life without having to make any extra money or make any huge life shifts. 

It’s something small that you can do today to prioritize yourself and start creating your own bit of happiness. 

Time To Take Action

If you’re currently wondering how can I get more out of life and find happiness, here’s what you need to do as soon as possible: 

1. Write down ten people, places, things and activities that bring you joy. 

2. Spend 20 minutes today doing one of those things. 

3. Get a good night’s rest. 

There is more to life. You have to demand it. You have to start somewhere, even if the start is small, very small, it’s important to just start. You can grow into anything you want. Believe it. Take that step.

In the comments, tell us what is the number one thing holding you back from getting more out of life. 

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party? 

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!