The art of decluttering through the lens of animism

We are in a relationship with everything and everyone around us even if we are conscious of that or not. This relationship is the interaction we have with them- be it animals, other people, food, or even the objects that we have. Yes, we have a relationship even with the objects we have in our home, in our office, in our room, or in any other space we spend time.

The question is: Has this object passed its expiration date in my life? Is it supporting me, is it compatible with me or is it creating stuckness and holding me back?

Decluttering our home or in general spaces from objects is the process of clearing out the old to make more space for the new and what resonates more with who we are now or who we want to become. It also helps to welcome new energy in our space such as a new community member, a baby, a new partner, or other things that resonate with us and help us with our expansion.

If we apply animistic philosophy to this discussion, we understand that decluttering is not just throwing old things out. It is a lot more than that. All indigenous cultures believe that everything has spirit. That includes not only things in nature like trees, rocks, rivers, and animals but also things that are human-created such as decoration objects, cars, phones, and so on. They are all made of consciousness and even if it is different from human consciousness, they still have their unique mission, role, and autonomy.

Our goal is to attune and understand where these objects belong and where they need to be. Sometimes, we may need to find the right owner for it. Sometimes, we need to place them somewhere in nature or in another room in our home or office. Sometimes, we may need to throw them away. Sometimes, we may feel called to give it to someone who sees the value of it, use it in a craft, or give it to second-hand shops. The sky's the limit.

But what happens when we hit that layer of sentimental items like gifts, souvenirs, our child’s drawings, and books or items from significant times in our lives?

These kinds of items can trigger a lot of emotions in us. Let’s say that Liza got married to Jack and shortly after their marriage, they got divorced. Liza went through a lot and it is difficult to form a relationship after this experience. Liza now found a wedding gift in her house that she had forgotten about.

These kinds of items can trigger old memories and emotions. Even if she tries to avoid all these emotions in reality memories come up and she feels shame, disappointment, guilt for disappointing her family, rejection, and betrayal. This example shows how our stuff can represent emotional energy within us that is awaiting completion and integration. That’s why decluttering can be a serious energy and shadow work. We can either keep things and be in denial about emotions that we associate with them or open the Pandora’s box and liberate our home and ourselves from things that no longer serve us.

But to transform anything, we have to bring it into the light, into our consciousness awareness. We need to see it, acknowledge it, and accept it.

A very good question we can also ask ourselves is: Why am I keeping this object?

And this is where we need to be very honest with ourselves. We often avoid facing the WHY behind what we are doing because of shame. To become aware of the why we have to take a risk and see things that we don’t like and admit to things about ourselves that we or others might judge as bad or wrong. Again we bring into the light what we have suppressed and denied for a long time.

In other words, decluttering our space can help us decluttering our inner space. Our staff contains stories, memories, associations and all those can be stored in our body as well. We have the power to access and feel these stories, memories, and associations and transform, transmute, release, and make different choices.

The reality is that we do not need to force this process nor do we have to give, throw, or burn everything from our past. We need to be soft and compassionate with ourselves during this process. However, processing the emotional package that our staff can reflect can give us the answer to what we need to do with each item. Sometimes releasing or transforming the energy, the emotional burden within us goes hand in hand with releasing it from our space or changing completely our relationship with it and finding a way to honor it.

So the question is:

What things from your past do you want to take forward?

What things are compatible with you now and where you want to go?

What things from your past do you need to grieve and let go?