3995: The Minimalist Guide to Decluttering Your Home (and Your Life) by Cylon George of Spiritual Living for Busy People

[00:00:00] Before we start, I want to share a super powerful practice I use called NSDR or Non-Sleep Deep Rest. In just about 10 minutes or so, this Yoga Nidra practice leaves you feeling as refreshed as after a nap without actually sleeping. Experience it for yourself on our guided podcast. Search NSDR and look for the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:24] It's a Minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, The Minimalist Guide to Decluttering Your Home and Your Life by Cylon George of SpiritualLivingForBusyPeople.com and I'm Justin Mollick. I'm going to keep this intro nice and minimal as we optimize your life. The Minimalist Guide to Decluttering Your Home and Your Life by Cylon George of SpiritualLivingForBusyPeople.com. Quote,

[00:00:54] The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't. Joshua Becker It happens so gradually, you barely realize it, that your home has become a glorified storage facility. You've got more stuff than you'll ever need or use. You don't even know what's in your various piles anymore. All you know is that it's taking up valuable space and weighing down your soul.

[00:01:19] You want to tidy things up, but you don't know where to begin. You're overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, and frustrated. My wife and I certainly felt that way. With a family of eight, it's hard keeping our house clutter-free. Then my wife recently stumbled on a little unassuming-looking book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. You might have heard of it because it's a mega bestseller.

[00:01:43] Within a few days, our house was turned upside down. Countless bags of our stuff were being hauled off to goodwill or being given away on free cycle. Since I also desired to declutter our home and my soul, I joined in the effort. I picked up the little book and read it for myself. I was interested in the tidying up part of the book, but I was also very interested in the life-changing part.

[00:02:08] If you feel like you're drowning in your stuff and want a way out, these few takeaways I gleaned from the book may just be the lifeline you need. Number one, we have relationships with things. While most of us take the stuff we own for granted, Kondo offers a different view. Whether we know it or not, we have relationships with our things, and this has implications on our willingness to discard items that have outlived their usefulness.

[00:02:36] Kondo's method takes us outside our comfort zone by advocating that we treat our things as if they were living. This mainly involves talking to our possessions and thanking them for all they do for us. If this seems strange for you, think back to your childhood and your relationships with the toys you had. Didn't you talk to them? Didn't you treat them like they were alive? Think about the gadgets you own now. Think about how lost you'd be without your smartphone or laptop.

[00:03:04] Think about the fact that you can already talk to a variety of smart devices, including appliances, thermostats, cars, and watches, and watches. And many of them can talk back to you. Our devices will only get better at being more human-like. They'll seem more alive. Even if you're not willing to talk to your items, acknowledging what they represent will help you avoid unhealthy attachments. This is especially true for sentimental items. Kondo writes,

[00:03:33] By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past. If you just stow these things away in a drawer or cardboard box, before you realize it, your past will become a weight that holds you back and keeps you from living in the here and now. End quote. So ask yourself, what's keeping me from going through my piles of books or papers? And number two, only keep the things that spark joy.

[00:04:03] The heart of Kondo's method is the process she uses to determine whether to keep or discard something. In her book, she describes the one selection criterion this way. Quote, take each item in one's hand and ask, does this spark joy? If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. End quote. You might wonder, how do I know when something sparks joy? In my experience, I've found that my first reaction is the correct one.

[00:04:32] It cuts right through the rationalizations and deliberate decision-making that often stop me from getting rid of something. Is it perfect? No, but I've been able to part with many more of my things by asking this simple but powerful question. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Blink, studies our ability to make good decisions very quickly with little information.

[00:04:55] He argues that contrary to popular belief, snap judgments and first impressions can be powerfully accurate in complex circumstances. Kondo's method is a great application of Gladwell's findings. So pick up that shirt you wore on your honeymoon or the dog collar from your long-departed Fido and ask, does this spark joy? Trust the first answer that immediately comes to mind. If the answer is no, thank it for a job well done and let it go.

[00:05:25] How do you want to live your life? Do you want to continue to be buried by stuff that weigh you down emotionally? Or do you desire your surroundings to bring you joy? Kondo says, quote, The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life. End quote. If you've decided that you want to lighten your load, take some time to go through the piles and make the hard choices of what to keep and what to let go.

[00:05:53] So you'll feel lighter, happier, and more free. You just listened to the post titled, The Minimalist Guide to Decluttering Your Home and Your Life, by Salon George of SpiritualLivingForBusyPeople.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on.

[00:06:22] Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it. One simple lab test covers over 100 biomarkers, and their app gives you a complete picture of your heart, liver, hormones, metabolism, even environmental toxins. Plus, it used to cost $499. Right now, it's just $199. And head to superpower.com and use code OLD at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. Thank you to Salon.

[00:06:50] It can definitely sound strange, pretty weird, and even woo-woo, as some people call it, to take on this idea of treating our things as if they were living beings in order to feel better about letting them go. Like actually thanking it for what it gave us and saying goodbye out loud. A bit odd, maybe, but Salon offers a pretty good argument about how when we were younger, boy, do those things really seem alive. Our emotional attachment to things was huge,

[00:07:20] and so obvious. We'd cry if someone even took away a toy. Granted, it could be crying because of the act, and not necessarily because of the toy itself, but I'm sure there are many instances where we really missed certain things, and had quite crazy obsession with things. I remember naming stuffed animals myself, after all. So I think Marie is onto something here, and why the book ended up being a crazy success. And regarding many of the things that we hear on this show,

[00:07:51] I say if it's not going to hurt, why not give it a shot? If there's even a 1% chance that it helps you simplify your life, and find more joy, it's worth a shot. That definitely applies to what we heard today, so why not talk to your things while decluttering? Let me know if you try it. Have a great rest of your day minimizing, and I'll catch you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.