So last week we talked about defusing emotional landmines by having a ruthless, yes ruthless darling, clear out of your home environment. Loved seeing so many comments on the blog – do keep sharing. Thrilled it landed at the perfect time to inspire so many of you to start clearing out and donating stuff to charity on mass!
As so many of you mentioned, it’s not just that a ruthless declutter makes your house feel cleaner, lighter, fresher. It’s that it makes YOU feel that in yourself! Lighter. Happier. More buoyant. Not being weighed down by a load of old crap that is past its use-by date. A ruthless declutter is so freeing mentally and emotionally.
Which is why we are going to look at expanding that a step further today from your actual physical home to your virtual home. We live so much of our life online these days, more every single day. Our virtual lives are an ever-growing beast, and it’s not often we stop and prune it before it gets out of control. So, to complement my physical declutter I have also done a Digital Declutter:
1. Get control of your email.
Email can the single biggest cause of overwhelm. Don’t let your inbox determine whether you have a good day or a bad day. Get control of your inbox with my Top 10 Strategies to End Email Overwhelm and delete or file so you can get to the Nirvana of Inbox Zero at least twice a week. You would not believe how damn good that feels!
2. Defuse Emotional Landmines lurking in the inbox.
Emotional timebombs exist digitally as well as physically. Shitty messages can sit there lurking in your inbox. Making you feel a bit sick every time you scan past and see that name or subject in there. So, delete those suckers straight away if you can. And if you can’t because there is action required at least GET THEM OUT OF YOUR INBOX so you don’t have to keep triggering your stress response each time you see them. Make an email folder labeled “Horror” or similar and get the email out of the inbox and filed away there where you can’t see it. Make a diary note of when you ARE going to deal with it. And deal with it then. Don’t get upset about it every single time you go in your inbox.
If you can’t remember who they are they have no place owning some of your digital real estate.
3. Phone Declutter.
You know we all have people in our life that we would probably quite like to delete if we had the opportunity! Relationships that are long gone or that bring nothing to our lives. One good way of feeling lighter and cleaner, and creating space to attract new friendships, is to declutter the old. Going through your phone with your finger on the delete button can be a great way to free up that space. If you are anything like me you will be scrolling through saying things like “er…who is THAT?! And who is THAT? Was that the woman from Bali? Or California? Who is HE? Oh my god I don’t even LIKE her”. Delete delete delete. If you can’t remember who they are they have no place owning some of your digital real estate. Delete and make space for attracting some new relationships into your life. It’s surprisingly freeing – try it!
4. Social Media Declutter.
Now this can be a bit counterintuitive if you think about the amount of people who are trying to gain extra followers. But, it’s another area to consider when you are lightening up your personal energy space. You may want to go through and declutter contacts to just friends you know in real life. Or that you have any real intention of staying in touch with. It’s an optional one this one, personally I find social media to be amazing for staying in touch with my friends and family around the world and my mainly US based work colleagues. So I have to admit this is one I have chosen to leave. However – see what feels good for you. I have seen some clients feel truly empowered after a social media clear out, and a couple who have…oh my god…actually gone the whole hog and deleted their social media account in favour of old school style contact. For reals! They have found this has deepened their relationships with friends and family and reduced time spent with people they are actually not that bothered about. So, if it calls you, do a social media declutter too. Free up the space from the wrong people so the right people will manifest for you.
Right – physical home declutter underway? Emotional Landmines being defused by being donated/gifted or thrown away? Time to do the same with your virtual world – delete and file. Delete Delete Delete. Let your energy rise as you feel all that beautiful clean space start appearing. Make space for what and who you really want to keep in your life, and let the rest go with love.
