The simple act of clearing clutter can transform your life by releasing negative emotions, generating energy, and allowing you to create space for the things you want to achieve.

The word "clutter" derives from the Middle English "clotter", which means to coagulate - and that's about as stuck as you can get.

Clutter starts bit by bit, and then slowly, insidiously, grows and grows - and so does the stagnant energy around it, which then has a corresponding stagnating effect on your life.

If you somehow get your life moving again, you will instinctively want to clear the clutter out of your home and make a fresh start. It will feel like the obvious thing to do.

Stuck energy is very sticky

This is why it is easy to let your clutter stay put. You have to have some pretty good reasons to rouse yourself enough to do anything about it.

Every aspect of your life is anchored energetically in your living space. So clearing your clutter can completely transform your entire existence. It can open up clarity and solutions that you were not able to see before. Sometimes we hang on to clutter as a way of preventing life from 'opening up' and change from occurring.

Here's a short list to assess what is cluttering your space and your mind:

- Things you do not currently use or love

- Things that are untidy or disorganized

- Too many things in too small a space

- Anything unfinished

Having clutter can keep you anchored in the past. It can make you procrastinate. When all your available space is filled with clutter, there is no room for anything new to come into your life, whether it be new relationships, new goals, new projects, new adventures, or simply feeling more internal peace. With clutter you tend to look back rather than forward. By releasing the past you can begin to create a ligher tomorrow.

Keeping things "just in case" gives people a sense of security, it is the #1 reason why people keep their clutter rather than letting at least part of it go. This is followed closely by top reason #2, which is having a strong identity association with the objects being kept. Both reasons are quite understandable.

The key is having the awareness of what clutter is doing in your life physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and beginning to take baby steps in releasing what no longer serves in your life, choosing to complete only the unfinished projects that bring you joy, and looking for ways to keep your memories in fewer, more meaningful ways. Most importantly, keeping them within your heart, and letting go of the rest.