Transform Your Life: Decluttering for Mental Health and Renewal

Unlock the secrets to a clutter-free mind and home with us on this episode of "Get Real With The English Sisters." Have you ever wondered how decluttering can transform your mental health? We'll share our own journey, from the struggles of parting with family heirlooms to the satisfying thrill of tossing out broken kitchen gadgets. You'll discover the importance of having the right mindset and energy to make any decluttering project not only manageable but also enjoyable—especially when you bring a friend along for the ride.

Embrace change and gain a fresh perspective as we compare decluttering to nature's cycles of renewal. Learn how to let go of what no longer serves you while cherishing items that truly nourish your soul. We’ll explore how donating sentimental items can extend their joy to others and offer tips for respectfully managing your space without overstepping into others' territories. Tune in for practical advice and heartfelt stories that will inspire you to take control of your environment, leading to a more organized and peaceful life. Join us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay connected and continue this empowering journey.

Hypnotherapy coaching sessions can help if you are struggling with anxiety.  Please email us at englishsisters@gmail.com if you would like help with an issue, mentioning this episode of our podcast for a special discounted rate. We work with clients worldwide over Zoom or Skype. Buy our Book Stress Free in Three Minutes available on Amazon and Kindle, to help support our work. Thank you!

Love and smiles from The English Sisters.

Watch the show on our YouTube  Channel
Follow us on Social Media
Share this podcast with your friend

#anxietyrelief #mentalhealth #mind #health #theenglishsisters #getrealwiththeenglishsisters #selfcare #anxiety #wellness #emotions #psychology #entertainment #selfesteem #friendships

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube Channel
Follow us on Social Media 

Chapters

• 0:00 Decluttering for Mental Health
• 10:32 Embracing Change Through Decluttering
• 17:01 Respectful Decluttering Empowerment

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

about decluttering your mind and your living area and your living space and how that can affect your mental health and make you actually feel a whole load better. That's what we're going to be chatting about in this week's episode of get real with the english sisters, with violetta and yutka, with Violetta and Jutka. So welcome to today's episode, welcome. Yeah, so this is all about, I mean, decluttering. How many of us actually hate decluttering? How many of us actually love it? I think the people that love it haven't got much clutter. No, that's pretty obvious. Yeah, if you love it, I think you're going to be constantly at it, aren't you? Yeah, because I think that's a bit. It's a bit like washing your hair. If you're constantly decluttering, you never your hair never gets that dirty. Exactly, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I quite like decluttering. Actually, I do enjoy it a little bit. I do enjoy, you know, like getting rid of stuff, but sometimes it's hard as well. Gosh, I think it's so hard when you've got, like stuff that belongs to, like when stuff that still belongs to our mom and dad. Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking about, like all these memories that are attached to certain objects, especially when they're big objects. Oh, my god, when it's like furniture, yeah, we've got. Yeah, yeah, we've got, um, like mom and dad. Mom and dad are no longer alive, they haven't been for many years now and we have the furniture at our house, yes, and we've still got a beautiful, old, old-fashioned bed, the one that they used to post a bed, and it's so pretty, and I've got it in the spare room now. But now my daughter's saying, mum, we need a proper bed because it's tiny, because it's like from the Victorian time, so it's like a mini bed. I don't even think it's a queen for the English, for English, I think it's even like it's tiny. It's supposed to be a double bed, but it's supposed to be a double bed, but it's a really tiny, tiny double bed, because once upon a time, double beds were tiny, weren't they, especially in Europe? People weren't as tall. No, they weren't as tall. And she said Mum, you have to give it away or, you know, do something. We need a proper bed in there. When we come, because it's too tight In her room, she's got bed. When it gets really hot, they go downstairs because it's cooler.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know what do you do with that kind of stuff, do. I don't know what to do with it and I really don't want to give it away. No, I think you've got to keep that one. You know that's not really part of I mean decluttering. It is part of it, because the hard part about decluttering is decluttering stuff that you want, what do you still want? Because you still have like like ties to it. Yeah. But when I say decluttering decluttering stuff that you want, what do you still want? Because you still have like like ties to it.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Yeah, but when I say decluttering, I just in my mind, I just think it's something that, like you know, okay, you know like that. That. That maria condo, yeah, where she says does it give you joy? Like the bed gives you joy, still. So it's something. It goes in the to keep this. It would give me joy, but I don't know where to put it. Yeah, but it gives me joy. But there it's something it goes in the to keep list. It would give me joy, but I don't know where to put it. Yeah, but it gives me joy, but there's no space for it.

Speaker 1: 3:10

Yeah, okay, that's a difficult one, but anyway, we're not gonna get bogged down with that one just because I've got to do something with that. That doesn't mean that we have to get like no, I know what you mean. You mean that is, if you've got old pots and pans in the kitchen, things like that that are broken, well, oh God. Yeah, I've got quite a few of them myself that are broken, especially those nonstick pans. They've got all scratches on them, so I'm supposed to be throwing them away. Yeah, recycling, yeah, recycling them, but you have to take them to a special recycle place. All those kind of things you put off, yeah, I do put them off, yeah, but then when you do it, it makes you feel great, doesn't it? It does, yeah, because then the kitchen looks so nice and then it's the same in every room. Really, you know, every room would have a good decluttering.

Speaker 1: 3:58

It takes time, though, doesn't it? First of all, it takes a hell of a lot of time and energy. Energy, yeah, first of all, it takes a hell of a lot of time and energy, and you have to be in the right mood, because if you're not, it just turns into a disaster and you'll make more of a mess than if you hadn't started de-cutting. How many times have we started? I remember a long time ago. I don't do it now, but a long time ago I used to get all my wardrobe out, put it all on the bed and then I'd be exhausted.

Speaker 1: 4:27

And then you start staring at things and you think do I want that, do I don't? Where does it go? Now? I could still use that. Yeah, oh, no. Then then you get into terrible mess with things. No, no, that's probably something to do.

Speaker 1: 4:39

We used to do it together, didn't we? And it was a lot easier. It is easy sometimes with a friend yeah, friend over and just have a little party while you're doing it yes, we did. Yeah, yeah, you're right. Or a few drinks, if you're into, you know, yeah, not too many, because then you won't do a thing, but just you'll either end up chucking everything out or nothing, yeah, but, but just, yes, but make it more like into, like a little party. And then it's also quite nice if you do have a few friends over, because they might say, hey, I really like that and I've always loved that outfit. Can, can I have it? And then you think, oh great, you know, at least you're not. You know, just literally, you know some somebody that you even care for is going to have it, which is really nice, but a lot of the times it's just a question of just getting out the bin and just chucking things away.

Speaker 1: 5:34

You've got to do it well. Yeah, you've got to do it well. I know when I'm in those moods I'm going to get a lot done, but then you get them out of the bin. No, I do not get them out. I know a lot of people that do you do. I don't do that. Haven't you thought of it before? No, not now, I don't. Maybe before I used to used to say, oh no, I think I've chucked that away or I shouldn't. Should have done that, oh, dear me. But I mean, there's nothing better than actually having that clean space to look at. You know, I have to do it again now because I looked at my wardrobe today and it might be a mess.

Speaker 1: 6:14

We've got big houses but tiny wardrobes. I don't know why, but we have, and they're like medieval wardrobes. They're absolutely tiny, especially yours, yours, mine is so small. In a way it's good because it stops you I have to go through my clothes every year, twice a year, and just give away what I don't use. I must say, with the English sisters, you know, it's got a lot easier, because with this brand that we wear the same clothes, we have to give them both away at the same time, don't we do? But it helps, doesn't it? Because we do it together. Yeah, yeah, so that helps a lot, but, yes, it's, but I think we're quite good at that, yeah, yeah, but deep, I think, decluttering your mind as well, because I think the two and two kind of go together, because if you declutter your wardrobe and your house where you live, your space you live in, it also allows you to feel a bit more free mentally, because the funny thing is that the clutter that's around your living area sort of clutters inside your mind as well.

Speaker 1: 7:19

It occupies space. You wouldn't think of that. You wouldn't think it's occupying space in my mind, but it does. It's like that bed you're saying, you know you're. Yeah, every few years it comes back like don't haunt me, what am I going to do with it?

Speaker 1: 7:34

I managed to repurpose it and it looks really cute in the room. First it belonged to my. It was in my son's room. Yeah, it was. Uh, because there's a kid's bed. Yeah, it was beautiful. Yeah, and it's beautiful. Now it's been repurposed downstairs in the spare room. But now. Now, what do I know? I'm scratching my head, what do I do with it? And I don't want to just like dismantle it and just put it in like like the you know canteen, yeah, where, where we like the room where we keep all the stuff we don't use in. I don't want to. That's a cluttered room. I don't actually want to say it's a cluttered room, but it is. It is and it goes in there for years and years and then it has to get decluttered.

Speaker 1: 8:16

But anyway, I think that part of the stuff that's physical is also mental, mental space. That's exactly it does. Because if you have like, for instance, if you at home have too many like clothes, for instance, does that mean that you maybe you buy too many things? You have like, maybe a slight shopping addiction? If you find that, you know, you'll find that whatever you've got too much connected. Yeah, the two are kind of like, you know, they're not separate, are they? No, they're definitely not, because maybe if in the kitchen you've got so many cooking utensils, it doesn't mean maybe you've got too many, maybe you're a bit of a like. Yeah, you go on the you know, and that's occupying your mental space and not.

Speaker 1: 9:04

The thing about it is that what we really need to do is to free up our minds, to free them more and more, so that we have we have space for innovation, space for for thinking and space for being creative. Yeah, and sometimes you think I don't know how to be creative. No, you don't know how to be creative because you're involved in the clutter. Your mind is cluttered and and sometimes it's cluttered with old thoughts and old feelings and feelings of regret, and you know lots of old things that are no longer needed anymore. Yeah, so if you just think, especially if you have recurring thoughts that are no longer needed, you can actually say is this thought actually needed now? Yeah, just ask yourself that question. That's a way of decluttering your mind. And then, if it's no longer needed, you say I'm going to put this thought to rest. You're right, especially with recurring thoughts that keep on popping up, and you think how many times have I had this thought? How useful is this thought for me? How many years has this thought like occupying my brain? Yeah, there's a part of my mind that has been involved. There is something going on in there, so let let's let it go now.

Speaker 1: 10:32

Perhaps it's time to get rid of it or recycle it, think of it in a different way. So perhaps that thing that you've been thinking about, maybe there's a different way of thinking about it. Maybe there's a way of kind of like putting it into a new light, seeing it as perhaps something that happened to you that maybe is brought about you know, a changing you that could be seen in a different way. So there's many ways of looking at something. Yes, that you get different perspectives. Yes, even something that happened to you, that was an unfortunate event, could be seen in a different way. Now, perhaps you know, you've learned, you've grown, you've got feedback from it, whatever it was.

Speaker 1: 11:23

So there are many ways of if you don't want to just get rid of it completely, you think of recycling it, but think of recycling it in a good and you know way that's going to be useful to your mind. You can upcycle it, can't you make it better? Make it better, think of it in a different way, think of it as something okay, that happened to me. What have I learned from it? What? What you know? If it's really of no use, then I just can let it go. Now, let it go, let it go. So let it go and declutter and declutter your mind. Allow for new things. It's time to think about what you want to do.

Speaker 1: 12:05

Yeah, september, october, the leaves are falling from the trees. Yes, you know, the nature declutters in its own way, doesn't it? And then it recycles the nutrients from the leaves. They go into the ground. They provide nourishment. Everything provides nourishment in the end. So, no matter what happens to us, we can take what we want from that and we can keep what we need and just get rid of the rest.

Speaker 1: 12:43

And we have to think, like with that bed. That bed was gifted to our mum and dad, wasn't it? Yes, by that lovely old lady. It was the lovely couple that. She said that they no longer needed it because, I don't know, they were moving or something. And they've been very happy there. They were In that bed. I mean, it's like as if it's alive, the bed. I know because in our mind, but I'm just thinking Because our mum valued it so much. It is a beautiful oak four-poster bed, which is quite unusual and it has all. Yeah, it's so Victorian, isn't it? Yeah, but I'm sure, if we looked it up, it has no value. No, value, no, it's probably worth a couple of hundred pounds? Absolutely no, nothing, it's just pretty and it's sentimental value. Sentimental, yes, but I'm just thinking the way it was gifted to mum and dad. We could gift it to someone Well done, and then, that way, somebody that really values it. Yeah, you know the history of the bed and the furniture is being passed on. Well, it's like what we were saying about the friend who likes an item or giving it to charity.

Speaker 1: 13:45

There are people that are really going to appreciate, you know, those old shoes, or you know, because sometimes it's things that you think, god, I've hardly worn these. Well, now it's easy because we have the I don't know, but you've got all the recycle beans, so it's a lot easier. Now you're not just thinking I'm just going to land waste, oh gosh, no, it's really. You know, it's much easier to declutter today than it was maybe previously, when you were thinking it was just going to go to waste. So that's nice, yes, so, but anyway. Yeah, but a lot of the times it's.

Speaker 1: 14:17

You know, people have difficulty even getting rid of really simple things like shoe boxes. Oh no, I could use this shoe box for something, and in the end you find you've got 25 shoe boxes. What are you going to use them, for you put your shoes in them. Well, yeah, if you put but this, you know it it becomes a bit too much. It clutters. Yeah, because people nowadays they think, well, I'll put the shoes in them and then, if I want to sell them on, they've got the box. Okay, yeah, that's true, it's got the box, but, yes, okay, but how many shoes have you got in your house and how many boxes have you got? That's the thing to be taking to get, is it? You know? Is it cluttering up your whole room? It could be cluttering up your room. Yes, and you're thinking, gosh, no, because over the years, you know you get, you collect stuff. I think when you have, you know, now, we're all getting.

Speaker 1: 15:08

You collect stuff. You're right, you collect stuff. You collect feelings too, don't you? You collect everything. You collect memories some memories good, some memories not so good.

Speaker 1: 15:23

So do you need to have them always in your mind? You know popping up? Not really, no, no, they can be put away and used as life experiences. Yeah, and maybe also, like what happens? You can put them on the on the cloud, can't you? You can put them on a virtual cloud that you, you can imagine in your own head and just let them kind of float away.

Speaker 1: 15:48

And if you, every now and again, if you really need to access them, you can, but they're not making you ill, they're not occupying space in your mind, making you feel cluttered, heavy, anxious, exactly, they don't have to be in your mind daily. They can be accessed when you need them for an experience, so for something like as a warning perhaps, and saying, hey, that happened, I didn't like that, do not repeat. But it doesn't have to be going on, you know, replaying in your mind like an old movie every day. How heavy going, isn't it? That is boring, boring and and and stressful. Oh yes, excited, making you anxious. Making you anxious, yeah. So let's, let's let go. Let's let go cloud, yeah, and declutter your space and your mind and look forward to new beginnings. Look, look forward to having that space. Imagine what it would be like to live in a decluttered environment.

Speaker 1: 17:01

We're going to go in a decluttering frenzy, now, I know, over the next few weeks. Well, let us know what you think. I enjoy that. Are you going to declutter? And also you have to be when decluttering, you have to be mindful and also you have to be when decluttering, you have to be, um, like, mindful and, yes, sensitive, respectful. Respectful of the people in your lives as well who might see it as insulting or, um, you know, like a slap in the face.

Speaker 1: 17:23

If you're going to throw away, absolutely don't go and declutter your, your, you know, your partner, no, your kids, rooms, whatever things you know. You've got to be mindful of those. Mindful, yes, be very mindful of it, because you might be in that phase and it's okay to do with your stuff, but, yeah, your stuff okay, but other people's stuff, no way, no way. Let them do their own decluttering exactly. Empower them. Empower them. Come and visit us on instagram, come and say hi on youtube, facebook, wherever you like, linkedin, where we're everywhere. Aren't we? Yeah, we are. We do love it when you send us your messages, when you connect with us, so please do, really, you know, connect. And and also, the podcast is on apple podcast as well, and now you can listen on your browser as well, which is a new, new thing that apple's done and it's very wonderful, absolutely, so you can also listen on your browser, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come and listen to get real with the english sisters. Bye.