When I’m clutter free, my life remarkably falls into order as well | Andrea de Michaelis – Creating my own reality, one thought at a time

For the first time in 22 years, the magazine was delivered last week and I did not do the mailing the same day. I seriously needed some down time and am taking it this weekend. I call it going underground, where I cut off all voicing and listening, disconnect from anyone who needs me for anything and spend a few days internally focused. I halfway succeeded. I chatted only with the man, but I did text and answer a few emails. Mostly I stayed off the computer and did things around the house. I’m constantly streamlining my office and I cleaned out the office supply closet for the first time in a few years. I carried everything completely OUT OF THE ROOM and then only put back in what I wanted there: envelopes, labels, ink, tape, business cards, paper, file folders, binder clips, papers clips.

I removed from the closet miles of bubble wrap, a dozen rolls of packing tape and mailing tubes, keyboards, mice, microphones, headsets, old school cassette recorder, tapes and transcriber, digital voice recorder, mega zip drive, old router, external drives, collection of Manley Hall original lectures on audiotape. I had so much room in the closet then, that I put my music cds on a rolling table in there until I decide where I’m going to move the stereo stuff to.

I saw a few cobwebs in the closet, so I decided to do a bug spraying while it was empty. I began doing my own pest control this year to reclaim sleep time. So far, so good and it’s kinda fun. Seeing the baseboards every month reminds me to keep the place clean and uncluttered. Every time I remove another layer of clutter, I feel freer, more expansive and capable of more. When I unclutter, a deep peace descends upon me.

I spent time in silent meditation the last few days, doing my breathing practice, my yoga. When I need to reboot, nothing does it as well as me going underground: being alone, in the silence, in the dim light, answering to no one, doing nothing but what I want to do. I’m blessed to live the life I live, and to have in it the loved ones around me. When my rooms were cluttered and unkempt, my life was hectic and stressful. I know that it’s all related. Now I’m clutter free and stress free.