3 Ways Clutter is Self-Sabotage
Self-sabotage is when you take action or you consciously take no action resulting in your goals and aspirations to be derailed or to halt progress towards reaching them.
If you’re wondering why anyone would do this type of behavior, I assure you, it’s more common than you may think. After reading this post you may see parallels in your own life that look similar that you never considered as self-sabotage.
Awareness is key and it’s the first step to moving away from self-sabotage behaviors especially with clutter.
The three ways clutter is self-sabotage that will be explored in this post are:
- Clutter is a physical and mental roadblock
- Clutter steals from you
- Clutter is a distraction
Clutter is a physical and mental roadblock
Clutter presents itself as a barrier between where you want to go and where you currently are in your life. It can become a giant hurdle that stops you from living the life that you want to live. Clutter is both a physical and a mental roadblock. Let’s dive into how this might look and take shape in your life.
Clutter as a physical roadblock
The more obvious of the two roadblocks is that clutter is the accumulation of physical items, unused purchases, that builds to look like piles or stacks in our homes.
Heaps of clothes may lie on the floor or stacks of papers may teeter on the edge of flat surfaces. Stuff piled high can prevent you from walking a clear path in your home. And stuff lying on top of any flat surfaces makes it a challenge to clear a space for working whether it’s homework, paying bills, or even cooking in the kitchen. Physical clutter obstructs the flow within your home.
When we actively put something physical between ourselves and what we truly want in life, we are derailing our path, which looks like self-sabotage.
Clutter as a mental roadblock
Clutter is visual when it takes shape as physical items, but what about how clutter has the ability to impact our thoughts and can causes chaos in our minds. A disorganized mind contributes to the absence of clarity of thought.
The physical clutter in our lives can manifest as multiple distractions in your mind that looks like a long list of open items or list of to-do’s. Each item in your physical space can represent unfinished business in your mind which can contribute to overwhelm, depression and anxiety.
Giving our brains more to think about (in excess of the already average of 40,000 daily thoughts) is not only exhausting, but another way we sabotage our progress towards clarity.
Clutter steals from you
The physical things that you allow into your life take up more than just space.
These items take up your energy, your time, and your money.
Each decision to purchase an item is attached to responsibilities. That item takes your energy in the form of taking care of the item and maintaining the item. It takes time to maintain an item.
Caring for an item such as dusting, storing and moving the items from room to room is maintenance. The financial impact of owning stuff is at a higher cost than you realize.
The rent you pay or a mortgage is spent to shelter and store your items. If you own many items, you might even be forced to upgrade to a larger home. A larger home generally means you will be paying high costs in the form or more square footage and higher utilities costs.
Our things appear harmless, but once accumulated and we see a different perspective of how our stuff takes from us, it’s easy to admit that clutter steals from you.
Clutter is a distraction
The stuff we own becomes a distraction in our lives. Even the pursuit of accumulating the items becomes a distraction. How many times have you used “retail therapy” as an excuse to make a purchase? This concept of retail therapy comes from using buying and spending as a form or coping with a larger and more serious issue below the surface.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what are you using stuff to avoid in your life? Instead of confronting the actual problem you may be using clutter as a distraction. Used as avoidance, consumption and clutter pushes you further away from dealing with the real issues at hand.
I view this as a form of self-sabotage because the distraction, when unchecked, creates another problem in your life of too much stuff and clutter.
Conclusion
Taking an introspective look at how our clutter affects our lives is the first way to be aware of our situation and gain a deeper understanding of how our actions contribute to self-sabotage. Our everyday actions may not look like self-harm but when we take an honest look from a different perspective, we allow ourselves to see the connections.
You do not have to give in to clutter and let it steal from your future self. The first step is awareness and that’s a big win as you start and continue on your tidying journey.
Here are some journaling prompts to help dive deeper into the root cause of the clutter:
- What am I avoiding by spending and buying things that I generally do not need?
- Am I using clutter as a distraction from addressing a specific problem?
- What do I want for my life that I’m scared to reach out and get?
The road to tidying up is winding and even at times you may feel like it’s getting worse before it’s getting better. In these times, look ahead, and pause, but don’t stop the journey. I promise, your future self will thank you.
Southern California based Professional Organizer, Sandy Park, owner and founder of Tidy with SPARK shares her joy of organization with her clients.
She serves clients in Orange County as well as the hundreds of thousands of followers on her combined social media platforms.
Connect with Sandy through her website or by connecting through her social channels.
So relatable, Sandy! Thanks for speaking to this. It feels like a loving kick in the ass. I often think of you as I work on my issues with clutter. Thanks for all that you do!
Thank you for your comment! I’m so glad this struck a chord. I think more of us can benefit from this awareness!