Clutter-Clearing versus Organizing
“What is the Difference between Organizing and Clutter-Clearing?”
Someone asked this exact question in a class I taught a few years back. What an insightful question! After my response, I remember the students' eyes went wide, as if they really got it. Once you see the difference, you’ll see what a difference there is.
Pretend you’re organizing your office. It’s now time to get your writing utensils in order, so you’re compiling all of your pens, from every nook and cranny, into one pile on your desk. You then see that you have 200 pens. (Yes, you’re not alone if you actually do this and, to your surprise, realize you have that many pens!) If you are organizing your pens, the next step would be to throw away any that have run out of ink, then find them a proper container and home, and finally adding a monthly reminder to your calendar to organize your office, as the maintenance step. You are done! You’ve organized your pens, and brought in more ease to your office-life.
However, if you are clutter-clearing, once the 200 pens are compiled on top of your desk, you would pause and get curious...
“Wow. I have 200 pens...that seems like a lot, perhaps enough for the rest of my life!”
“How did I end up with so many pens?”
After reflecting for another moment, you may ponder…
“Would I find even more ease in my work life if I simplified down to my 10-20 favorite pens?” “Would I enjoy the simplicity of just the 15 pens I really like, more so than with the 200 pens I have now?”
“Does having so many pens help or hinder my concentration, clarity, and productivity?”
If you are clutter-clearing, then the next most likely step after pausing and getting curious would be to enjoy selecting your ~15 favorite pens, then donate or throw away the other ~185, and place the pens in their home. You’re done! Now you have brought even more ease, discernment, and joy into your work life. I intentionally left out the final maintenance step included with organizing because clutter-clearing lets you simplify: Because you only have the 15 pens, there really isn’t any maintenance needed every month. It’s just 15 pens!
Organizing involves taking what you’ve got and sorting, weeding, putting away, and maintaining it. There’s less awareness, and curiosity. Clutter-Clearing goes a level deeper, where you spend some time asking thought-provoking questions that help elevate your standpoint on your stuff. There’s more awareness, “Oh!” moments, and integration of the principles of clarity and simplicity.
If you’d like to talk more about the subject, get in touch with Sara for a free 20 minute conversation.
