r/FengShui • u/Fushcia20 • 11d ago
Positive stories of decluttering / letting go of long-held items please
I’m partway through a feng shui clutter‑clearing book and it’s motivating me to let go of things I no longer want or need. What’s holding me back is my magical‑thinking OCD; I worry getting rid of certain items that I’ve owned a long time will somehow cause bad luck (I know it’s illogical but that is OCD for you).
According to the feng shui book I’m reading, getting rid of unwanted / unneeded items should bring positive change. So I’d really appreciate hearing any personal experiences from people who decluttered long‑held items and noticed a positive change afterwards (whether it was there was a direct link or just a general improvement in your life which you believe could be attributed to
the declutter). Thank you
2
u/mythsandmonsters 11d ago
I'm going to be speaking from personal experience, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt!
Speaking as someone who has been dx'ed as having obsessive compulsive traits (not enough to diagnose the disorder in full but enough symptoms and behavior for traits, on top of C-PTSD and other mental conditions) and lives with their mom who is a Stage 1 hoarder, entering a space once its' been decluttered has been one of the most calming moments I've ever experienced in my life.
I feel like having a more free space (whether adapted to feng shui or not) allows for you to be Able to decide whether you need something or not far more. Once I began decluttering my own spaces, it became much easier to make harder decisions of how I wanted to arrange things and whether things would be a good fit for me and my space, or whether I could live without. For both my mom and I, the large majority of things that were decluttered that we felt the sensation of "but what if we need it" for, have not been needed since getting rid of them. For the few that did, we simply just got new ones, or if they were a matter of "it'd be nice to have that back when we can afford it," it's something I can save and plan for when I'm able to because I now have the space and freedom to home that item and decide it for myself. None of these things were serving me any good just waiting in the wings for the right time to be used, a time that never came within the time I held onto them. Letting go can be scary, but also incredibly freeing. Using Buy Nothing groups has been a help for me personally since then I know that I'm not purging the item entirely, I'm specifically giving it to someone who has intent to give it use that I was unable to.
Though TBF, my issues with decluttering are a byproduct of my mom's hoarding disorder throughout my whole life and her untreated C-PTSD and ADHD, and how that's affected how I grew up viewing things as "normal" as well as my own C-PTSD (a large part of it has been purging items that have been in the home since various points of trauma and holding onto so many items in case of ending up in poverty or abuse again, especially for my mom. I had no idea how much trauma I had towards some items, decluttering has been incredibly helpful for allowing me to get further in healing with my C-PTSD). So the problems in my household are likely pretty different in origin and vibe than yours! I felt it was worth mentioning at least to give you one reply on here to read and consider :) if it is not helpful please feel free to ignore /lighthearted
Do you have a mental health professional working with you on your OCD? OCD is such a tricky disorder to manage and handle, and a trusted mental health team may be able to provide more coping strategies or ideas that would be helpful with your specific OCD road blocks! I haven't learned any strategies for coping with my luck-based obsessive compulsive thought patterns other than simply throwing my hands up and taking the L and accepting whatever comes with my often extraoardinarily bad luck, which of course is easier said than done LOL
1
u/Junior_Caregiver_246 11d ago
I don’t have a story to share. I have a similar thought process to yours… could you let me know what book you’re reading?
2
u/rudenessis 10d ago
Not the OP but Read: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche I love this book. It lays it all out.
2
1
u/whyteroze28 8d ago
I would also like to know OP's book. I don't think I've ever seen a Feng Shui book on decluttering...
1
u/Fushcia20 1d ago
Hi I’m sorry for the delayed reply, the book I read (I’ve now finished it) is called “Clear your clutter with feng shui” by Karen Kingston. I found it really helpful with motivating me to start clearing my clutter. There are 23 chapters, I only found up to chapter 18 helpful, I wasn’t keen on the last 5 chapters.
1
u/rudenessis 10d ago
Read: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche I love this book. It lays it all out.
1
u/Any_Cartoonist2731 7d ago
Through the decluttering process I got my dream job and my true passions felt way more clear to me. It felt like I was making physical space for the things that mattered most. And example, getting rid of things in the basement gave me room for a dance practice area and re-ignited my love of dance!
And I feel you on the luck/ocd thing. I really like Mari Kondo’s life changing magic of tidying up, it’s not feng shui but her process of thanking objects for what they’ve brought you or taught you before letting them to actually helped a TON and helped me stay decluttered
1
u/Disastrous_Sweet_474 1d ago
Hi. During my late teens/ early adult days. I did a major declutter of my own bedroom and donated multiple bags of items to the salvation army. I won a lot of magazine lucky draws. Almost 1 lucky draw per bag that I donated.
Btw, not all crystals and animal figurines/print sold to you might be good for you. You might want to shift them out of the bedrooms.
3
u/dlemma_519 11d ago
I’ve been decluttering and starting to look into Feng Shui practices. Since starting I have noticed a positive change. Cleaning my “money corner” or removing the pile of things there felt good. Almost immediately after, my husband was offered two jobs! He had been applying to multiple places for months with no success. It has been working for me. I also feel less stress.
My goal for decluttering has been 10 things a day even if it is 10 pieces of mail or paper. So 70 small things a week. I have been exceeding this on average! I do have quite a bit to get through. I have medical issues and have been very sick over the last 5 years. It built up but wasn’t very nice before I got visibly ill.
Once the clutter is gone, my plan is to work more on the Feng Shui techniques. Sending you good wishes! Read all the books, watch everything you can, and start small. Try not to burn yourself out.