Befriend Your Inner Critic By Decluttering Your Mind, Heart And Home

In our first lesson, we will review the latest research on clutter and mental health, and learn how creating a tidy environment soothes your nervous system, helps with focus and decision-making and is a powerful way to befriend our inner critic and practice self-care.

In this lesson, I set you up for success by sharing the basic philosophy, guidelines, and categories for decluttering with gratitude. You’ll draw on the attitude of a Beginner's Mind to meet the hesitancy or skepticism of your inner critic with kindness and compassion. Before the real work begins you’ll use visualization and intention-setting to gain clarity on your ideal life. Have a pen and paper handy!

With strong foundations already laid, in this lesson, you’ll embark on the first category in your tidying festival - clothing! Learn how gratitude and purpose help us build and maintain momentum, and how different approaches to decluttering support energy management and letting go, whatever our circumstances.

In this lesson, we explore the second category of your mindful decluttering journey - books! You’ll learn an easy and effective method for reviving and reimagining your bookshelves, as well as practical tips to declutter, display, and even donate your pre-loved books. This lesson is also sprinkled with personal anecdotes to inspire and support you on your journey.

In this lesson, we tackle the daunting paper category using a practical and systematic approach. Learn skillful strategies to motivate yourself and create a supportive framework to enhance self-awareness and accountability. We will also explore helpful storage solutions to streamline and maintain important documents moving forward.

In this lesson, we cover the fourth category of decluttering with gratitude. In Japan, these objects are called “komono”, or miscellaneous items, and they are notoriously difficult to keep tidy and organized! In addition to tackling komono, you’ll also hear how this process can positively impact family dynamics, and learn tips for involving family members in this transformative journey towards a decluttered and more joyful life.

In this lesson, you’ll navigate the final and most emotionally charged category of your decluttering with gratitude journey. Sentimental items can be a minefield as they are often closely intertwined with our milestones of life, love, and loss. We’ll address inherited items, and unwanted gifts and learn to let go of belongings that don’t spark joy with patience, forgiveness, and a heavy dose of self-compassion.

In this final lesson, we’ll focus on strengthening your “joy-checking muscle” so that decluttering with gratitude becomes second nature. Looking beyond the home, we’ll explore how these powerful principles can be applied in daily life to unlock a greater sense of self-compassion, cultivate the mind-body connection, and make gratitude the cornerstone of your mental and emotional well-being.