I recently met with an individual who shared how clutter was “overwhelming” in her home. I asked questions. We began to create a priority list based on the rooms she loved the most and collaborated about ideas that could support her process and style.

She had cleared belongings before and felt great relief. As we continued talking she got tears in her eyes. I gently asked her what her emotions were about. “My life feels overwhelming.” She then shared about several heartbreaking challenges in her life.

Our spaces often tell us a story about our lives. An office or rooms of our homes can speak volumes. Consider certain spaces to be a metaphor for your life right now.

Another person shared that after almost four decades of marriage her husband still has materials in the home for a project he hasn’t started. The boxes that hold the materials are falling apart. Her husband continues to insist that he’s going to do the project. Her agitation with her husband communicated clearly though her tone, facial expressions, and gestures.

Unused belongings often create tension with others who love and share space with us. Do we really want to spend life energy agitated about unused or unneeded things?

When we breathe we inhale the oxygen our bodies require and exhale the waste products our bodies no longer need. I don’t know of anyone who’s alive who keeps inhaling without exhaling.

Plants release oxygen and require the carbon dioxide we exhale.

Like this organic and natural process we can trust that there are neighbors and members of our community who might benefit from the “exhale” of some of our belongings. Someone will breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude. It may be your loved ones.

If you have unused belongings causing overwhelm or agitation, can you bravely and gently “exhale” some of them today?

What will you let go of today?