If you’ve ever felt that you’d never get to the end of your decluttering, you’re not alone. I decluttered for years and never felt finished. Sometimes it takes one of the ‘Ah-ha!’ moments for the magic to start happening!
My big mindset switch catapulted me into a decluttering frenzy! I kept lots of items for ”Just-in-case” or ‘What if” and even though I’ve gotten much better about not keeping too many of these items, I still had more things than necessary in my storage room!
My big decluttering breakthrough is what I call an idea collision! Two consepets suddenly merged and started making sense!
Annie
We’ve probably all heard talk about the poverty mindset and how you shouldn’t live with a poverty mindset. I heard this phrase thrown around for years.
I didn’t want to live with a poverty mindset (A mindset that says I will always have lack and there isn’t enough to go around), but I never really dug deep into what that meant in order to change my behavior.
This idea of a Poverty mindset vs. an abundance mindset has always been in the back of my head, but when I listened to a podcast about the law of attraction, it finally made sense. In a nutshell, the law of attraction says that the thoughts, actions, feelings, and experiences that you have – tend to attract more of the same kind of thoughts, actions, feelings, and experiences.
I’m not sure I would’ve bought into this concept if a series of events hadn’t set the stage.
First, my husband read a book by Jocko Willink called Extreme Ownership, How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win. He couldn’t quit talking about it and how the Seals took responsibility for their own decisions and actions and other people’s.
Around that time, I read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks and was impressed by the fact he and his wife hadn’t fought in years.
I felt swayed by emotions. EVERYTHING WAS GREAT when I felt good, but then at the snap of a finger, my feelings swayed, and unnecessary worry, fear, and frustration turned into squabbles. I was determined to let myself feel good and stop self-sabotaging.
One day during the crazy Coronavirus years, I was scheduled to work much more than usual a particular week. This upset me because I was in the middle of a passion project at home, a project I desperately wanted to finish.
Frustrated, I said, ”It seems the only way to get my project done is to get moderately sick, so I can stay home from work!”
The exact week I was scheduled to work extra, I was legitimately sick! The downside was I continued to be sick much more often than my ‘Normal’ during the next six months!
In the midst of being sick with the Corna virus, I started listening to podcasts, which ultimately shifted my thinking!
The idea that you get what you think about or what you ask for was suddenly tangible, and I realized it worked for both positive and negative things and experiences.
Annie
I decided to test ‘The Law of Attraction’ and started believing for my healing and continued good health for my family and me.
I’ve since gotten over corona and stayed healthy, but my reflection on the subject didn’t stop there. I wanted to apply the law of attraction to prosperity, and that’s where I ran smack-dab into my poverty mentality!
I realized that keeping all my just-in-case items was like putting a pebble in the hose of prosperity!
Annie
My worry about the future, my fear of if we could buy everything we needed, and my keeping excessive items ultimately frustrated and irritated my husband and me. We couldn’t find things we knew we owned, so we bought new ones, which was a waste of money!
I finally told my husband in the midst of inflation (Due to Coronavirus and the war in Ukraine) that I was tired of keeping things for just-in-case and I wanted to give our extra stuff away!
Annie
I went on to say, ”I want to live with a prosperous mindset and not in fear and worry.
I am going to believe I can buy clothes and items for my kids when they need them. I choose to believe I can afford to pay full price.
I choose to gladly let go of hand-me-downs and excess stuff because holding on to things I don’t actually want to keep because I may or may not need them is a manifestation of my fear of lack.
I will let go of fear and be generous!”
Annie
My husband felt the same way. He was sick of not being able to find things because we owned too many items.
My kids helped me go through the hand-me-downs from older siblings and cousins in the days that followed. They kept what they wanted and donated 3/4 of it. Many items fit my kids or were already too small. I should have gone through it years ago!
The results of applying ‘The Law of Attraction’
My oldest (fifteen) always seems to be wearing out his clothes. He desperately needed some new pants while cleaning our closets, but he didn’t want to go to town because he hated trying on clothes at stores.
After giving away all the excess clothing that wasn’t serving us anymore, we received a huge bag of clothes from a teenager who weeded out his closet. We barely knew him, yet he gave us his stuff, some of it completely new!
My son found a couple of pairs of pants that he likes and wears often. He also kept a sweatshirt, and a few tops, then gave the bag to a cousin.
What you give, you tend to get back. Sometimes it’s clothing; it could be a smile, a positive attitude, good health, cash, or you name it!
I’ve determined to live with a positive attitude, be generous, enjoy life, and allow things to go well for me! If I can do it you can too!
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Copyright Annie Eklöv