I was out for a walk with my pup when she sat and posed in the fall leaves. I grabbed my phone, opened the camera app, and boom: "There is not enough available storage to take a photo." I scrambled to create space. But while I was clearing old photos from my gallery my dog moved and I missed the chance to take her pic.

As annoying as it was, it was a good lesson in the importance of making space. 

If you've read my previous posts (here is a good one), you know I have a thing for the law of attraction. You also know I believe everything happens for a reason, and the negative things that occur in our lives are an invitation to grow. As I walked away from the perfect pile of leaves I started thinking about the LOA and how frustrated the universe must get when it sees us wishing / praying / pleading for things we don't have space for. I wanted that picture of my pup SO bad. I'm in an Instagram challenge (#iphonetoinstagram if you want to join!) and a cute fall pic of my pup would have gone perfectly with my feed. But, I didn't have the space to accept the opportunity. So while I may have wanted it, there was no way for it to be. 

The importance of creating space:

My last major 'life audit' happened this past Christmas after reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. (If you haven't read it yet, READ it. It will change your life the way the title suggests.) Soon after putting the book's organizing tips into action and getting real about my life and what could stay in it, amazing things started to happen. It was magical to watch it all take place! Decluttering lead to meeting new people, starting new hobbies, finding a new style, and dying my hair for the first time! The changes were welcomed and when I think back over the past few years I think in terms of pre-December and post-December. Or pre-declutter and post-declutter. 

It's now almost a year later and I'm ready to morph into a newer version of me.

Since I now know the power of decluttering, of clearing your life physically to create space energetically, I'm taking a cue from my pup and getting real about making space for new things to flow into my life once again. 

If your life feels stuck or heavy, or you have big dreams for where you want to go next (emotionally, spiritually, or physically), I encourage you to do the same! Energy is everything and if your energy is cluttered and chaotic and filled with the past, you will never be able to step into the you that's itching to surface. 

Below are 9 things I'm going to do to declutter my life and declutter my energy. Perhaps there are a few you can try, too?

1. Cut my hair

A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life. That's a saying, right? Well in about 2 hours my hair is getting chopped. I've had long hair my entire life and it has started to weigh me down. Cutting my hair is a simple way to release weight physically so it can be released energetically. How would you feel with a cut?

2. Clearing out my music playlists

As someone who lives for music (and basically lives to a soundtrack) a fresh, up-to-date music list makes me feel fresh and up-to-date. I have Apple Music and a bad habit of downloading trending playlists and forgetting about them. Not only does music take up a ton of storage, having songs I don't care for on my phone is energetically draining. Music is meant to make you feel good and when a song comes on that makes me a) feel something from the past I don't want to feel or b) feel angry because I just don't like it, that affects my energy! So a major music clear out is happening. All tracks are going (except my Gabrielle Bernstein meditations, of course) to create space for new playlists that are supportive of the new life I am trying to create.

3. Saying no to friends

Sometimes I feel like a moth to the toxic friendship flame. Not because the people I'm friends with are bad people (not at all!) but rather because I have a really hard time saying no and letting people down. It makes me happy to go out of my way to help people and unfortunately that can get taken advantage of. When being around someone starts to feel like a burden I need to be OK with backing off and giving the friendship space. I require A LOT of alone time and when I spend my limited social time with people who don't make me feel important and capable, I am taking time away from the time I can spend with the people who make me feel good and supported. Saying no is HARD but it's worth it. For yourself and for the people you enjoy being around. Relationships of any kind (romantic, platonic, familial)  are meant to be mutually beneficial (#giveandtake ya'll)  and when they become unbalanced, they affect your life in a negative way. Is there anyone in your life who is draining you? How can you create a bit of space?

4. Old self-help books

I love books and I like to keep them around 'just incase' I want to read them later. More often than not this means the books sit on the shelf unused. The majority of the books I have on my shelf are self-help books and carry with them the trauma I was working through when I needed them. But I've healed, moved past that, carried on, and it's time the energy of my book shelf does too. I'm choosing my 5 most relevant books to keep and the rest are going to the hospital in hopes they will land in the hands of the people who need them now. 

5. Snapchat / Social Media

If you have Snapchat you know it's easy to collect friends you rarely talk to. I use Snapchat to follow my favourite bloggers, and there are probably 5 people I snap regularly. So there is no need to have 200+ people on my Snapchat! You know? Social media is a funny thing: while it can be reassuring to have a lot of people on your list, and validating to see the number of likes / views creep up, you are the summary of the people you surround yourself with and it's much more important to be surrounded by people you like and people you are inspired by! There are so many people on my snap list that are reflective of the OLD me, and not the me I am trying to morph into, so when I see their names 'viewing my story' I'm drawn right back into the past.  This needs to change! 

6. Old health/beauty products

This morning I took a look at what I actually use regarding health and beauty products. I take two supplements, and use 15 products max - face wash, tinted moisturizer, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow colour, mascara, lip scrub, lip balm (or lipstick), argon oil, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo / conditioner, deodorant, and my new nail care items. SO why do I have 2 huge bins of health and beauty products!? The bins symbolize my desire to be better... better... better. But at some point who I am has to be enough. That point is now, and it's time to give away or discard.

7. E-mail inbox

My e-mail inbox has gotten out. of. hand. I wake up to 30+ e-mails each morning. Not a good way to start the morning. The first moments in the morning are the most sacred, energetically speaking, and I don't want those moments to be filled with a cluttered headspace. I'm going to go through my entire list and unsubscribe to people and blogs I no longer resonate with. Sure they were all important at one point, but that point isn't now. And just like we outgrow friendships and relationships in real life, we also outgrow our online connections! With that - one subscription I will most definitely be keeping is Notes from the Universe. I love waking up to a sweet message that keeps me accountable to my dreams! 

8. Clothes that look good (but not on me)

I can sometimes fall into a trap of needing the latest trend and then never wearing it because it looks awful with my body / colouring. So while it might hurt to get honest about what just doesn't work for me, it will help clear up space for more rational buying. I think too - we buy certain clothes because we want to fit in. I'm not trying to fit in anymore, so I don't need to own certain things to feel as if I do.  ALSO: What we wear has HUGE impact on how we feel about ourselves. I want to feel confident, but wearing clothes that don't fit right or don't work well with my skin/ hair colour make me feel the exact opposite. So they gotta go. 

9.  'I'm not good enough'

Beliefs are everything, and this one has snuck up a little too often over the past few months. That job I want? I'm not good enough. That apartment I want? I'm not good enough. That relationship? Same thing. Well, what if I AM good enough. 'Good enough' is subjective, so it's a waste of breath to say I'm not. The thought 'I'm not good enough' only serves to limit me and what I want for my life, so I'll be challenging it from here on out. Why am I not good enough? And what do I need to do / believe / surround myself with to realize I am good enough? These are the things I should be thinking.

And that's it! A lot of things to work through, but I am excited to do it because energy doesn't discriminate and clearing space is important! Anytime you are looking to draw in the new, you have to release the old.

... and when you create space, you get to capture moments like this, and life becomes so. much. more magical. 

Happy Friday! 

x

Robin