The Clutter Fairy Weekly #115
The Power of Words: Understand and Reframe Your Clutter Language
How we talk about our stuff reveals a lot about the emotions and memories that influence our choices. Words like enough, junk, and value are loaded with history and meaning for each of us, but they also possess power to keep us stuck or move us forward. In episode #115 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, examines words that we use to describe our cluttered lives and shares insights into how to reframe language to clarify our relationship with stuff.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
Recite, Reflect, Reframe!
This week’s assignment is to spend time thinking about the language you use to talk about your life and your stuff, with the goal of talking in a clearer, more thoughtful, and more self-supportive way:
- Recite: What negative things do you casually or habitually say about (or even to) your stuff? Write down or record audio or video of a few words, phrases, or statements that you’ve heard yourself using.
- Reflect: Contemplate or meditate on what these expressions reveal about your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about your home and belongings. Are they honest? Exaggerated? Self-deprecating? Do they echo a negative opinion that someone else has expressed?
- Reframe: For each negative word or phrase on your list, write or dictate an affirmation or positive sentiment as a counterpoint. For example, if you wrote “My house is always a mess,” you might counter with, “My home is a lively expression of my active and interesting life.”
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
Chat Transcript
Download a transcript of the chat that took place during the live event.
Note: For best results, we suggest you right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac OS) the link above to download the chat transcript text file, then read it in your text-reader or word-processing app of choice. If you click the link directly, you may get quirky results viewing the text file in your browser.
Recite: Damn I hate you. Just stuff! I can’t stand
this. Nothing is where I need it! Get outta my way!
Reflect: Brutally honest echoes of the nasty feelings! Self
depriving my worth and happiness, My home. My life.
Am deeply aware shame generated from negative opinions and,
nasty neglect mirrored by others directly responsible for
my nurturing, being safe and basic care in my childhood home.
Have Reframe in next post please?
Reframe: (Gently painful for myself to share…
Now stepping out of shame. Sharing /hearing your stories,
Listening as Gayle /Ed promote their wishes for each of us to
Heal, clear our clutter, and live fulfilling lives):
MY positive out loud counterpoints:
Damn I’m excited! All this stuff is MY treasure hunt!
Right in my own home! I bet I’ve got all I need right here!
To color my walls, nurture from my kitchen, make my bed all warm n comfy…
To all of you prior who didn’t care…SHUT UP ALLREADY! Ha Ha…
Only I have the power to fire me. Moving on and moving you all out!
Yahoo!