Six weeks ago, I started my decluttering experiment. Although I made some progress, the results that excite me most lay not in the renewed order of my personal environment but the knowledge I gained during these past weeks.

Allow me to share this knowledge with you, as some of my insights may be of value to your life too.

Lesson #1: Knowing what and how to do is not enough. Nothing gets done without taking action.

Confession time: I have countless books, e-books and info on decluttering and organising. I’ve read them all. I have a deep knowledge of the topic, as well as a natural ability to organise any space (I was trained as a Home stager). However, during the past few weeks, I procrastinated, postponed, re-scheduled, searched and found really valid excuses, etc.

Saying that, there were a few good days that made my overall progress very noticeable. So, here comes…

Lesson #2: Just a few actions taken in the right direction towards your goal lead to noticeable changes.

Imagine what a consistent plan of actions could deliver you? Which relates directly to…

Lesson #3: Consistency breeds new habits.

My inconsistency halted the development of new habits. As I did not plan and take steps daily, my old habits took over on most days. My lack of visible success led me to frustration, disappointment and struggle on a few occasions. I also fell a victim to introspection and self-blame a few times, which uncovered a new lesson for me.

Lesson #4: Letting go is essential to developing trust in yourself and others.

One of the reasons for my inaction was my fear of letting go. I underestimated my current ability to release things and trust that if and when I needed them again, I would find a way to reclaim them from our abundant universe.

Pondering further, I realised something very profound.

Lesson #5: You need vision, clarity and focus to make true progress.

It is hard to decide what to keep or what to let go if your mind is muddled with endless possibilities or appears to lack clarity, focus and vision.

I am so grateful for these lessons and I am going to take my new insights into account and act accordingly. I will keep you posted!

By the way, while I had no intention to report these lessons as a suggestion for a depression recovery plan, I noticed during my writing that they are indeed invaluable if you are searching for ways to get better.

I hope my insights can be of help to you and I can’t wait to receive your insights, ideas, opinions and feedback.

Stay strong, remain hopeful and seek inspiration!