Making room for Change

"Beauty often hides beneath the clutter.
Clear a little space, light a candle, breathe.
Harmony starts where overwhelm ends.”

- Shunmyo Masuno, "The Art of Simple Living"

When I moved to East Sussex, I swore I’d never move again.

Packing boxes felt like a full-body workout for muscles, emotions and mind. Each cupboard and drawer whispered a story: the “to sort later” drawer, the mystery key, the box of “just in case”, all those mixed-up cables and tools in the garage (Do we need them all? Of course, we do …). And of course, the books, boxes and boxes of them (how come they fitted on the shelves just fine and now it looks like they have multiplied?).

Yet, after the pain of those countless micro-decisions to make, with every item I released, I felt lighter, fresher, as if I was not just sorting shelves but also clearing space inside my head.

Lately, I’ve been noticing another kind of “moving”: an internal one.

As my hormones quietly started dancing to their own unpredictable rhythm, they created mayhem. Stirring everything. Not just in body and emotions, but in focus and attention too. Some days it feels as if my brain has too many tabs open and not enough bandwidth.

That’s when clutter (both physical and mental) becomes more than background noise, it becomes static, heavy, a constant low-level hum. Every half-finished task, every pile waiting for attention, every ping of a notification pull at us, leaving less room for what really matters.

Decluttering then, becomes less about tidying, more about tending to our space and thoughts. It is an act of self-care, a kindness toward our future self. A gentle sorting of what to keep, what to pass on, and what no longer fits the person we are becoming.

• • • • •

This month, I invite you to:

Let go gently to create space

As the days get shorter, darker, colder, I invite you to take a moment each week to pick one tiny corner of your world and let something go:

• You don’t have to tackle the attic or the whole garage. Just start small.

• At first, maybe it's just a thing, a file, or a thought that has been gathering dust.

• As you get used to the process: Clear one drawer, tidy your bedside table, delete the dozen screenshots you took “for later", or give your digital desktop a breather.

• Notice how your shoulders drop when you do.

• • • • •

As we move through change, our environment must move with us. Creating space (in our home, mind or calendar) helps us adapt with grace, humour and fewer misplaced keys, wallet, glasses...

Because sometimes, the lightest, gentlest way forward begins with a little less.

This month, take a moment to make room for what’s next, for who you are becoming, and dare to be the change you want to see in your organisation, family, community and life!

Image Credit: Photo by katherine cunningham on Unsplash