By Patricia Diesel
Unpacking The Emotional Attachment To Our Things
Is your home a cluttered nest or a minimalist zen zone? Do you subscribe to the golden rule: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful?”
Or do you love your stuff—every useless bit of it?
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Have you ever wondered why so many people have clutter and why they are so attached to their stuff? When I look at a person’s clutter, I can tell immediately where that person is emotionally living. Usually in between an unhealthy bond to the past and an exaggerated fear of the future. The problem with this deep attachment is that it robs them of their happiness in the present.
So what are emotional attachments and why do we have them? An emotional attachment is defined as a strong affective bond between a person and their possessions. The emotional attachment to objects is associated with positive emotions such as pride, comfort, and pleasure for valued possessions, but also with negative emotions such as anxiety and distress when there is a risk or trigger of loss. Such objects provoke specific emotions related to the intense closeness we feel.
Here’s an example:
“According to a new study by the average American woman has 103 items of clothing in her wardrobe. But she considers 21% to be ‘unwearable,’ 33% too tight, and 24% too loose, according to a survey of 1,000 women. A further 12% of the wardrobe is occupied by new, unworn clothing, leaving just 10% available.” Yet, this study concludes that these women find it difficult to let go of their unused wardrobe. Why? Emotional attachment.
Think of it this way: Clutter is an outward expression, mirroring back what is going on emotionally for a person. It is the reason why I developed Mindful Tools For Organized Living. Inside my program, I show you how to launch safely into the present by emotionally detaching from your clutter in a healthy, productive manner. Fear, overwhelm, procrastination is replaced with understanding, acceptance, and action.
The program walks you through six mindful tools that begin with the underlying root cause of your clutter to the recovery and maintenance of clutter-free living. Countless people are finding success with it and I am confident you will too.
To learn more, click the link below. Why not make today the day you start unpacking and begin living in the now!