I’ve been doing a slow-but-steady decluttering project in preparation for some big changes coming in my life. I don’t want to carry my excess clutter into the next phases. I want to open up space in my life so there’s room for new things to come in. And by “things,” I don’t mean more clutter. I mean new and clearer vision and purpose and connection and perception and people and dreams and passions and adventures. Not necessarily big things, either. Just the small everyday actions of a new life stage that’s coming in the next year.

A friend recommended a book to me called Clearing Clutter as a Sacred Act by Carolyn Koehnline. I’m finding its collection of gentle essays, poems, writing prompts, and ideas resonates with me. It’s not so much a “how to declutter” book (although some of those are wonderful), but more of an inspiring look at finding reasons to declutter and ways to find focus and success with the process.

My decluttering process is going to take place over the course of a year. I have almost exactly twelve months to clear out all the things that don’t belong in this next stage of life. Taking things step by step, room by room, closet by closet, drawer by drawer, I feel it’ll be a process that has the potential to succeed with what I need it to do.

The first assignment in the book was to identify someone or something you can devote your clutter clearing to, and then write out a dedication. I choose to dedicate this process to my Future, and to my Future Self.

“As I clear out space and make openings in my home, it will make spaces that are open and ready to be filled with the newness of a new stage of life, an exciting Future, and a new Future Self.”