Moving on – The Next Step on My Decluttering Journey

Kate: Declutter & Redesign has been on pause since mid-April, to allow for the safety and security of clients and our community.  The break came just as the new website and course were ready to launch and spring clearing energy typically would be creating buzz and interest in decluttering and support.  The investment of time, energy and money I had spent in the first months of 2020 was ready to pay off.  Or so I thought.

You see, I had entered the new year committed to giving Kate: Declutter & Redesign one big push to see if I could shift the business into something that felt like a better fit for me.  I wanted to move in a direction that might lighten up some of the heaviness I was feeling as a solopreneur with high expectations for myself and my job.

The first few weeks of stay-at-home, I stayed busy finishing up work projects (virtually) and planning for the eventual re-opening.  I considered how to shift my messaging to stay top-of-mind and be ready for re-entry.

But as the stay-at-home order continued and the weeks piled on, things started to shift.  I let myself sign off of work “shoulds” and this opened up space for my inner voice to tell me what was needed next.  

Two voices emerged.  

One voice said to push on – People are stuck in their homes, they are looking at clutter so now is the time to share tips and ideas, let people know you are here.  Do your part to keep them inspired and motivated.  

The other voice, a deeper knowing, asked me to step back.  This voice said people are dealing with more than enough to process.  I had enough to process.  If I wanted to contribute tips on self-compassion, fine, but anything else would be out-of-alignment with my mission and deplete the energy I needed to keep myself, and my family life, steady.

I followed the second voice, the one that felt more like intuition, and chose to get quiet.  And in that quiet, another voice started to speak up.  This voice asked me to re-evaluate my commitment to the business.  

It asked the question, “What do you need to feel lighter and more alive?”  And the answer was clear.  I needed to let go of the heavy responsibility of being a business owner.  This felt true. I decided to sit with this clarity and the longer I allowed myself the possibility of letting go, the more it felt right.

The responsibility and high expectations I had placed on myself were keeping me stuck in many of the old patterns I was trying to let go of.  Perfectionism, self-criticism, and comparing crept in often when it was my job, and mine alone, to make the business sink or swim.  I had not been taking my own advice to keep it light and this was wearing on my heart.

It became clear that I needed to declutter another part of my life. And I believe that is how decluttering works – it often starts with physical stuff, but that is never where the true transformation happens.  Decluttering old habits, ways of thinking, and the patterns you have outgrown is the true magic of the process.  With the decision to let go of Kate: Declutter & Redesign, I will be practicing what I preach and allow myself to keep moving on the decluttering journey.

I am closing the doors on Kate: Declutter & Redesign this summer with some sadness, but also with gratitude and a sense of lightness. I am so grateful for all the ways that I have grown over the past five-plus years.  I have been invited into homes, created deep connections, led conversations, learned from some wonderful innovators, took risks (lots of them), and gained confidence in myself and my abilities.  I have learned so much and I am so thankful for all of this.

I know decluttering takes many forms and is a continual practice and I have appreciated your support and willingness to walk along my journey.  I am wishing you all the best in yours.

Kate