Journal Prompts – Clearing Space
Fill Your Cup
Refill your emotional cup before another busy week.
You can take just 10 – 30 minutes on these prompts. Read through and respond to what strikes you, or simply take the journal topic and go in your own direction – this is about what you need.
I got a huge lesson on environment and clearing space this past week.
My home has never been one to be perfectly neat and orderly, but the kids rooms tend to be the worst – they turn into serious pits.
We've gradually been remedying the clutter – learning what works for us in out little home; most of the family areas have become simple, livable and tidy. Last weekend my husband and I spent a full day clearing out and cleaning out the kids rooms. We rearranged who slept where, took out all of the unnecessary junk and make a brand new pretend play are for the younger two.
The kids LOVED it – they were SO grateful and spent the week happy with their new clear space, motivated to keep it clean and being able to keep it clean easily with the new organization and less stuff.
However, during the big clean out of the rooms, most of the excess junk, boxes of items ready to donate, the dismantled toddler bed on its way out the door – these all wound up in the main rooms of our house. The formerly clean kitchen, livingroom and homeschool room now (temporarily) were a terrible mess.
And let me tell you – I could barely function this week.
I knew clutter had an effect on us, but this really drove it home. It was a complete overwhelm to my senses. My brain felt like it was constantly misfiring.
I am a person who has always struggled with keeping my spaces tidy, and only recently have I begun to have regular cleaned up organized space in my home. I honestly hadn't realized yet how much mental clarity it gives me to have my space clear. Having the clear space taken up with clutter once again threw me for a loop. I couldn't homeschool the entire week, I had to do work but had a hard time concentrating since I was sitting in a big mess. The kids retreated to their clean rooms and I struggled through a pretty crummy week.
The kids creativity blossomed in their clear space and my lesson has been learned. I NEED clear space in my life – both physically and mentally.
Journal Prompts: Clearing Space
- What is the most important place in your house to keep clear? What routines do you need in place in order to keep that space clear?
- Do you fill in the spaces in your life, or allow others to do so? Why do you think you fill in the spaces? Are you uncomfortable with emptiness?
- What do you read/watch/talk about that's just mental clutter? For example: reading about problems you do not have, responding to people who do not want help, watching things that stress you out instead of rejuvenating you. What can you do to reclaim this mental space?
- Make a List: Consider a part of your life that needs to be decluttered. List 10 things it would be impossible to get rid of that take up space in that part of your life (it could be your bedroom, weekly schedule, kitchen counter…). Now reread your list and consider each thing. Does it deserve it's place?
You can find the entire Fill Your Cup Journal Series here. For more on clearing space and journaling, you also might enjoy this fantastic book.
Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.