Collecting, decluttering and mental health with Helena Zachariassen

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Change is stressful.

While it can be exciting, our mind is not wired to feel at ease being in uncertainty.

For our subconscious mind, uncertainty means danger. Resistance shows up consequently. The issue is we need to go through the change to grow.

This tells me that managing change is one of the most crucial life skills we were never taught at school.

Marie Diamond, one of the world-renown Feng Shui teachers, said something that resonates with me. She says that our working and living space is our 3D vision board. How our space is filled and organised reflects what are in our mind. Our space is a 3D mirror of our mind.

Connecting these two points of views, I find that understanding our behaviours related to our space is beneficial in managing a change process in our lives.

I am living proof of this. Every time a meaningful change happens in my life, I restart or refresh my connection with my living and working space. At least, this has happened seven times in my life to date. There is a different need to collect things to surround and support me (different quantity, forms, colours, even).

To go deeper into the topic of collection, decluttering and mental health, I am joined by Helena Zachariassen, the Founder of My Happy Home. She is a Zurich based Certified Marie Kondo Consultant and Lifestyle Coach.  She lovingly encourages and supports her clients in transforming their homes into havens of serenity. She helps them to learn how to maximise functionality and minimise clutter forever.

We discuss why we collect things, symptoms when the collection level becomes toxic, how our space impacts our mental health and what we can do to declutter our space well, especially as a family.

Take your time to listen, share this with anyone who would benefit from it and see you on the Uplift My Life Podcast channel!

Love,
Astuti

Timestamp:

00:00 Welcome.

01:30   Introduction to Helena Zachariassen, a Marie Kondo Consultant and Life-Style Coach – the Founder of My Happy Home and her journey in Decluttering.

07:28   Why people are collecting? Decluttering is actually a life skill.

16:50   What are the symptoms of toxic collecting that may lead to hoarding?

33:39   What is the most effective approach in doing decluttering when involving children and teenagers?

42:07   What is the correlation between anxiety and depression with clutter? How do they impact each other?

51:55   How Helena supports her clients. Head on over to her website and IG to get more information.

To reach Helena Zachariassen, visit her website or follow her on her IG.

I’d love to hear from you. Please write to me at astuti@upliftmylife.today for input, feedback and suggestions. Thank you!