Restoring Hope with Deborah Bigda
Deborah is a passionate entrepreneur who is committed to igniting women with hope to live a life full of passion. She believes that every women is destined for greatness and just needs the right community to help achieve it. As a mother of 4, married for over 27 years, she has experienced both the highs and the lows of life. She knows all too well what it feels like to be thrown into a trench, through no fault of her own, and the challenges of finding the treasure when all hope seems to have disappeared. While facing years of unemployment, she and her husband also endured skin cancer, a tornado, loss of a parent and a depression so dark that no light ever seemed possible.
After climbing out of this trench, Deborah finally found relief for herself and her family through a holistic approach. As a holistic health coach, Deborah is committed to teaching women how to restore health for both themselves and their families, as well as restoring hope to those who feel like all is lost .
Join her each week as she and her guest speakers share from their hearts so that you may have your hope restored and live life to its fullest being the person that God has designed you to be.
Restoring Hope with Deborah Bigda
Declutter Your Way to Serenity: Strategies for a Peaceful Mind and Joyful Heart
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Embark on a transformative journey with me, Deborah Bigde, as we uncover how the clutter in our lives affects much more than just our living spaces. On the Restoring Hope podcast, we're tackling the pervasive issue of clutter and its surprising influence on our holistic health. Prepare to discover how the chaos around us can seep into our mental and emotional state, disrupt our spiritual peace, put a strain on our finances, and even affect our physical well-being. This episode isn't just about tidying up; it's about reclaiming your life from the hidden burdens that you may not even realize are holding you back.
As you tune in, I'll guide you through the uplifting process of decluttering, offering real-world tips and heartfelt encouragement. Forget the overwhelming task lists—instead, we'll focus on small, manageable steps that can lead to profound changes in your day-to-day existence. Learn how to start with the areas that will give you the most immediate relief and joy, such as that nightstand piled high with odds and ends. By tackling clutter, you're not just organizing your space; you're setting the stage for happier relationships and a more serene state of mind. Plus, I'll share inspiring stories from a coaching program that highlights just how life-changing a clutter-free environment can be. Trust me, after listening to this episode, you'll be motivated to not only transform your own space but to spread the word on the power of decluttering. Join the conversation and let's continue this journey together on social media where even more inspiration awaits.
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Clutter's Impact on Overall Health
Speaker 1I'm Deborah Bigde , and this is the Restoring Hope podcast , where you can come to discover that , no matter how bleak your situation may seem , you can experience true hope and ultimate health . And I'm not referring to just your physical health . I'm talking about a holistic approach to your health , including your mental , emotional , spiritual and financial health . Join me as I share inspiring stories , incredible guests and tangible actions that will transform you into the healthiest version of you , that version of you that is fully restored and hopeful for all that is possible . Can we talk about clutter ? At the start of the new year , many people make New Year's resolutions and you might be thinking , deb , why are you talking about clutter ? Like I thought you were talking about my mental health , my emotional health , spiritual health , physical health and financial health . What in the world does clutter have to do with that ? Or you might be thinking , hmm , clutter . There's a million websites out there with information on how to clear my clutter . What are you going to talk to me about ? That's any different , and here's what I'm going to tell you , staying with me till the end , because I think , whether you have clutter or you don't , the way you think of clutter is going to change after our time together . I want to just take a moment here to refresh your memory , in case you're new to the podcast or maybe it's been a little while . I love to talk to people about your overall well-being in five pillars , and that is your mental health , your spiritual health , your emotional health , your financial health and your physical health , and what I have learned over the years is that all five of those pillars are interwoven together and it is impossible to be weak in one pillar and not have it impact others . And so , believe it or not , clutter can impact many of these pillars , and here's how . When I refer to clutter , I'm talking about one , both physical clutter and mental clutter , and I'm going to talk about the difference between those , and I want you to think , as I talk about these , about whether or not any of this impacts you .
Speaker 1So , mental clutter that is kind of about how organized are you Like ? How often are you having to go out and either do grocery shopping or pick up items around the house ? If you have children and they have activities at school , how many times are you running around doing things last minute Maybe birthday parties or holidays ? How often are you like running out and getting the gifts last minute For appointments ? Are you running late all the time ? Are you racing around ? Are you going through the drive-through too often because you haven't meal planned and you don't really know what's for dinner ? Or you're buying processed food at the grocery store because suddenly you look at the clock and it's eight o'clock at night and you're like , ah , we have nothing for dinner . That is mental clutter .
Speaker 1Mental clutter can also just be like trying to keep everything straight in your head of all the things . That's mental clutter . That is very draining on your mental health , your emotional health . And then guess what , a lot of times when we're getting that mental drain , we tend to be a little bit more snappy with people . It impacts our relationships . If we're always racing around from one place to the next , that can impact our relationships . I know I personally . If I'm racing around or I'm running late or dinner has not been well thought out , I am definitely snappier to my kids . I think that's what happens . If I snap at them , they turn around and they snap at each other Next . You know everyone's snapping at everyone . Can you relate ?
Speaker 1Now let's talk about physical clutter . There's different types of physical clutter you have like your . What most people think of right is maybe like almost a disorganized looking house , piles of paperwork here or there , or just like you can't vacuum the floor until you pick up all the crap off the floor . Have you ever had that happen ? I remember we used to have that all the time . It was like , oh my gosh , I want to vacuum the floor . Okay , well , hang on , let's spend whatever an hour picking everybody's stuff up off the floor .
Speaker 1There's also different types of clutter , too , though , and I'm gonna name some off , and I want you to tell me , or think in your brain , if any of these categories might be something that you struggle with . One type of clutter is sentimental clutter . Sentimental clutter many things that have a sentimental value . You might not necessarily use them anymore or have a purpose for them , but there's some sort of emotional tie to it that causes you not to want to get rid of it . Another type of clutter is aspirational clutter . I definitely suffered from this . This is things that you purchase with hopes of doing something , maybe a project .
Speaker 1I remember years ago , when my husband and I first got married , I was gonna make this beautiful afghan for our bed , and we had a king-size bed , and I had all the yarn and I started it and I had a thread width which is pretty wide for a king-size bed and then I don't know , I probably had about three feet and I finally I realized I didn't even like the feel of the yarn . This was way back when , when the yarns were not super nice they're kind of all itchy and I didn't really like the color scheme anymore either by the time I got to this point . But I always felt guilty about getting rid of it . Right , because it was a project I was gonna start . I thought it would be neat , so it had some sentimental value , it had some aspirational like hopes and dreams of finishing this , and finally I was like you know what , every time I look at it I feel bad . I feel like , oh , there was a project I started and I didn't finish , and so that those types of clutter , like that type of clutter , can really be very mentally and emotionally draining , because every time you look at whatever that project is that you started and you haven't finished , but maybe one day you'll finish it , but probably really not it drains you . Do you have anything in your house that's like that , some type of project ? What is it ? What if you just got rid of it . How would that make you feel ? And when you're first getting rid of it , it might feel a little painful , but I gotta tell you is I've gotten rid of things like that . It is so amazing how great I feel .
Speaker 1Another type of clutter is Gifted clutter . This is clutter that people give you gifts and it's not really something you use , but you feel guilty about giving it away . What if they know you gave it away ? What if they come over and ask you about it ? So you hang on to it but it keeps taking up space . You keep moving it around . Every time you see it You're kind of like oh , I Don't really need this , I'm not gonna use this . I Want to tell you , release it . Know that the gift giver had the joy in giving it to you and they would not want you holding on to something that was taking up space or not a value Gifted clutter . If you're not using it , release it .
Speaker 1Free clutter , free stuff clutter . This is like your go to the hotel , you pick up all the little trinkets that are free . I don't know . You could maybe go to some type of expo , or you go to a meeting , you go to college , whatever , and all these free things that you can get . Maybe some even come to you . I get like little notepads sometimes in the mail , but you don't necessarily use the stuff , right , let it go . Unpaid bills , unfiled paperwork oh my gosh , that used to be my worst . How many piles of paperwork do you have laying around your house on your desk ? If this is an issue , I want you to Bargain on bargain item clutter . How many people go out and , oh , this item was on sale , I'm gonna get this , it was a great deal and then you don't really necessarily use it . Or maybe you're the type of person that Loves to give gifts and so you're constantly picking up items oh , this would be great for so-and-so , this would be great for so-and-so , but that never actually lands in the other person's house and it's just always in your house .
Speaker 1I Want you , now that we've talked about different types of clutter , you might be like , hmm , you know what ? I do have some of that . I want you to think about your space , your bedroom , your bathroom , your hall closets , your kitchen , your kitchen , family rooms , basements , garages , sheds , attics , your purse , your car , your desk , all of those different spaces and Think about what types of clutter you might have . And Then I want you to picture what would it feel like if you didn't have that clutter . How might it impact you ? And some questions that you might ask yourself is when , thinking about the different types of clutter that we've mentioned here , what categories do you struggle with the most ? And then , what's causing you to hold on to that clutter in your life ?
Speaker 1Because one a lot of times I find that when people have things , it isn't necessarily even a matter of they don't have time to clear it , right , sometimes it's just a matter of they're afraid to get rid of it . What if I'm going to need it later ? Right , there's a guilt associated with getting rid of the clutter . Maybe it belongs to somebody else , but how would it feel if you had the clutter in your life removed ? What are the five pillars might you see improvements in ?
Speaker 1I'm going to give you an example . If your bedroom is a mess , okay , and there's lots of stuff , now I am going to tell you right now . My bedroom used to always be where all the it was the dumping ground . If people didn't know where to put stuff , they dumped it in our room . My room was not very Relaxing . It's kind of hard to be calm . Whenever you look around your room , it feels messy . What kind of peace would come into your life if you could get rid of this ? How is this clutter impacting your finances ?
Speaker 1Now , this one might seem like a far stretch , but I want you to think about if you are constantly buying things that you're not actually needing . Not only are you cluttering up your house , you're impacting your finances in a negative way . And how is your clutter impacting your family life or relationships or your ability to function ? I know that if my house feels messy and things seem out of order , I tend to be a little bit irritable . I see it in my kids as well , and I see it in my husband . How about in your family ? How do you feel if you're in a calm , clean area , like everything's organized , versus like chaos ? Now you might be like I used to be right and you're like , hey , it's chaotic , it's messy , but I know exactly where everything is . But what I want to encourage you is maybe change that story . That might be a story you keep telling yourself to stay in this position because it feels uncomfortable to get rid of it .
Tips for Starting the Decluttering Process
Speaker 1Now just a couple little tips on how to start decluttering , because there's a million websites . There's definitely a lot of places that you can go to , but I want you to just start in one area . Think of that area in your house . That would be the biggest bang for your buck , if you will , on getting some decluttering done . And I want you to start there . Don't start in the attic or the basement , in the garage , if that's not going to give you like instant gratification or if it seems like that might take super long . So maybe also pick an area that could be done quickly and that when you look at it you're like and you can kind of get a sense of accomplishment . And then each day or a couple of times a week because you might have a busy schedule set a timer and say I'm going to pick 15 minutes and maybe it's not going to be my whole bedroom , but maybe I'm going to do my nightstand . Today I'm going to do my nightstand .
Speaker 1And another quick tip for you is use boxes or buckets or bins and label them and when you go into a room , just have a box labeled like trash giveaway . If you have things that need to go to other rooms , just label the boxes for the other rooms and just start sticking this stuff in there and maybe even have a box that says can't decide , I just started throwing the stuff in the boxes . Don't leave that room when you're done . If it's trash , immediately to the trash . Can , if it's giveaway , get it out of your house before you change your mind . And for the other rooms , depending upon the state that you're in , you might just keep those boxes as you're going through your whole house and kind of keep going through them , and you don't necessarily put the things away in the next room until you get to that room .
Speaker 1Right , because sometimes things might be so unorganized when you get like you pick something up from your bedroom and you say , oh , this needs to go to the hall closet , and you go to the hall closet and it's a disaster . And then you start working in the hall closet and next thing you know an hour has passed by and you haven't even finished what you had started in your bedroom . So what I like to tell people is if that's the state of your house , there's no judgment there , right ? I've been there before too . But have a bucket called hall closet . Stick whatever's coming out of your bedroom into that bucket called hall closet . Don't do anything with it until the day comes that you're in the hall closet and then you , you know , as you're organizing in the hall closet , anything that's in the bucket for hall closet can now go in there , and things that are coming out of the hall closet , you know , they might be going into a box labeled basement , a box labeled giveaway .
Speaker 1So bottom line is I want you to spend some time journaling later today , maybe right now , on the clutter in your life , how it's impacting you and how your life can change . I'm on week three of a Clear the Clutter coaching program with several ladies and it has been eye opening for everyone to do this process , to do the journaling , and people that felt like they just didn't have the time to deal with the clutter because , honestly , it's always been there and really it's not that bad . After they started journaling , they realized the impact it was having on their family and on them and on their health , their emotional , their mental , their relationships . All of that . And guess what ? They started with little baby steps . They picked one little area and they decluttered it and they feel so amazing and so accomplished that what happens is it gives them the energy and the motivation to go do the next little spot and you will find , as you do this and you tackle one little area and then the next , it gets easier and easier to let things go . You will be a happier person , your mood will increase , you will find that you'll probably have more time because you're not running around , you're not looking for things , you're not always having to pick up and , before you know it , you will be shocked at how it has impacted your overall well-being . If you take some time to do the journaling , I'd love to hear what you figure out and what you discover . As always , you guys have an amazing day . I've loved our time together and I look forward to being with you again soon .
Speaker 1If you knew somebody , if you knew someone who could benefit from a little bit of decluttering or just even understanding how it happens , why it happens , please share this podcast with them . Thank you for joining us today on the Restoring Hope podcast with your host , me , deborah Bigdown . It would mean the world to me . If you'd like and subscribe to this podcast , share it with your family and friends , those that you think might benefit from what it is that we've shared today . Follow me on Instagram and Facebook . Check out my website . The link is listed below . My prayer for you , my friends , is that you are able to lean into the person that God has truly designed you to be , restoring hope for both yourself and all of those around you . Until next week , have an amazing day . Love you all . Can't wait to chat next week .