Understanding how clutter can enter into our lives is the best way to identify it before it becomes a distraction.
Here are the different types of entry points:
Our Mental Clutter : Anything that preoccupies your mind and perspective.
For example...information overload, busyness, procrastinating, over-analyzing, trying to remember things you need to do, rehashing our past, not communicating in love and honesty, constantly going over mental checklist in your mind... all take up mental space.
External Clutter : The objects you literally see that take up space.
We have three main personal space domains... our home, our office, and our car. There are other places for other people, but those are the main common three. If those domains are full of stuff, disorganization, trash, random and unnecessary items...it will result in a scattered or chaotic feelings in your spirit.
Emotional Clutter : Anything that takes up space inside us.
Usually links up with mental clutter and results in external clutter.
Unhealthy relationships, habits, people, feelings, and situations that take up space. Energy suckers that create heaviness in your spirit.
Spiritual Clutter : The culmination of any and all of the above taking the focus off your spiritual relationship with God.
For example...when you're distant in your prayer time, too busy to study the word, don't have the energy to pursue your dreams, or you're too drained to uplift others...then the ultimate goal of clutter and distraction has fulfilled it's purpose.
We are so trained to think of letting go or minimizing something as a loss, but getting rid of the clutter is simply a way to gain back our peace and focus.