Last weekend I spent 6 hours cleaning out my closets and dressers and it felt amazing! I keep looking in them to see how great they look. Not only that, but I took another 2 hours unsubscribing from different e-mails lists I had gotten myself on and de-cluttering my inbox. It’s like a whole new energy flow has been freed up and it feels freakin’ fantastic!

While clutter might seem somewhat inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, a feng shui approach to an untidy space can really free up some energy in your home and your heart. According to principles of this ancient Chinese art, clutter prevents chi (positive energy or life force) from flowing throughout your home. Clutter contributes to feelings of being stuck or of being unable to relax in your home. The mere act of clearing clutter can renew your life by releasing negative emotions, and allowing you to create space for the things you want to achieve.

Here are three simple steps to take to cut down on the “Stuff” that gets in your way (literally and figuratively!):

Step 1—Commit. Every day, take small steps towards reducing the material burden in your home. Don’t try to do it all at once or you are likely to succumb to extreme overwhelm! Instead take an afternoon to focus on one corner of one room and move on from there. In a few weeks, your home will be a lot neater and it won’t feel like it was a burden.

You can also try the timer approach. At days end, set a timer for 15 minutes and make a game out of how quickly and how much you can de-clutter in 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, feel free to reset it for another 15 minutes and keep going if you’re feeling inspired (chances are you will!).

Step 2—Keep, Toss, Donate.  Create boxes for each of these to make it easier to categorize your things. By sticking to this method, you merely need to deal with the “Keep” box when you’re through.

Step 3—Stay Detached. (Or as detached as humanly possible!) Sentimentality or a sense that “I’ll need this someday…” are likely the reasons you’re walled in by clutter, so it’s important to stay focused on the task at hand. This only works if you can be ruthless about what you keep. If you haven’t worn it, used it, or looked at it in the past year, it should go. No exceptions!

When you have completed your task, you’ll want to look into some simple organizing systems—file cabinets, decorative boxes, bins, etc.—to contain the important things that made the cut.

As Leo Babauta so eloquently puts in his book, The Power of Less, “Simplifying isn’t meant to leave your life empty—it’s meant to leave space in your life for what you really want to do.” Out with the old, in with the new—and improved! By clearing space you’ll be making room for wonderful things to flow in.