I have a confession to make. I am a pack rat. Or, I should say, up until now, I have been behaving like a pack rat. It has gotten to the point, in the last few months, where every room I enter, I get that heavy feeling: I gotta do something about this!

Recently, it seems like every time I talk to a friend, they tell me how they have been “lightening up” and “clearing out,” and how good it feels to create order from chaos. The little green beast, envy, shows its head. I’m here to tell you that envy is one of the greatest guides I know for pointing out our true desires!

So why haven’t I done anything about it? Procrastination, and the feeling that it isn’t really possible. Physically possible, yes, but the difficulty of making emotionally related decisions and feeling old C-R-A-P feelings that comes up when I handle items related to old circumstances – that’s the part that has felt impossible. (There’s my Emotional Authenticity Life Lesson showing up, and a clear example of how I can avoid the difficult parts of it to my self detriment.)

Of course I know all kinds of wise ways to go about dealing with these kinds of messes, so I finally decided to commit to my favorite.

I got it from Carole Hyde, my Feng Shui author of choice. In Feng Shui, the number 9 carries a great deal of power. There are 9 sections to the Bagua, the Feng Shui map. When you place a correction, blessing it 9 times gives it tremendous resonance and power. So this way of attacking an overload of stuff, is called the “9 things for 9 days challenge.”

Each day, for 9 days, you deal with 9 things. Big or small. Throwing away, passing on, even putting away something counts for me. At the end of nine days, 81 things have been cleared out or put away! That’s a lot of order created! Often it ends up being more, because, of course, this is an activity that gains momentum. The lighter you feel, the easier it is to keep going.

I’m on day 2. So far, I’ve been fairly random, picking up something here, tossing papers there. This morning I sorted out a junk drawer (I have several, I’m afraid). I also cleaned up the spice drawer – consolidating, putting in alphabetical order (uh-huh, compulsive – plus I work in a library where alphabetizing is actually normal).

The day before I started, I didn’t have much hope. So I called a friend and got them to commit to doing it with me. We are e-mailing each day to say we’ve done our assignment. So far, I’m on track, and actually feeling hopeful. Hopeful enough to tell you about it, and that’s something! It’s much easier to keep those “shameful secrets” hidden. Out of sight, out of mind, maybe, but not off the emotional grid or the energetic reality.

Coach’s Challenge: Join me for the 9 things for 9 days challenge! Pick a buddy, and go for it! It’s a terrific way to move away from chaos and overwhelm, toward peace, clarity, and more energy.