You may have ignored its calling, but its crisp edges slice your skin as you enter it. The cool of fall may have only peeked once or twice through the late-summer haze. But its undertones can be heard, if ever vaguely, beneath the sound of the cicadas.

Oddly, I have welcomed its siren-like beckoning this year. Perhaps it has to do with the heat wave that swaddled us interminably during our vacation in Virginia. I am ready to release the heat to far-away plains that have waited patiently for its return in the Southern Hemisphere.

Just as the seasons teach us the ebb and flow of life, so does the space awakening process I developed while living in impossibly small places during my entire married life. We enter; we depart. We carry in; we carry out. While I never reach the perfect balance, I have learned how much negative energy clutter holds for me. As a result, the space awakening process liberates the energy tangible items hold.

If you feel ready to engage in this de-cluttering process, here are a few guidelines to help you on your way.

Three-step Space Awakening Process:

For Beginners: Toss out three things you no longer need. They can be as simple as three old pens that no longer work or three items of clothing that no longer fit. Silently thank the pens for their service, then say good-bye.

For the Intermediate: Go to one drawer and empty it. Evaluate what you’ve been keeping and why. Then, if you really don’t need it, give it away or a give it a toss.

For Advanced Declutterers: Identify every item in a room you no longer need. Hold a yard sale, sell it on eBay or give it to your local charity.

Liberate your space from the things that do not serve you. Help other family members to do the same. As you consciously lighten your load, you will invite new things to enter your life. Just as surely winter follows fall, your life’s rhythm will be in more harmony with your surroundings than ever before.