Mindful Maintenance: Tidying Up Your Mental Attic
By Karla Jensen, PhD
“Mindfulness is like turning on a light in an attic. The light shows the treasures, the old junk we thought we’d gotten rid of, the dusty corners that need clearing out.”
I often think of this quote by one of my favorite meditation authors, Sharon Salzberg, at this time of year when we’re airing out our homes, reorganizing closets, and cleaning out garden beds. The attic metaphor captures the essence of mindfulness as a process of illumination and mental maintenance. Your mind isn't just a workspace; it's a storage unit packed with memories, beliefs, and automatic thoughts—some of which deserve to stay, others which need to be tossed away.
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to present-moment experience with openness and without judgment. Much of life runs on autopilot: routines, responsibilities, and worries pile up until we are reacting more than choosing. Mindfulness interrupts that pattern. Present-moment awareness is like climbing into the attic and turning on the light; doing so allows us to notice thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and impulses as they arise, rather than being swept away by them or pushing them aside. When we are stuck in the past or worried about the future, it can feel like a thick layer of dust obscuring our view. Mindfulness cuts through that dust, helping us see things as they are, not to create a perfect mind, but to see clearly, kindly, and without avoidance.
When we do turn on the light, we may be surprised or discouraged by how busy, repetitive, or critical the mind is. This is not a failure of mindfulness; it is evidence that it’s working. The attic was always full; the light simply makes it visible. Seeing the mind clearly helps us understand how thoughts shape our moods, decisions, and relationships, and allows us to relate to them with discernment. Thoughts, especially the “junk,” can be seen as temporary events rather than facts we must attach to. For example, when a text goes unanswered, you may think, “They must be mad at me.” Mindfulness lets us label it—“I’m catastrophizing”—and step back from it. Thus, we begin to recognize unhelpful patterns of belief and judgment.
Mindfulness also reveals emotional patterns we may have learned to avoid or those we haven’t given ourselves time to enjoy. Turning on the light does not create emotions; it simply makes them visible. With awareness comes choice. You can decide whether to ignore, suppress, or gently care for what you find. This is where you move from simple awareness to action using a cognitive technique known as Catch It, Check It, Change It. This three-step process helps you decide what to keep (the "treasures") and what to toss (the "junk").
STEP 1: CATCH IT
This is the moment of pure mindfulness. When you feel a sudden emotional surge like stress, anger, or sadness, you pause and "catch" the specific thought that triggered it.
Action: Gently ask yourself, "What thought just went through my head?"
Example: You see a stain on your shirt and the thought is: "I've ruined this whole outfit and now everyone will judge me."
STEP 2: CHECK IT
Much like inspecting an item in the attic to see if it's worth keeping, you now subject the thought to scrutiny. This is the decision-making part of the process, a form of active cognitive control that research suggests is enhanced by regular mindfulness practice.
Action: Challenge the thought's validity. Ask questions like: "Is this thought 100% true right now?" "What evidence supports this thought?" "What would I tell a friend if they said this?"
Example: The evidence is one stain on one shirt. The thought that "everyone will judge me" is not supported by reality; it’s an overgeneralization. The thought is unhelpful junk.
STEP 3: CHANGE IT
Since the thought was found to be unhelpful junk, you can now consciously reframe it, replacing the mental clutter with a realistic, helpful perspective.
Action: Replace the negative thought with a neutral or positive-leaning one that is grounded in reality.
Example: "This is a minor stain. It's a slightly distracting imperfection, but it doesn't define me or ruin the day. I can still focus on the task
at hand."
Importantly, mindfulness also reveals treasures. Alongside the old junk and dusty corners, we may notice resilience, gratitude, or moments of quiet joy that previously went unseen. These experiences are often subtle and easily missed when attention is scattered or skewed toward the negative. Mindfulness strengthens our ability to recognize and appreciate the pleasant and positive in life.
You don’t need to clean the entire attic at once. A few minutes of meditation each day is enough to illuminate what’s there and to gently and intentionally choose what you carry forward and what to let go. Mindful awareness isn’t about fixing your mind; it’s about meeting it. Give yourself the gift of pausing to pay attention. That small act can be the beginning of meaningful, lasting change.
Karla Jensen, PhD, is a professor of Communication Studies and Contemplative Practices, and a certified meditation and yoga teacher. She invites readers to investigate mindfulness by checking out reputable organizations and authors who support this practice.