I felt God’s leading beginning about a year ago to begin the daunting task of de-cluttering our home. At first, I was the sole warrior in the war against useless stuff. I began in the basement. A little each week. This past fall, however, another soldier enlisted to fight the battle alongside me. My husband and I went through the house room by room, notebook and pen in hand. We wrote down what needed to be done in each room to de-junk, repair and spruce up our home.
One person can accomplish a lot, but get two side by side in a task and you can “get er done.” We went back through the house, room by room, tackling the junk and making repairs. The first was the upstairs bedrooms, now empty with our 2 sons grown. I found myself in the days following sneaking up to just sit and reflect in the quiet, clean (something those rooms had not been for years) and uncluttered surroundings.
It’s difficult to live in a home that is over stuffed. A few years ago, I caught an Oprah show on houses that were inconceivably crowded with stuff. The families couldn’t enjoy their homes, they couldn’t clean them, and were confined to only a few rooms to abide in like prisoners. All because “More is better”…. “I’ll take care of it later”…. “It was such a good clearance”…”I just had to have it”…You’ve been there.
This video shows a woman who for years has hoarded clothing and in two hours has to weed it out. (No comments from my husband, please) She has to face the fact that she can let go of the items she so badly had to have and thought would bring her comfort and happiness. It’s the same with our lives. Things that we think we need to provide security or contentment, don’t deliver. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnGqwwyr8iQ&feature=related
Of course God had larger plans than just making my home easier to live in, He was leading me to de-clutter my life inside as well. To toss the rubble from my heart and mind. The stuff that keeps me from fully living for Him. With my mind too cluttered, I can’t hear the Holy Spirit guiding me. Long before the Fly Lady and Peter Walsh, Hebrews 12 gave us a de-clutter guide complete with motivation too.
Step 1: Identify everything that hinders your walk.
Step 2: Throw them off. Discard them. Get rid of them. Shred them.
Step 3: Run the race marked out for you. Not someone else’s race, your
own race,this is a very important point or you will need to
revert back to step 1.
Step 4: Persevere. Persevere. Persevere.
Step 5: Fix your eyes on Jesus. On your purpose. Focus. Focus. Focus.
Step 6: Go out for coffee with a friend at each triumphant milestone. (Ok, so I
made that one up myself, but you have to admit, it’s a good one…)
Step 7: Make a You Tube video about your experience. Ok, so maybe not,
but if you do, sent me a link!
Now it's your turn: Tell me about your de-junking tips - both around the home and in your soul!
One person can accomplish a lot, but get two side by side in a task and you can “get er done.” We went back through the house, room by room, tackling the junk and making repairs. The first was the upstairs bedrooms, now empty with our 2 sons grown. I found myself in the days following sneaking up to just sit and reflect in the quiet, clean (something those rooms had not been for years) and uncluttered surroundings.
It’s difficult to live in a home that is over stuffed. A few years ago, I caught an Oprah show on houses that were inconceivably crowded with stuff. The families couldn’t enjoy their homes, they couldn’t clean them, and were confined to only a few rooms to abide in like prisoners. All because “More is better”…. “I’ll take care of it later”…. “It was such a good clearance”…”I just had to have it”…You’ve been there.
This video shows a woman who for years has hoarded clothing and in two hours has to weed it out. (No comments from my husband, please) She has to face the fact that she can let go of the items she so badly had to have and thought would bring her comfort and happiness. It’s the same with our lives. Things that we think we need to provide security or contentment, don’t deliver. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnGqwwyr8iQ&feature=related
Of course God had larger plans than just making my home easier to live in, He was leading me to de-clutter my life inside as well. To toss the rubble from my heart and mind. The stuff that keeps me from fully living for Him. With my mind too cluttered, I can’t hear the Holy Spirit guiding me. Long before the Fly Lady and Peter Walsh, Hebrews 12 gave us a de-clutter guide complete with motivation too.
Hebrews 12:1-3
“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus…. so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Step 1: Identify everything that hinders your walk.
Step 2: Throw them off. Discard them. Get rid of them. Shred them.
Step 3: Run the race marked out for you. Not someone else’s race, your
own race,this is a very important point or you will need to
revert back to step 1.
Step 4: Persevere. Persevere. Persevere.
Step 5: Fix your eyes on Jesus. On your purpose. Focus. Focus. Focus.
Step 6: Go out for coffee with a friend at each triumphant milestone. (Ok, so I
made that one up myself, but you have to admit, it’s a good one…)
Step 7: Make a You Tube video about your experience. Ok, so maybe not,
but if you do, sent me a link!
Now it's your turn: Tell me about your de-junking tips - both around the home and in your soul!
We're speaking the same language! How interesting that you love to sit in the finished rooms, not the ones filled with the things you, at one time, needed. I find the same conundrum in my house. The emptier rooms are my peaceful solitudes. What if everywhere in my house could be conquered into a peaceful submission? So now I am the Peaceful Warrior Princess! Funny.
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