I think that one of my biggest goals this year is to declutter my home, my office, my space and my mind. Many of us have tried to fill the hole inside that ONLY GOD can fill by collecting and buying stuff to fill us or complete us. If we are honest..none of it satisfies..If it did,we would not long for more STUFF the next day, week, month or year. My focus on stuff changes from time to time. At one time I collected rhinestone brooches. They are beautiful and I must admit my display of them is stunning. But..there are brooches on my display that have never been on my body, I have so many cookbooks that I can not even tell you the number off the top of my head and many of them I have not cooked one recipe out of, I have about 15 Nativity's but have not had them all out at Christmas now in many years, since I once owned a Christian bookstore I own more books than I have homes for . I have not one but four Coach purses and that does not include the two I no longer wanted and gave to my daughters, I have an entire part of my desk devoted to beautiful stationary but have no time to write letters...Ugh! I am just beginning. I could go on and on and on. Now for the one thing I do NOT WANT TO WRITE DOWN because it means I need to really look at it...that is my scrapbook items.. I always want the newest products that are out and can not wait until a new line is released..but I have an entire cabinet full of scrapbooking items and that is AFTER I have donated a great deal of it for scrapbooks for children with cancer.. Do I really NEED more? NO...If it truly satisfied would I need the next new thing..NO! All of the above things have created chaos and clutter in my life. One more thing to add to the disorganization and disorder...which by the way are NOT of GOD. His word tells us that He is Not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order 1 Corinthians 14:33.
Your Assignment Today is to prayerfully list (post here) every area of your life that you feel that you need to clear out clutter. After you have made this list, consider what you might do with this clutter after you have done this. You could make money to pay down debt by selling it on ebay or having a garage sale, you could donate it for a tax write off or just because. Or you could give it to someone that you might bless with it. I am going to do this assignment with you and will list on Tuesday.
Then in the next few days we will execute our plan to declutter our life step by step.
The blog giveaways on March 1st will go to three of you. I will be recommending books for you to read on each subject we go over in this series. Two winners will be able to pick the book of your choice and it will be delivered directly to you. One winner will recieve a beautiful journal as I am a believer in journaling your thoughts and prayers.
I highly recommend that you pray for God's leading before choosing which areas that HE would have you clear out. I really did not want to look at my scrapbooking and art items because somewhere inside me I think I MUST have them..SO you guessed it..that is the area He convicted me of first! I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this and seeing your list.
Love and Peace.....Susan
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ahhhh, if you ever figure out 'exactly' how to declutter ... let me in on the secret. Everytime I try, I turn around and fine many other areas that need work.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question on my blog, no. I don't own a business. A friend of mine owns a scrapbook website. I help her out by moderating her site and try my booty off to keep the site active. It's hard.
Hugs !!!
Susan
I am a HUGE advocate of living simple. I am the queen of declutter and yet I still know there are areas I need to do this in.
ReplyDeleteI have recently cleaned out my hidden projects and listed them, with an eye to finishing or eliminating them by the end of February. (and I'm making some pretty good progress)
I decluttered my scrapbook supplies and found a system that worked for me back in 2005-2007. It took me all of that two years to get it down to something manageable, and then it took most of 2008 to make sure the system would keep me from "buying up" again.
I don't collect anything, so I have that area covered.
My closet is fairly decluttered, but could use a little recheck.
I think where most of my clutter lies is in my mind. The things I fill my time and mind with that are just a cushion to mask the pain. So my list might take a little longer for me to make, since walking around my home won't give me what I need. Off to walk through the cramped closets of my mind....
Susan: You couldn't choose anything difficult, could you--Hahaha!!! Oh, boy...The good news is----I've already begun, but I think I'll be even more accountable here than I have been since 2009 started.
ReplyDelete#1---My MIND--slow down! (part of this is going to require my body to STOP the perpetual motion!). I have to will (better yet--PRAY) for myself to sit still for longer than 3-4 minutes. I have an exercise to do this, but--I RARELY do it. This is REALLY VERY important....#1
Then: my sittingroom-desk (can't see the top);books,stationery,photos,mail. Probably #2
Then: clothes--closet & drawers. I don't have alot of clothes, so continual organization is really the key here. I have given alot of clothes, purses, shoes already to charity.
Then: bathroom (again...I've begun, but needs organizing). I thrown out lots of old makeup, perfume. Given away lotions, nail polishes, lipsticks, eyeshadows to piano students. I need to update to makeup more appropriate to my age now. And --help me keep the counter clutter free, but feminine!!!
Whew! So much for the "sitting still" part. Ha! But---I will pray about these others. The being still, calm for so many minutes 3 times a day is VITAL right now.
Since my piano students' big "once-a-year" recital is March 1 and there is still alot I need to do for that (program created and typed and taken to copier, certificates to get and sign, flowers to order, what for me to wear, practice my 1 piece (oh, brother)and another week of teaching my 26 students and helping them feel ready and confident....Maybe God is telling me THIS is where I need to organize for this session???
I need another day of prayer!
#1 Me. I need to de-clutter me! Which includes everything!! BAH
ReplyDelete#2 My current relationship. I really think it has to go. But, I guess there is no right time. I know I dont need to say the 'why's' to him... but what if he asks? I have so many different ways of talking to him about it... but there isnt ever any good time..
#3 i did actually go through my scrappy supplies and pick out items that i did not want anymore. Now I just need to get rid of them.
#4 I kinda took over the living room area with my scrappy supplies. I keep trying to clean up. But... with no avail... its still a giant mess out here.
#5 De-clutter my priorities. Should I really be on Tally reviewing the non-changing message board over and over again???
Declutter --- start with the boxes of things I have tucked away until I have time to deal with them, my most pressing need!
ReplyDelete