Decluttering Your Life
Some of the time spent on my phone or my iPad is spent looking at houses that need to be decluttered. There will be closets that are so full of junk that you can’t get to anything you might want to use. There are kitchens that have counters so full of items that there is no room to place another thing or from which you could work. I like to read about the methods used to help with this problem and see the finished product. You know the method: boxes for keep, donate, throw away. Call me crazy if you want to, but there is something satisfying about seeing the finished product.
And then I look around myself in our shared office at home (and maybe a closet or two), and I realize I need to stop looking at the phone and get busy implementing some of what I have learned about decluttering. So I began with my file cabinet and completed one drawer. It felt good, and I’m sure I’ll get back to the task soon.
As I worked on that drawer which contained clippings I have saved from all kinds of sources, I began to realize that, hidden away in that drawer, they weren’t really valuable to anyone. I just stacked them up thinking that one day I might use one of them. I had hundreds of clippings, so I doubt that I would have taken the time to find the exact one I needed.
And then I began to think about my life and how cluttered it becomes at times. There are times when every hour is filled with something I considered to be important, or someone else considered to be important for me to do. At the time when my life becomes cluttered with so much, I become burdened and non-productive. My mind is tired and overwhelmed and tends to shut down. My mood changes from sunny to cloudy or even stormy.
What I need to do at those times is use the method of keep, donate, and throw away. There are definitely some things that need to be kept: Bible study, prayer, taking care of our home, and fixing meals, just to name a few. There are others that can be donated (or shared) with others: let your husband and children help with some of the household tasks, or let someone else teach a Bible class while you take a much needed break for one quarter. And then there are those things that just may need to be thrown away: things like wasting time on useless information or entertainment.
When I declutter my life, I have time for the important things in life – God, my family, and others who need my help.
I think I’ll stop wasting time looking at posts about decluttering my home and get busy decluttering my life. Then I’ll have time to thank God for this life He has given me.
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:2
AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
