Simplify - In Danger of Cute Box Overload

Recently I bought a recipe binder for the recipes we print off of the internet. It came is a beautiful box decorated with strawberries. Strawberries are one of my favorite motifs, so I wanted to keep the box to cut it up for some purpose. However, it suddenly occurred to me that it is probably the right shape and size to package up a plate that I have been needing to send overseas for some time. The plate needs to be double boxed, but I was having trouble getting a box for the inner one that would be close to the same size as the plate and help stabilize it in the bigger box when surrounded by packing materials. I resigned myself to the probability that I will use it for that and, after all, it's a good use of it!

Do you have a problem with wanting to save cute or useful boxes that come in the mail or with products inside of them? I don't know if anyone else here does, but I do. I am always thinking that a box "could be useful" or is too pretty or sturdy or generally "useful" to just put it in the trash. Thankfully, Dana K. White at A Slob Comes Clean has the same issue. She also has a useful solution that can really help in dealing with these things.

Enjoy! :-)

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Laying Aside Weights – Some Thoughts On Dealing with Things

 

1 Corinthians 7:29-31  But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

These articles written by others go well with the Laying Aside Weights series. (I know, I thought I was done with that too, but it keeps coming up again.)

Spring Cleaning Your House and Your Mind - Here’s an article over at Living On A Dime about clearing our thinking up as we prepare to clean up our houses for spring and summer.  I dare say most of us could stand to remove some of the “scum of life” that has accumulated from the winter months.  She has some helpful observations about how we view our things and how our things should serve us rather than us serving our things.  (If you have trouble figuring out how to go about organizing and cleaning up – especially if you have some illness that hinders you – you might want to also read this:  How to Get Organized! Part 2.)

Letting Go of Someone Else’s Memories - Here is a thought-provoking item at A Slob Comes Clean for those who are tempted to keep and store other people’s memories and stuff.  I may have posted this before, but it goes well here.

Daily Planner Review

 

Earlier this year Sue Hooley offered to send me two free copies of her daily planner – one for this year and one for next year – for me to review here (and/or on The Home Maker’s Corner).  I told her I wasn’t sure at all that I’d use it as I’d seen different ones and hadn’t been interested.  I’m a list person myself, but I can get quite frustrated with them with a tendency to abandon them entirely for periods of time.  Sue still wanted to send the 2013 edition for me to try out and I agreed.  I started using it in late May or early June.

The planner is divided into a number of sections which you can see here.  The sections serve various purposes and are explained as needed in the front of the planner – calendars of different sorts, shopping lists, weekly planning areas. etc.  Some of them might be quite handy to other people, but for me most were not.  I keep my shopping lists on my cell phone and only used one in the planner so far.  I used a few pages of the “Projects” section in a limited way.  I keep my important dates on a specific calendar, and I didn’t plan any big events thus far which needed a list of addresses.  So most of the sections got minimal to no use.

The only section I have really utilized is the weekly planner, and that has been great – or it has been since I adjusted my thinking towards it.

As you can see it has a Task List for the week to start off with.  Then there are sections for all seven days, including the menu section so that you can plan your meals ahead.

First of all, the Task List section has been useful for things I needed to remember in a given week, but were not specific to one day – I could work them in any time, but didn’t want to forget them.

Mrs. Hooley recommends using a pencil so that you can erase things and move them around as needed.  At first I didn’t follow this advice, but I found out quickly that it was very helpful!  I prefer a pen and so I’ve been using one of my new erasable ink Frixion pens.  (Hopefully more later on those for quilting/sewing.)  This makes it easy to erase something that didn’t get done or finished and move it to another day.  It also makes it easy to change the menu if necessary. :-)

I have not been much a menu planner, and still am not, but it is helpful to lay out some idea of what the main meat for dinner will be each day, or to note if leftovers need to be used.

After using the book for a short time I actually got quite frustrated with it.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep on with it because I was using it as a whip to make myself perform instead of a reminder and helpful guide.  Once I gave myself permission not to follow each day’s proposed agenda – to erase things and move them, or just drop them entirely – I was able to use it with a lot more comfort. 

The book has, in fact, become quite a useful tool for me and a good reminder.  I even include things like naps and exercise just to try to help myself keep up good habits of rest and physical activity.  And, yes, I do still write things down after the fact and then cross them off just to have the satisfaction of seeing what I got done. :-)  I found it especially useful in preparing for company or small events where I needed to get certain things done ahead of time.

However, there are a few drawbacks.  One is that the Saturday and Sunday sections are much smaller than the other days of the week.  Sunday is fine for me since we don’t do much that day as far as chores are concerned.  But, Saturday is a bit of a problem to me.  Perhaps the Hooleys observe the Sabbath, I don’t know.  But, we rest on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week.  Saturday is the only day of the week that my husband has for home chores, so sometimes it can be quite busy and I need more room to write that day.  (I include some things he needs to do so I can remind him, or things that I need to help him with).

Another drawback that affects me personally is that somehow writing my daily chores and things in the planner has made it harder for me to keep up my little calendar where I write the day’s events/activities.  I’m sorry to stop that because it is a very abbreviated diary of sorts and sometimes it is helpful to know exactly when something happened.  I could do both, but somehow it seems to not happen, and what goes in the planner is not necessarily what would be written in the record calendar.

Will I buy one for next year?  I haven’t decided yet.  It might be worth the price to me because of it’s usefulness, but since I haven’t yet utilized a majority of the book I’m not sure.  Of course, anything that helps me to get more accomplished probably is worth the price!  So, I might make the investment.

For other ladies I’d say that if you like to be organized and you are not already using some other plan that you like, this is definitely worth trying. [Also available through Amazon.]  I have also seen some planners that look extremely complicated to me.  Some ladies I’m sure need that, especially home schooling moms.  But, if you are getting overwhelmed by your complicated planner, this might be a good alternative.  It is not overly complicated in my opinion.

I’ve tried to give an honest review here.  Most of the drawbacks for me were in regards to areas I don’t use, and this is completely due to my method of organization which included other options in some of those areas.  If I use the planner another year I might possibly rearrange some of those things to better utilize the planner.  The only real drawback that limited my use of the planner was the short Saturday section.  Otherwise it mostly met the demands I placed upon it.

A Few Tips for Packing to Move

 

 
Mom and I packing to move to Texas 5 years ago.  If I look tired, it’s because I was!

Moving!  Ugh.  Sometimes it’s very sad, sometimes it’s exciting, often it’s a mixture of both.  But, even when you’re going on to something good or better, it’s a lot of work and frustration!

Not long ago someone on Facebook whom I follow was asking for tips on packing to move.  This is something with which I have a fair amount of experience.  My family moved quite a lot, and the last several moves that my family made I did a lot of the packing and organizing.  So, I made a short list of suggestions for this lady, and then it occurred to me that it  might be a useful blog post, so I copied it over here for you all with some edits. :-)

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1. Try to pack boxes according the room the items belong in. Keep like items together as much as possible - this will make putting them away at the other end easier. (Books with books, utensils with kitchen gadgets, dinnerware and "silverware", etc.) Mark the boxes clearly as to which room they belong in.

2. Use extra towels, linens and sewing/crafting fabric to wrap breakables. Use other soft items for padding - throws, blankets, cushions, etc. This will reduce the amount of extra packing materials that you need and it will consolidated you packing at the same time.

3. For fragile items try to pack solidly so there won't be shifting or rattling. Add filler items inside of large empty fragiles (such as baskets) to help support them. Make sure that thin flat fragile items don't have pressure on them. Try to pack very fragile things together and clearly mark the boxes with warnings. Try to make sure there is cushioning of some sort between the box wall and all fragile items. Padding makes a big difference.

4. Mark all boxes clearly as to what is in them - a somewhat detailed list is best. (After numerous moves I can't emphasize this one enough! You never know how long it will be before you unpack some boxes, and you won't remember what is where.)

5. If you need boxes and don't want to buy them and don't get them free from the truck rental/moving company, ask for them at stores. Liquor stores often have quite a lot of boxes that are easy sizes to handle and very sturdy. (I realize some people might feel uncomfortable using those, though.)

6. Sure and steady wins the race. Take "breathers", drink plenty, eat and get a good night's sleep as much as possible.  Get some fresh air and sunshine if possible.  Funny as it sounds, when you're packing it's really easy to forget the obvious.

7. Don’t be proud.  Ask for help if you need it.  If a friend offers to make meals, watch the kids, do your laundry for you, etc. while you’re loading the truck/container, let them!  It will be a huge help.

8. If you accept help for the actual packing (which might be needful), try to make sure that someone who has moved across country before and packed their own things works on the fragile items.  People with no moving experience should be assigned to the less breakable items.  :-)

9. When you are packing to move is probably not the best time to be sorting your stuff with a view to reducing.  So – work on that ahead of time if there is a chance that you may be moving in the near future.  However, if you’re caught unawares, and you can’t take it all, remember that it is just stuff.  Make yourself rate items and identify the things that are most important for you family’s well being, important mementoes and items of real value (not what you think might be valuable).  Focus on that stuff and then eliminate what can’t go from the unnecessary things.

Cheap, Pretty and Good – Just A Start

 

The Mexicans have an expressions – “cheap, pretty and good”.  Only, of course, they say it in Spanish, which I don’t remember.  Anyway, in the spirit of simplifying, saving money and still having things attractive, I thought I’d share some links occasionally with some ideas along those lines.  They will probably cover a variety of topics – décor, clothing, food, etc.

Today’s ideas will be along the lines of storage and décor.

Create Desk Accessories from Cans – This is a nice idea.  You can use wallpaper, paper with your own or kids’ drawings, fabric, burlap, etc.  For the fabrics you may wish to use some kind of glue rather than tape.  Also, for a girlish look, try adding some ribbon or an artificial flower with some hot glue.  If you use fabric you can add a scrap of folded bias tape around the top to give it a more finished look.

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You may not need to go buy a bunch of storage containers to organize your house.  There may be a lot of useful option right in your own garage, attic or storage shed.  Turn Clutter Into Storage and Décor Solutions.  One word of caution here, though: remember that you will still have to dust some of these things, so consider what you really want to keep.  Is it worth cleaning regularly to you?  If not, discard it.  Also, sometimes the best “storage solution” is to reduce the pile! :-)

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Here are some ideas that might cost you nothing if you already have these items stored among your stuff.  No-Money Home Makeover Ideas. Also remember that you might find some of these things in a family member’s attic.  You can only ask.  If they say “no”, at least you tried to get the stuff out where it could be appreciated. :-)

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An old picture frame, some screws, some wire and some clothes pins will give you a nice place to display photos or keep track of favorite recipes and other essential paper bits.

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Tea cup candles.  If you make your own candles this is something you might want to do – either for your own décor or for gifts.  Strange to say there are people in this world who have tea cup and saucer sets that they don’t want.  I had a set myself once that I was not overly fond of and also was afraid to use as it came from a country of which I wasn’t sure about the lead content.  I could have made them into candles to give away, though!

Uses for egg cups.  I realize that most Americans don’t have unused egg cups laying around idle, but (ahem!) I do.  :-)  This comes from having had family that lived around British at various times.  Well…if they aren’t being used for their intended purpose, why not something else?  I could use the bud vase idea without much extra work, and I’m quite fond of fresh flowers in the house.  I also checked and discovered that a small tea light size candle will fit into the top of some of my egg cups. :-)

Laying Aside Weights – Suffering for 15 Minutes Demo

 

In the second post of this series I put up a link and briefly discussed the idea of “suffering for 15 minutes”.  The idea is to set a timer and work for just 15 minutes at a time on some project that is overwhelming you and seems too large to complete.  By limiting your “suffering” to 15 minutes at a time, you can eventually get the job done.  As some people have put it, “You can do anything for 15 minutes.”  Instead of having it hanging over your head and frustrating you in the background of life, you can actually get through the job, or at least make some movement toward that end.  This has some very practical applications and can actually help to reduce stress! :-)

Awhile back I decided to tackle my small-but-stuffed sewing room.  It was a mess and discouraging.  Of course, due to it’s size and content the results are not as stunning as some other area of work might have been, but I certainly felt better about it! :-)  I took photos so that I could share the results.

I did the job in several “installments” of 15 minutes.  The first time, just as I was starting, my sister-in-law showed up and kindly offered to help me.  So, I had the added blessing of extra hands and someone to talk to while I spent the first 15 minutes on this project!  What a blessing! :-)  Once I saw some results I decided to push on, but I was interrupted at some point, so I just turned the timer off and came back to it later.  I did a second and a third installment of 15 minutes each (not all on the same day!) to finish the project to my satisfaction.

Before

This was the view looking straight into the sewing room door.

After

This is quite an improvement and probably the best feeling area in the room.

Before

Half way

All that fabric that was draped all over the pace got gathered up and folded nicely. :-)

After

Before

It’s hard to get an appreciation for the size of this pile here, but it was really way too big!

After

You can see on the left that that huge mountain has disappeared. :-) Yes, there was actually an “L” of the desk over there holding it up!

Before

That is the same pile on the right as is shown above.

Half way

After

Well, I had a new pile on the left of the machine, as you can see.  This pile was things that I wanted to get done sooner rather than later.  Some of them did get done, or discarded. :-)  [Remember that sometimes it’s good to get rid of an unfinished project.]

I needed to spend another 15 minutes on the top shelf of the desk, but that didn’t happen.  Since I do use this room, it has reverted to some extent and is probably ready to be tackled again, though it’s not as bad as it was. 

This picture cracked me up when I took it.  I just had to laugh when I saw that denim bag (unfinished) actually hanging off the top shelf.  You know sometimes it’s better to laugh at ourselves than to stress over it. ;-)  Too bad I didn’t take an “after” shot.  [Yes, that is water on the top shelf.  We’ve had ours go out more than once, so we keep several gallons on hand, and strangely enough, somehow it ended up there.  Weird, I know.]

As you can see, my sewing room is far from being a model room, and there’s no way I’ll ever appear on any organizing show with the “after” results.  Ha.  But, I was happy with the results and it was good enough for me to be able to work in there again without feeling like it was going to cave in on me! :-)  And, after all, that’s what really counts.  [Remember our discussion of “good enough” in the Perfectionism “chapter”? :-)  ]

Shop Your Own Stuff – The Corner of the Living Room

 

You will hopefully remember that I’ve been doing a sub-series in the Laying Aside Weights theme by challenging us to “shop your own stuff”.  This post is a demonstration of how I tried to do that to improve a corner of our living room.  I know a lot of us have corners like this around our houses – maybe more than one.  This is not a T.V. reality show, so expect anything too stunning. :-)  Still, I hope you enjoy reading about it.

A year or so ago we rearranged our living room.  The corner by the T.V. had the walking machine in it, and I was ready to get it out of our sitting area.  Partly this was just to make a little more seating, but also, it would make the bookshelf there more accessible and make the sitting area more pleasant looking.  So, the walking machine was moved kitty-corner from where it had been.  It is now in the computer area.  I added a wicker chair (which I already had) for seating and the books are more accessible.  But…..after it was done the corner was dark and lacking something.  Also, the window ledge that sticks out there from the kitchen didn’t seem to go well in the living room. 

In the spirit of this challenge to “shop your own stuff”, I decided to see what I could do.  Initially I wanted to put up some Oriental paper lights in the corner, but it seemed like a better use of money to use something we already had.  Plus, it challenged me to see what solution I could come up with.

Here is a short chronicle of how the corner has “evolved” so far. :-)

Before:

As you can see, this corner is also a “piling area” for stuff leaving the house – especially things going to one of the other two houses on our joint properties.  The large basket on the bookshelf is my “Out” basket, but at this point it was rather overflowing!  You can also see that the window ledge is rather odd.  I think they made that wide ledge on the living room side for serving food – I assume.  Also, the cushions in the chair do not match.

The ledge décor didn’t look actually bad, but it wasn’t great either.  I didn’t think there was a good transition into the living room.  It was more in keeping with the kitchen.  The artificial marigolds in the vase just lacked something.

From the kitchen side looking into the living room:

Again, it wasn’t terrible, but it felt cluttered to me.

Some improvement:

Ok, this isn’t entirely an improvement, but it was better.  I worked on the window ledge and now there is a barrier between the kitchen side and the living room side.  This was partially accomplished by adding the wind harp on the edge and also removing the marigolds so that their orange heads weren’t “interrupting” so much.

The most significant change, of course is the hanging light!  Yay! :-)  Now we can sit here and read, and also anyone sitting there in the evening while visiting doesn’t have to sit in a dark corner.

The shade was something I got out of the garage “store” – actually it came from my dad’s collection of 1950’s items (which he’d planned to resell, but which hasn’t happened so far.  Thankfully, he’s just happy to see the stuff used).  The cord to hang it did cost us somewhere around $13 at a hardware store.  We could’ve gotten something cheaper, but the shade would then have been hard to use.  This particular hanger is designed in such a way that you can use a normal table lamp shade on it!  What a handy gadget. :-)  It served our purposes very well.

Here’s a closer look at the living room side of the window ledge.  I like it better.  I’m also glad to get this beautiful piece out of the pile, I mean “store”, so that it can be seen.  This wind harp was made for my family by a good friend who is now with the Lord.  It is a beautiful piece of workmanship and has a good message, and is a sweet reminder of our friend – an A+ item.

From the kitchen side:

I really like the berries in the basket a lot better than the flowers!  Also, this seems less cluttered to me.  I’m not sure yet what I’m going to store in the cute strawberry jar my sister-in-law got for me, but I really like it. :-)  I usually keep my drinking glass on the stone coaster.  It’s nice because it keeps the liquid off of the wood.  Of course, the fresh rose was only temporary.

More progress:

This is a more recent shot of the corner.  I had originally thought I would make a new cover for the rose pillow in the back of the chair, but after moving that green cushion from another part of the house to replace the red and white misfits, I realized that it was a perfect color match and that I didn’t need to recover the back cushion!  Yay!  Another unnecessary project eliminated. :-)

Another addition here that I really like is the two baskets on the end of the bookshelf (right).  I’m sorry they don’t show up better in the picture.  In rummaging around in the garage “store”, I found these African baskets that I think came from my grandmother.  They work great for easy access storage near the door.  The larger one is holding our winter hats, gloves, etc. The smaller one has not been designated for anything yet.  I’m really happy with them because they look decorative, but they supply some needed storage and reduce clutter.  In central Texas we don’t need hats and gloves every single winter day, so I know exactly where those only-occasionally-needed winter items are. :-)

The dog’s winter rug is laying there still waiting for repairs.  I do need to get that done and out of there.  Sigh.

I plan to make some more changes here eventually.  I would like to get the guitar stored somewhere else since it is almost never, ever used.  I also have an idea for putting a curtain on the bookshelf because I don’t like the black, I think it will look neater, and also it will improve the overall décor of the living room.  But, we’ll see.  That may be one of those abandoned projects. :-)  I’ll try to make a later update if/when I make more progress on shopping our stuff to improve this corner.

Shop Your Own Stuff – Storage and Organizing Potential

If you read the previous post in this series, you will remember that I’ve been challenging us to “shop our own stuff” more instead of buying something every time we have a need, or imagine that we do.  These suggestions are things that I’d already done, but they show the possibilities.

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Repurposing things has been a habit in my family for years.  My dad was especially proficient at it.  I still remember his overhead storage area for screws, nails, washers and various small bits.  He took a lot of baby food jars (which were available in our home at that time) and screwed the lids to a board, leaving enough room to grab the jars.  Then he attached the board to the ceiling of our pantry/storage area, filled the jars with the small items and screwed them to the lids.  If you needed something in that line, all you had to do was look up and you could quickly see which jar you needed, unscrew it and retrieve you items.  It was a clever storage solution, and out of reach of little hands. :-)

Mugs make great pen and pencil holders. We have more mugs than we need, so I have several serving this purpose now. They not only keep things in one spot, they have a built-in, easy relocation system. If you are concerned about sharp or heavy objects (such as scissors) hitting the bottom and breaking the mug, simply trace the bottom of the mug onto one or two pieces of craft foam or cardboard. Cut inside the lines, then trim the circles down to fit the bottom of the mug to reduce the risk of breakage.

By the way, this is something that was a result of the “Get Rid of Fifty Things” challenge.  Not only did I get a mug out of our crowded cupboard, but I also got rid of a tin can that I had long been intending to cover with fabric or contact paper.  The mug looks nice, and using it saved me from covering the can – so I abandoned an unnecessary project too. :-)

An extra large Altoids® tin makes a great holder for paper and pencils in the game drawer.  You could repurpose some other type candy box.

(A good idea if you live where there are spiders or scorpions – keep garden gloves in a sealed plastic bag or jar. That way when you go to put them on you can be sure they are critter-free.)

Plastic containers (a lot of these came from peanuts and pretzels purchased in bulk), can be repurposed for organizing and storage instead of buying a lot of “perfect” boxes ($$$) like the professional decorators/organizers do. In certain situations I do buy containers because this method wouldn’t work, but in the above situations it was fine.

An old suitcase or trunk, with or without a coat of paint, can serve as decorative storage, or even a coffee table. We use an old trunk of my grandparents’ as our coffee table/foot-rest/sometimes-seat and it also stores most of our games and puzzles.  My brother and sister-in-law did the same thing with a newer trunk of theirs (pictured above).  The great thing about this is you don’t have to worry about bangs and bumps from the kiddoes’ toys or adults’ shoes because it’s already “rustic”. ;-)

I bought this popcorn tin on clearance, but you may have one left from a holiday gift.  I use mine to store the garbage bags right next to the kitchen bin so it’s quick and easy to reline it, but looks nice at the same time.  It would work well for other storage purposes also – maybe cookie cutters or canning supplies.

You can also reuse tins like this to make gift “baskets” or to pass on food gifts to others.  Just be sure to put the food in food safe bags or containers.

Hopefully this gives you some more ideas of ways to shop your own things.  I hope you enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to be inventive with me. :-)

Clearing Out the Fridge

It is a temptation to put this post in the “Laying Aside Weights” series, but since it really doesn’t have to do with the theme of that specifically, I suppose it will be better to let it stand alone.

The clutter in my fridge is not exactly a weight, although maybe some people would view it as such.  It can be a nuisance, but mostly it’s wasted space.  It’s cleaned out pretty well now, but the truth of the matter is that it will probably get bad again eventually.  Coming from a long line of fridge packers…well, at least two generations…I don’t see myself bucking my genes on this one. ;-) 

Not that I wouldn’t like to improve, and I actually think I have some. My mom, in her own right, has improved some to start with and I’ve tried to go a little farther. Neither of us have, nor desire, the “knack” my Gramma had of filling a fridge (and its freezer) with myriads of little plastic containers holding a tablespoon of this or that.  I can’t speak so well for our freezers, though we do make the effort to control them from time to time.  When you opened Gramma’s freezer it was a good idea to stand back.  Just the act of opening the door was likely to dislodge something that was being held in by the mere presence of the door.  Trying to extract something could even start a small avalanche.  Mom’s freezer and my freezer are sometimes not much better.  Sigh.

But, to get down to the point --

I decided it was high time to get the fridge cleared out of excess stuff.  Though I do try to date my leftovers to keep them from getting too old, I still sometimes have something that gets missed in the shuffle.  The bulk of my excess, however, is the result of opening too many jars of pickles, pushing untasty jams and sauces to the side because I can’t make myself pitch them, and saving “useful” things that are not as perishable as most foods – such as bacon grease.  Ahem.  (This is the down side of being a bit too paranoid about wastefulness, by the way.  There are two sides to that coin.)

I found at least 4 containers containing some amount of bacon grease in the fridge (I think it was five, but I’m not sure).  Yeah.  That’s a lot of old dabs of bacon grease, considering how seldom I cook bacon from raw and thus have excess to put away.  And, don’t ask me how many there are still in there because, though I discarded some, I added another one the other day. 

You see, the very best corn bread recipe I have calls for bacon grease (no wonder it’s so good, right?), so I can’t bear to discard it thinking about that delicious corn bread.  The thing is, though – I seldom, seldom make corn bread!  (Hmm….this looks suspiciously like “weight” thinking to me.  Something that does need to be laid aside!)  Plus, green beans and eggs are so good fried in bacon grease….

Well, Friday morning is the day our garbage is collected, so Thursday is a good day to do a job like this.  In an effort to acknowledge my limitations and not overdo, I made the decision to not clean the fridge at all, but only clear out the items that had no future.  I also decided not to try to do the fridge and its freezer on the same day.  (We also have a chest freezer, which needs to be defrosted, but it’s not quite so cluttered with useless things as the fridge freezer was – I think.)

If you are a “normal”, energetic, healthy, strong woman (I don’t know many, but there must be some), then you might think this is a bad plan and method and that it would be better to do the whole thing in “one fell swoop” as Gramma would’ve said (only not about the fridge).  If you have a chronic health problem, are often overly busy, have kids, homeschool, have hormones or any number of other things that tend to make women tired and run down, I suspect you will see the point in this plan. :-)  Anyway, it worked for me.

On the Thursday in question I cleared out the fridge, saving the cleaning for later (apparently much later).  Here is what it looked like --

Before:

Note the bag of (smelly) garlic on the top shelf – some of it is now growing in my dad’s garden.
You can just see a gallon size jar of pickles behind the milk and orange juice.  There were two jugs back there actually – one almost full of pickles that had the “lovely” flavor of vinegar, garlic and plastic.  (Not a commonly accepted flavor of pickles, but the result of a company switching from glass to plastic jars.)  There was also a glass gallon jar half full of kimchee.  Now, I like kimchee, but I couldn’t eat this kind because it didn’t agree with my finicky stomach.  My parents and I made the kimchee together, but it ended up in my fridge.  Now it’s at my parents’ house.

After:

Notice how you can actually see the light on the top shelf now.  That is because the multiple layers of stuff have been reduced!  Also, there’s a big, almost empty space on the second shelf.  The parmesan cheese has been moved to an upright position on the bottom shelf.  On the left of the bottom shelf is an unopened 2 lb. package of cheddar that expired in June or July – of last year.  Yeah.  Embarrassment, horror, disgust (at the waste), you name it.  There were white specks all over it which I thought to be mold, but I decided to open it anyway.  To my surprise and relief, it was still fine – NOT rotten!  The specks were the salt coming out apparently.  So we went ahead and ate it. ;-)  (This was some weeks ago and we are still alive, so YES, it really was safe, oh doubters.) :-)

The door doesn’t look a lot improved because I moved some of the odds and ends jars that were crowding the inside to the spaces I opened up in the door.

I actually didn’t take the “after” picture till a couple of days, so there are a few other changes as well, but you get the idea.  I think it’s actually even more empty now, and since I did this job in February, I seem to be keeping it better for at least awhile!  Not that I think a fridge should be empty.  When I have legitimate things to keep I’m fine with it, but the excess of things that were past usefulness was the problem.  Also, having the fridge more empty is handy because I can store leftovers right in the pan I will reheat them in, which saves on dish washing! :-)

To my shame, I have to admit that I totally forgot the drawers till later!  Ack.  I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to “share” them with you anyway. ;-)

Ok, I can’t believe I could write that much about cleaning out the fridge!  Looks like the freezer part should wait till another time.  Too bad, the story about…..well, you’ll have wait and see. ;-)  (We had “wait and see” a lot for dessert when I was a kid.  I so disliked that answer!)

Laying Aside Weights -- But, I didn’t get it done!

See whole series.

(Yes, an old picture of me….and Butterscotch Teddyboo Bear.)

I was grumpy and frustrated today.  I know.  You’ve never been that way, right? ;-)  The thing was this, I’d made a list earlier this week of things that I wanted to work on.  Of all the items on that list, very little got done this week – in my opinion.  I did do some, but woefully little and Saturday is not a good time to realize this.  I also have been “meeting” unfinished projects lately all around the house, and even outside, that have been making me feel overwhelmed and under-accomplished!  Added to all that, I’ve felt like I’ve lost my momentum on decluttering, organizing and getting rid of things.  Argh!  Frustration!

So, I was feeling sorry for myself this evening, when I “happened” to go read a blog post by Nony at A Slob Comes Clean.  She posted a “February Decluttering Update”.  I used the word “happened” in quotes because I don’t believe it was a random, accidental thing.  You see, the Lord used that post to jar my thinking and get me to start focusing on what I DID get done in February instead of on what I didn’t get done lately.

In all honesty, last week was a heavy one for me.  I did a lot – more than what is “normal” for me.  I was exhausted by the end of the week.  As some of you know, I have some limitations that I deal with which sometimes affect my ability to do things.  I’ve been doing a lot better recently (Praise The LORD), but I still need to exercise wisdom in how much I do and commit to.  Avoiding an overwhelmed feeling is important.  So, I had said that I was going to take this week a bit easier.  I just didn’t exactly expect it to be that much “easier”, if you know what I mean.

But, getting back the discouragement and how the Lord changed my perspective – As I began to think about the things I did do in February, the Lord made me realize that I’d actually done quite a lot (especially considering my limitations in the not so distant past!).  Some of it is a bit foggy, as I’m not sure exactly when it was done, but it was recently any rate. :-)  Some of it definitely was not what I expected to do this last month, either.  (What, you never had that happen before?) ;-)

Admittedly not all the things I’ll list here relate to decluttering, but for me tonight the important thing was to lay aside the cluttered thinking that I was a failure and couldn’t get anything done!  (Boy, can that one be discouraging and crippling!)  Yes, we are to remember we are “unprofitable servants”, but I don’t think in the non-spiritual realm that it’s wrong to take stock of things once in a while.  Luke 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Personally I see this more in the category of lifting up the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees (Heb. 12:12, Is. 35:3), because I know that if I was teetering on the edge of despair about accomplishing goals and improving things around here, then there are others out there who were too – even today.  And, I want to remind you, as well as myself, that this can be a real weight that will drag us down from running the race with patience (Heb. 12:1)!  (Ouch.  Ok, let’s not talk about patience right now. Ahem.)

So….a few things that come to mind which I accomplished, by God’s grace, and that He used to encourage me and help me take heart:

- Improved my craft desk by reducing the pile on it. It is in the dining room, so this is important (Read: highly visible to guests)
- Cut out three jumpers with my sister-in-law. (That’s pinafores in British English.)
- Sewed a new cover on an old hot pad.  (Something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile.)  And, finished a new one I’d started months ago.

- Sewed a cute ribbon on one of my kitchen towels. (Another something that’s been waiting awhile.)

- Hung a vinyl tablecloth with the fuzzy side out in the spare room so I now have my own “quilting wall”.  (Yeah!)  Also, cleaned up a little in there.
- Bought a lot of new shirts and discarded old ones. (I developed an annoying rash under my arms and cotton shirts helped it improve – which meant a pretty big wardrobe change.  This was not easy. Finding tops that are mostly or all cotton is harder than I expected, and also I tend to hate change!  I’d had some of those old shirts for years and it was actually kind of stressful to let go of some of them!  At the same time, it felt good to wear some different, new things too.) :-)
- Got my “donate pile” delivered to the thrift store.
- Cleared out the fridge of old and useless things. (More later on that.)
- Survived a whole week without a water heater!  (Very thankful to have family living so close who happily shared their shower!)
- Read Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. (Ok, so this is more recreation than anything, but it was something I’d wanted to do and just never got to it.  It was an easier read than I expected and heaps better than the BBC dramatization of it!)
- Wrote some blog posts and worked on my potential book publishing project (though that last proved a real challenge and more discouraging than encouraging.  I like making web pages and blogging much better than compiling books. Sigh.)

Even today I cut my husband’s hair and (finally) managed to make some good fudge brownies (gooey/chewy with a “crust”) from scratch for the first time.  Neither of these where on my written list.

So, for whatever it’s worth, I feel a lot better about life in general.

All this reminds me of something I have done before to help myself see what I’ve actually done. This is that when I do something that was not on my “To Do List” I add it to the list and then cross it off.  If this sounds crazy, I’d just like to say that I know at least one other person who admitted to me that she does the same thing.  If there are two of us, I know there are more. ;-)  And, after all, it isn’t such a bad idea.  There are so many things that we do in the course of our days that aren’t on our lists – written or mental.  It’s easy to forget them when we focus on what we didn’t get done!  Then we feel discouraged and frustrated, not realizing that it wasn’t as bad as we think it was.  It’s important to try to remember those things when we start feeling like it isn’t worth it to try because “nothing ever gets done” or “goes the way I planned”.   I suspect it would have helped me to have done this lately.

Of course, it could have been better too.  I admit that I wasted time this past week that I could have used more profitably.  That’s a matter for confession to the Lord (1 John 1:9).  But, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was either.  We do make stumbling blocks out of pebbles sometimes, don’t we?

Nevertheless, the greatest thing was the comfort and help it was to me to have the Lord step in as a good Friend should and does, to encourage me and remind me tonight that it’s not all as hopeless and useless as I felt.  (How we feel about it and what the facts tell us are sometimes so very different, and it’s so good to be reminded of that!)  What a humbling blessing to realize that He was aware and conscious of my struggle and wanted to bare it with me!  Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

As the hymn writer, Joseph Scriven so aptly put it so long ago:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer…
[Emphasis added.]

And you know….I also realize another thing.   Sometimes we just need to lay the burdens down.  I’ve been carrying things (goals and expectations) around that were perhaps unrealistic, but certainly too demanding.  I was serving them instead of making them serve me.  Ultimately, it’s about serving the Lord but, in using this world’s things, it’s important to remember not to abuse it, but also not to let it abuse us.  1 Corinthians 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.  In striving to improve our houses and make more order in our physical surroundings, we need to still remember that all this shall pass away. 2 Peter 3:10-11  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness…

Laying Aside Weights - Getting Rid of Brain Clutter, Asking the Right Questions

More in this series.

Luke 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Curiously enough, there is some connection with getting rid of useless objects and getting rid of useless thought patterns and habits. Addressing one seems to help us address the other.

Consider these two pictures of the same room taken from almost the same spot:

Before

After

Doesn’t the second picture make you feel better?  The first picture feels noisy, chaotic, and cluttered!  The second feels peaceful, free (because there’s room to move), and orderly.  This directly affects us mentally and emotionally.

When your environment feels crowded by excess stuff, chaotic, disorderly, it is hard to keep your thoughts orderly, clear and free of excess baggage.  It is easy to be distracted by the non-essentials when your living space is full of non-essentials!  It is easy to get distracted from what you need to do when there are too many unfinished projects around.  It’s probably common to end up doing nothing in order to avoid all the complications in the way.  If you stuff your closets and extra spaces (like the spare room above) with things that either are not needed or belong somewhere else, there’s a good chance you’re doing the same thing with your mind and/or emotions.  It’s an oddity of human nature, yet it makes sense.

When we focus on physical things, which are not the true essence of life, it’s no wonder that our minds and emotions become distracted with abstract things – emotions and thoughts – that don’t count.  Sometimes it works the other way too.  When we have emotional or mental things we don’t want to deal with or face, we can become obsessed with physical things as a way to distract ourselves from what we need to deal with.

I’m reminded of some excellent counsel a friend gave me once when I was dealing with a disappointing situation. She reminded me that the important thing was to “be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). There are many ways that thought could help us if we would just remember it!

So, one aspect of this challenge that I want to work on is not just clearing the physical space in our house, but also clearing the mental and emotional spaces inside of me for the things that really matter.  This means trying not to waste time and effort and thoughts on things that are irrelevant, that don’t relate to my Father’s business and have no point in my own well-being.

Now I have plenty of areas to work on this!  I hope to address some of them here in hopes that it will help others as well.  But, in showing the need to ask the right questions, today I want to deal with the matter of fretting over things that I can’t change or that are not my responsibility. To fret is: “To cause to be uneasy; vex…To gnaw or wear away; erode…To produce a hole or worn spot in; corrode.”

For example, there were three products that I liked that recently changed their formula. (You know, “New and improved” and all that stuff.)  In the first place, I hate making returns.  (Who actually likes that, right?)  But, I also was thinking about what I “ought” to write to the manufacturers to let them know that I don’t appreciate the changes and wish they hadn’t done it.  But, “ought” I to actually spend time doing that?  For me, I tend to spend much time thinking about what I “should” write and little time actually doing it.  In fact, usually I never even  “get around to” the writing part!

Asking a few pertinent questions could help resolve this.  The following list is not an “apply-in-every-situation” type list. They are just some questions that I thought of in relation to this situation, though I think they would be helpful in some other areas as well.

1. What does this have to do with my service of the Lord?  Is it profitable to the life to come (1 Tim. 4:8)?  Answer: Nothing. No.

2. Is this ___________ essential to my well being?  Does it help me maintain a workable comfort level?  In one case at hand I can say “No”, and that I’m probably better off without it.  The other two products do effect my health but, as it turns out, one product did not prove to be a problem, and in all three cases the change the companies made has prompted me to find other solutions that may in the long run prove to be better, healthier and/or cheaper!  (Rom. 8:28)

3. Is it a good use of time, energy and/or emotions?  Not as far as emotions are concerned, and probably not for time and energy.  After all, even if I did write, what is the likelihood that the companies would listen? Not a whole lot. Not enough to make it worth my time.  (Yes, I know that letting companies know what you think helps them make better choices, but remember I seldom, if ever, follow through; and since I have more important things to spend my time, emotions, and energy on, it really is not worth it!)

Conclusion:  It isn’t worth the bother; lay it down!

If the answer proved to be yes in any case, then the next obvious question would be:

What should I do about it?  And, obviously then I should do that as soon as possible in order to lay the thing aside and move on.

Since I tend to “fret myself” about a lot of things, it would save me time and trouble if I asked these questions whenever I realize I’m picking up that weight.  Too often I end up “stewing” as my Gramma would have called it.  If you “stew” long enough you will disintegrate and go to pieces, and that is not a good thing.  :-)  Maybe a better analogy, in keeping with our discussion, would be to say that I keep myself from moving on quickly as I drag around this weight.

So, one weight I need to work on is laying aside these episodes of “stewing”.  That’s easier said than done, believe me!  After I first wrote this post I discovered that my favorite unscented lotion had been changed to include a fragrance which I cannot tolerate.  It was very annoying, and I started down that route of “what I should write” again before I convinced myself to stop.  Yet, knowing the fact that I seldom ever follow through and write to a company, what use is it to “stew” over it?  None really.  It just ruins my day or afternoon or morning or, even worse, my night.  Why not just let it go and look for a better solution, especially since that seemed to work out with the other cases?

What about you? Do these questions ring a bell with you too?  Do you have another list of questions you should ask yourself?  Maybe your fretting is in another area and you need a different set of questions.  Part of the challenge of laying aside weights is learning to ask the right questions, and remembering to do so at the right time!  So, today’s challenge is to compose a short list of questions that will help you throw off some of the emotional and mental clutter in your life, particularly “stewing” over things, or fretting.  Try to make the list short and to the point.  Be honest with yourself.  It would probably be helpful to print or write out the questions and put them where they will be a good reminder to you. :-)

Philippians 3:13-14  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Laying Aside Weights - So, Where to Begin?

More posts in this Challenge.

Hebrews 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

So, how do you actually knuckle down and really get started with laying aside the physical weights that are besetting you?  In the first place, it would be good to select an area of specific need if you haven’t yet, and since my most pressing need at the moment is to get rid of clutter and unfinished projects, that’s where I have started.  I suspect that most of you can use this too since there are many of us that are so “fabulously wealthy” that we have to fill the garage (ouch) or spare room, or a storage unit or backyard shed with our excess stuff.

The first thing that probably started me down the road of reconsidering  possessions and clutter was a little book my dad loaned me called Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James.  While I don’t agree with everything she had to say (she is not a Christian writer), I found some things in her book that were challenging and helpful.  However, I really didn’t implement a lot of it.

The next thing that gave me pause to consider was last spring (2011) when we evacuated our house and headed south when a powerful storm was going to brush us from the north.  The feeling of leaving almost everything you own (I took a few things in a couple bags) not knowing if anything will be there when you get back is weird to say the least. (Note: We live in Central Texas – this is tornado country!  Praise the Lord we didn’t even have hail damage here from that storm!)

Then in September that year the wildfires started.  With high winds at the beginning of the month and extremely high fire risk due to prolonged drought, things were pretty scary for awhile!  We gathered up our “to go” pile in a few boxes and bags, and put several day’s worth of clothing and essentials in a back pack.  We were living with the constant possibility of evacuation because fires were popping up all over Texas and spreading, sometimes rapidly.  Some were positively huge. 

It’s a strange feeling to go through your house and pick out the few things that you’d really like to keep and can load quickly into the car in case you have to leave suddenly because of a wildfire.  It made me stop and think about some of the things that I own.  Really, if I never use them, what is the point?  Why are they cluttering my life?  And, what is important here?

Matthew 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

I didn’t think of this verse at the time, but I think it fits in a way.  Life is about so much more than stuff, even though things can bring us some temporary pleasure.  We also read in Luke 12:15,  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

In my first post I also mentioned the inspiration I’d had from other sources, particularly some of the things that have been helping me more recently.  I’d like to pass on a few more ideas that might help you get started and make some headway if you haven’t already.

Again, please remember that I put a disclaimer on my sources.  Please use discernment with these things.

The first one I want to mention is the “fast 21 thing purge” which I saw on a lady’s vlog. Simply grab a bag or box and head through the house.  The goal is to quickly search and find 21 things around the house that you don’t use and either put them in the bag/box to donate, or throw them away.  Because you are going fast and only picking out 21 items it won’t take too long, unless you let yourself get bogged down with the decision making process. This I am all too familiar with.  The important thing is to keep moving, make the decision and then stick to it.  Get the things out to the car or buried in the trash as soon as you can.  (I haven’t yet used this method since I’ve been working on a slightly different type of purging challenge which I hope to explain later.)

I probably should mention the respect of personal property here. I feel pretty strongly that it isn’t wise or helpful to carelessly throw out other people’s stuff – especially things they are going to miss.  One friend’s sister-in-law decided to sort through her sister’s basement and threw out most or all of her brother-in-law’s school mementoes. Naturally, he was quite provoked! My great-grandparents moved often and they threw away all Grandma’s toys except one doll every time. This seemed to affect my grandmother in later years.  She was very attached to things and even showed some hoarder tendencies. So, try to be wise about this, even with your kids. Include them in the decision making process when possible. (Teaching them decluttering skills now can have lasting benefits!)  I know from personal experience that it can be hard in some situations, but it is good for your relationships to your family to respect their property.  Then if you do need to reduce things without their presence for some reason, they will know that you won’t be unkind about it.

The next quick method of getting rid of things is to “go shelf by shelf”.  Sometimes it is just too hard to think about doing a whole job at once, but if you do a little here and a little there you can make it.  Just go shelf by shelf as you have a few minutes.  Clean, declutter and organize just that one small section at a time.

For example, today I wanted to clear out the fridge of things that were old, tired or not getting used.  I knew that trying to clean the fridge itself at the same time would be overwhelming for me, so I stuck to the first job of just clearing out the junk.  This worked well, and my fridge looks a lot better even if it isn’t clean – yet! :-)  So try going “shelf by shelf” when you have a few minutes – talking on the phone, waiting for something to cook, waiting for someone, etc.  Even baby steps are steps!

Another great suggestion from the same lady is to “suffer for 15 minutes”.  The basic idea in this is that you can chip down an iceberg 15 minutes at a time. :-)  You can’t do it all at once, but if you do it for 15 minutes a day you can eventually get it done!  Her description of being overwhelmed by the enormity of a project fits me to a “T”.  I am one of those don’t-start-because-it’s-too-much-to-do people.  I also tend to be one that starts a project then pushes it aside if it’s taking more effort than I thought or if I run into a snag.  But, this “suffering for 15 minutes” is a good idea and I want to give it a try.  By limiting the “suffering” to that time frame I think even I could make some progress!

And speaking of those unfinished projects lurking around making me feel guilty and unaccomplished…. 

Here is one last good suggestion that I need to seriously put into practice: Abandon an unnecessary project.  Ok, I know that’s not what she titled it, but the fact is that some of our projects that never get done really aren’t “fun” projects.  We may have thought at some point that it would save us money or be useful or that it would be fun but, we found out that either we wouldn’t get it done, or it wasn’t fun after all.

Though I hadn’t heard this suggestion till today, I’m tickled that I’ve already been working on this. I have recently discarded three “fun” projects that were cluttering my life.  There was a scrapbooking blank calendar that was made unnecessary since I discovered it is easier to create my calendars online.  I also decided to discard my paper raffia which I had used to make baskets.  I don’t think I’ll ever do that again, so it might as well go.  These craft items will be offered to friends, and if they don’t want them, they’ll go in the donate pile!  Yes!

I also sorted through the stuff I collected for scrapbooking.  At one time I thought I would be a scrapbooker, but as it turns out I am a card maker. So, why fight it? :-) I might put together some photo album type books, but probably never any involved scrapbooks with journaling, mementoes, and lots of ornamentation.  It’s time to let it go.  So, some of the items were delegated to card making, some selected as worth keeping, and a number of things, which will go unmentioned in case any of my family reads this, were discarded. <grin> Some things will be sent to the appropriate family members and they can decide what to do with them.  Out of my space. :-)  Whew!  That feels good, actually!

So, were you inspired to put any of these ideas to use, and if so which ones?  Maybe you came up with your own method for working down the pile.  Want to tell us about it?  Leave a comment! :-)

Laying Aside Weights - A New Challenge for A New Year

[This is a series.  Please see index at the bottom of this article.]

Do you ever feel like the lady in this picture?  Loaded down with too much to carry?  This can happen to us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  In Hebrews 12:1 we read,  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

For a long time I thought this verse was talking about laying aside the weight of sin that so easily besets us.  Maybe I heard it misquoted, I don’t know.  Then one day the Lord helped me to stop and read the actual words.  It says, …every weight (comma) AND the sin which doth so easily beset us…  Hmmm.  That really says a lot more than just laying aside sin!  Do you realize there are a lot of weights that we can carry around that are not necessarily sin yet they weigh us down and keep us from serving the Lord as we otherwise might?  Our houses, minds and lives are often cluttered with everything from family heirlooms, toys and piles of books, to thought patterns, traditions of man, emotional baggage, and even people (!) who are hindering us from pressing …toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

You may remember that last year I challenged us all to give gifts from the things we already had as much as possible.  I did so-so at that myself.  But, I started something that seems like it is improving, and I’m hopeful that I’ll do even better this year on that. :-)

This winter, however, I’ve been looking at blogs, watching videos on Youtube, and now reading a book that have inspired me to not only stop buying so much stuff, but also to get serious about getting rid of stuff I already have (or to actually use it).  OK, I had already been inspired to do this, but I’ve actually been really working on it lately. :-)  I hope to continue!

I also want to lay aside some of the fruitless mental ideas and thought patterns that are hindering me from getting things done that I’d like to get done.  (Oops!  Some of those include unrealistic expectations of what I “should” get done!)  I’m hoping to eliminate some of the mental clutter that is keeping me stagnant and underproductive.

As I go along, I want to share this adventure with you, and I hope that you will be challenged to participate! :-)  I have already been reminded of how liberating it feels to lay aside weights.  Imagine how great the lady in the above illustration felt when she put down that load.  That feeling can be ours too as we lay aside the weights!  The feeling of  knowing there is less stuff around to bother with, to organize, or to sort through can be almost intoxicating.  It can give you light feeling, like you could “run and not be weary and walk and not faint” for a change! :-)  Yes, I know that is a spiritual promise for those who wait on the LORD, but in pressing towards the mark we need to run the race with patience, and it’s hard to run anywhere with a load of stuff – mental, physical, emotional – hanging on you!  Let’s make an effort to put it down!

(Please note that I’m not suggesting a “resolution”.  As I’ve probably said before, I’m not that interested in making promises or swearing to things that we might not be able to accomplish.  Ecclesiastes 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.  But, I think it is good to purpose in our hearts to do good, and this is certainly a good thing.)

To start with, I’ll list some places where I was inspired (not in any order).  I probably should divide them into multiple posts, and maybe I will for some, but I want to get this thing off the ground, so, I’ll just give you several here. Please note that most of these people are not Christians as far as I know and I cannot recommend everything they may say, write or do!  Some of their ideas are more “the rudiments of the world,” but where there’s good sense, that can be useful to us in our goal of laying aside weights so that we can run the race for God.

First of all is the blog of Nony at A Slob Comes Clean.  This lady is refreshingly honest and humorous, which makes it actually seem enjoyable to clean up, declutter (sometimes the same place twice), and “deslobify”. ;-)   One significant thing I learned was that there are a lot of things sitting around our house that have faded into the background and I don’t even see them any more!  But!  I know guests do!  Ouch. :-P

The next one that has really helped me with what might be called a mental weight is The One Minute Rule.  This is super simple, but what a difference it makes.  Basically it is, “If you can do it in one minute or less, do it now!”  For a procrastinator and/or “I-have-something-else-to-do” type person (me), this is a very helpful habit to develop.  I’ve been surprised how many little things are getting done sooner, rather than later and thus reducing accumulation and last minute rush. And, the great thing is that as you do this, you begin to think, “That won’t take long, I’ll do it now,” even if it’s longer than a minute!  [On this one my sister-in-law said for her it should be, “If you can do it in five minutes of less, do it now.”  This works well for the slightly longer chores that too often get pushed aside.]

This may sound crazy, but one thing that helped me want to get rid of stuff was this lady’s talk on “Don’t Get Organized!”  Yeah, that doesn’t sound right, but point is – get rid of stuff instead of organizing. Organizing can become a crutch to help you keep things you don’t need. :-)  (Ouch, again!)

I’m going to stop here for now.  Let me know what you think.  How are you challenged to lay aside weights this year?  I will try to keep making posts on this throughout this year, but since making hard fast deadlines is usually counterproductive for me, I’m not promising when.  (Besides, I’m having too much fun going through our stuff and “deleting” things.)  ;-)

Laying Aside Weights – So, Where to Being?

Laying Aside Weights - Getting Rid of Brain Clutter, Asking the Right Questions

Laying Aside Weights – But, I didn’t get it done!

Laying Aside Weights – Get Rid of Fifty Things Challenge

Laying Aside Weights – The Heaviest Cross – A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Laying Aside Weights – Perfectionism

Laying Aside Weights – It’s not Your Weight

Laying Aside Weights – Simplify the Cooking

Laying Aside Weights – To Everything A Time, Part 1: Chronophobia

Laying Aside Weights – To Everything A Time, Part 2: The (not so) Good Old Days

Laying Aside Weights – Suffering for 15 Minutes Demo

Laying Aside Weights – Counting: Every Blessed Thing

Laying Aside Weights – Counting: Works unto the Lord

Laying Aside Weights – The People Problem

Laying Aside Weights – Good-bye to Chicken Little

Laying Aside Weights – Dream Homes and the Beautiful Life