“Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Doesn’t it feel like life is moving at lightening speed? There is so much to do and so little time to do everything. In a world full of noise, where can we find the quiet? Let’s talk about a practical way to bring some peace to our home and life – REMOVING CLUTTER.  Every year I strive to become more organized. I’ve bought the bins and organizing tools to get all of our “stuff” in order. Each year I find myself taking up the challenge again – never quite accomplishing the task. I see that this strategy isn’t working for me. It never occurred to me that I have too much stuff.

My son in 9 months old and like most babies he drinks a bottle. When it was time to replace his bottles, I decided to buy a 2 pack instead of a 4 pack. I had 8 bottles at home and I was tired of the clutter. When I got home I threw all of the old bottles away and replaced them with the 2 new bottles. Who would’ve thought that this small action would have such a large impact on my mood? Don’t get me wrong – I still make and wash the same amount but when I walk into the kitchen I do not see clutter. I do not see a stack of bottles drying or worse that need to be washed.

As it happened my husband came across an interesting documentary on Netflix called “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things”. It is about 1 hour. I watched it and thought OMG these people are pretty extreme but it helped me see that it was time for me to simplify our home and life – not to the extreme of these dedicated minimalist but there is something so simple and beautiful about their way of life.

This motivated me to start a new project and issue myself a challenge; I am calling it “PROJECT PURGE”. Maybe, you also want some peace in your home but you don’t know where to start. May I suggest that it is time to declutter?   It is time to simplify and make some room in your home and heart for more of what God has for your life. Can removing clutter help me accomplish this? Can removing clutter really have that big of an impact?

The apostle Paul lived a life of abundance and a life of scarcity. His words still ring true today. He wrote:

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and³ we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

1 Timothy 6:6-8         

It is time to see that our happiness and our value are not in the possessions we own, but in our identity in Christ. Let us be content in who we are and not what we have.

This week I started going through our stuff. It is a slow process, but I’ve started. Let us take some time this month to donate (or sell) out of our abundance – not to make room for more things – but instead to make space for more peace.

Will you take this challenge with me?   I encourage you to post your purge and encourage others to do the same.

 

Let us strive to have a home filled with peace, laughter and lots of love – not lots of stuff. I am also, removing from clutter from my inbox. I am unsubscribing to emails that do not edify my spirit or add value to my life. Most emails these days scream of sales and tell me what I need to buy.   I am removing this noise, the noise of things and the noise of discontent and replacing it with the still voice of God. Let us together, decrease our stuff, decrease our shopping and increase our saving accounts.

Next week I want to share a little about declutter our heart and mind to make room for peace in our hearts. I hope you will join me again.

-Misty

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Here are some helpful tips on how to declutter:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-things-start-with-you-want-remove-clutter-from-your-life.html

http://recoveringshopaholic.com/the-keep-or-purge-question/

http://bemorewithless.com/project-333/

 

Here are some suggestions on what to do once you’ve decluttered you space:

Selling Items: You can sell your goods with just a couple of clicks on apps like “Close5” or “Let Go”. You can post on sites like Craigslist or you can always have a yard sale.

Donating Items: Drop off a box at your local Salvation Army, Good Will or many churches take donations.

Amazon Prime Members: Did you know that you can fill your Amazon boxes with donated items and ship them for free to Goodwill? Here is the link with instructions: https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/xde6cauvpfp66o2

 

Goodwill:

Donation Guidelines

Schedule a Pickup

Salvation Army:

Donation Guidelines

Schedule a Pickup