12/7/2023 0 Comments Unclutter lifeIf you’re on the fence, use a Maybe Box (put things that you think you might need in a box, mark it with today’s date, put a reminder on your calendar 6 months from now to check on the Maybe Box.Email friends/family to ask if they want things - often you can find a good home for perfectly good things you don’t really use (that workout equipment). Put your box of donation/recycling/giving away in your trunk, to get rid of next time you’re out.Once you’ve gotten the ball rolling, here’s how to keep going: If you want to do more than 10 minutes, go ahead, but be careful not to overdo it in the beginning or you’ll think it’s difficult and not want to continue.Stop after 10 minutes, continue tomorrow for another 10 minutes, and so on, one small spot in your home at a time.This is their “home” and you should always put them back there. Put things back that you need/use/love, with space between things.Ask yourself: do you really need this? Do you use it regularly? Do you love it? If the answer to any of these is no, then recycle, donate, or give it to someone who might want it.Put everything into one pile, and start with the first thing you pick up (no putting things back in the pile).Take just 10 minutes today to sort though a pile, or declutter a shelf or table or countertop.How do you get started? As simply as possible: I’d like to help you with some of those here, briefly, in hopes that you’ll be inspired to start decluttering. That said, I found complications that made things harder at every turn. The answer became clear, as I got started: start simply. The question became, how to go about it? How do you start when you’re facing a mountain of clutter, and another mountain of commitments, and piles of files and mail and email and other digital information? When I started to change my habits, from smoking to running to being more mindful, simplifying my life was near the top of the list. ![]() I was in need of some decluttering, and I knew it. I had too much to do, and didn’t know how to simplify my schedule. I had too much stuff, and it kept coming in all the time. God’s kingdom.There was a time, about 8 years ago, when my life was cluttered. It’s how we prioritize those things that matters. “All these things will be given to you…” as this verse reminds us. God understands that we need to eat, need clothing to wear, need a roof over our heads. Not having.ĥ) But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. It’s not how big the gift is but how much it takes from us and how joyfully it’s shared. And it’s well worth considering the widow’s mite. Generosity, that’s the real measure of a life. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ![]() A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. Have ‘em.”Ĥ) Give, and it will be given to you. It’s a chance to balance my account with God: “You know what to do with these financial worries, Lord. Quite frankly, I’m glad to think about money during prayer time. I’ll be thinking of God and all of the sudden-how swiftly the mind moves-I’ll be balancing the checkbook in my head and wondering about when a deposit will appear. When I sit in prayer every morning, I’m surprised how often my thoughts turn to money. ![]() Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Do I even know what’s there? Is it knowledge I prize or the image they convey that matters?ģ) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. But take a look at all the books gathering dust on my shelves, some I have never even read but I promise to…someday. I tell myself that I’m not into acquiring lots of things. Possessions aren’t.Ģ) Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15) But as this verse reminds us, the love is the heavenly part. That baseball glove that the boys used playing catch, an old frisbee, a salad bowl that belonged to Mom, Dad’s old Bible. It’s hard not to feel a sentimental attachment to things. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. It got me looking at the Bible for what it says about our attachment to things.ġ) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “It’s not possessing something that is harmful, but being attached to it,” wrote one of the Desert Fathers, a monk, a hermit, someone who would know.
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