Decluttering

We moved into our house on my birthday, twenty years ago.
My youngest daughter celebrated  her first birthday in this house.
Less than a week after we moved in, we traveled to Atlanta.
We were going to the 1996 Olympics.

In the days after we moved in, some of our neighbors came to say hello.
The neighbors that lived right next door had the same last name as ours.
I remember the day they walked into our house.
The husband gave me the nicest compliment I ever received.

He walked into the living room, that had our piano and more books than you can count.
He walked around the entire downstairs.
Your house makes me want to sit in a chair, under a blanket, and read a good book.
Too many houses look like there should be museum ropes so that you don’t touch anything.

His comment made me laugh.
Then, I realized that he was being totally serious and I thanked him for his kind words.
I have never forgotten what he said to me that day.
I hope that through the years others have felt exactly the same way in our home.

When you have lots of children you cannot have museum ropes.
There is a lot of pine furniture in our house.
If there was a nick or scrape on any piece of furniture, there was always a brown marker.
I just filled in the scrape with the brown marker and wiped off the excess.

There cannot be museum ropes in a home nor should there be.
A house should look like people live there.
That is what sets a house apart from a home.
Homes are for living in and making lots of memories.

I learned how to keep a clean house from my mother.
After my mother died, the mother of my best friend taught me so much.
I watched her.
I learned from her as well.

Young moms who come to my house see it now with all of my children grown.
One young mom actually asked me how I took care of my house when they were young.
I decluttered, I told her.
It made me think back to those years.

I was taught to never have dishes in the sink.
We did not have a dishwasher back then, so dishes were washed and dried by hand.
However, even after dishwashers were commonplace, I never had dishes in the sink.
It was so much easier to put them right in the dishwasher and keep the counters clean.

I thought of all the wicker laundry baskets I had in the family room.
A basket for books, a basket for baby toys, and a basket for small action figures.
Clean up was easy because everything went back into the baskets.
If you declutter, you feel as if you are on top of things.

I wanted our house to be lived in, so toys were on the floor during the day.
When it was bedtime, clean up was expected.
Everyone chipped in, which made the job much easier to do.
Decluttering helps you feel productive.

I thought about that after I had some young children over with their mom.
They had so much fun playing with our toys.
The family room looked like it used to look when my children were young.
Cleanup was easy because everything has a place.

When clutter is out of sight, I always feel as if I accomplished something.
Yes the baskets were filled with books and toys, but they were not underfoot.
Yes, the dishwasher had to be run after dinner, but the dishes were not laying in the sink.
Decluttering was a good feeling.

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
(Psalm 18:19)

Spaciousness.
Room enough to see clearly.
Less distractions so that we can be still.
Stillness so we know that He is God.

It is important to declutter our homes, especially with young children.
However, even more important, is the need to declutter our lives.
We need to take stock from time to time.
We need to remove those things that are unnecessary and actually hinder our growth.

Declutter our possessions; rid out and donate to those who can use what we have.
Declutter our calendar; remove things that do not need our attention.
Declutter our minds; spend time being quiet so we can hear as He whispers to us.
Declutter our hearts; make sure our priorities are in order.

Decluttering is actually satisfying.
Decluttering opens up space.
Decluttering allows us to see what is really important.
Decluttering enables us to put first things first.

If we declutter, only to fill up our homes and our calendars again, we have learned nothing.
Decluttering is a life cleanse.
We rid ourselves of toxic things that are stifling our spiritual growth.
Decluttering is simplifying.

Allow God to bring you to a spacious place.
Ask Him to show you what decluttering needs to be done.
Be willing to remove those things that are simply taking up space.
Nothing needs to be added; spaciousness is a Godsend.

God will help you and I declutter because He delights in us.
We do not want so many things in the way that we have trouble seeing Him.
An old Shaker saying says it all: Hands to work, hearts to God.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy.