I'm currently on a mission to de-clutter. It's not proving easy as I am a hoarder; and not just a regular hoarder, oh no - I'm a shamelessly professional hoarder! I hate to chuck things away in case I need it ... you know, 27 years in the future. One never knows when one might need a book on embroidery (even when you Can't Sew Won't Sew) or a bottle opener that I made in woodwork when I was 13 years old - even though it's a bit rubbish at opening bottles! See - professional level hoarding going on here.
However, saying that, I have de-cluttered quite a bit - kitchen, wardrobe, handbags! Oh yes, 7 handbags gone. Ladies - are you proud of me??! Not only that, I'm storing my stuff better. Finding ingenious ways to keep it together and tidy so it doesn't spill out of its "home" to something else's home. My new motto is If it's not essential, or it doesn't make us happy, then it has to GO!
It's so easy to accumulate clutter. The kids have toys spilling out of nooks and crannies, many of which they barely touch, and I'm finding that they too are mini hoarders, not wanting any of their toys to be given away. I suppose with children, it's different as they have little control over many areas of their lives so they can feel possessive over their possessions. I know without doubt that lots of toys do not make a child happy. In fact, in our experience, the more complicated a toy is, the quicker it is discarded in a corner, and the quicker they grow bored of it.
My daughter once occupied herself for a whole 6 hour car journey with a clothes peg. I kid you not. A clothes peg! 6 hours! Ergo if they can keep themselves amused with such a simple item, then there's no real need for all the expensive toys littered around the house. They have the most fun when they're using their imagination, running around the park, or cosied up in a home made den in the corner of the lounge. Simplicity rules. We have much to learn from our children!
Life's pretty much the same as the toy cupboard. We fill our lives with "stuff" whether that be actual personal possessions, activities, expectations of ourselves....all of which are ok in and of themselves, but we have no space to just "be". No matter how many gadgets we buy to make life easier and to save time, there just seems to be a lack of time. Washing machines, dishwashers, microwaves to name a few items, all designed to save time and energy yet how many of us complain that we have little space in life to just be: to just sit and do nothing and let our imagination run free. I can honestly say, I'm never bored. I may be bored of something...like doing the dishes, or ironing clothes....but I'm never just bored with nothing to do. My time is always spoken for, and it's all too often the stuff I don't want to be doing.
So what do we need to do? We need some being space, i.e. space to just be. Space to do whatever it is we like. Or space to not do.....not to do anything, other than sit and daydream for a while if we so wish.
Just to clarify, I'm not trying to be a minimalist, and live in a white room with one floor cushion for all of us to sit on, and one spoon in the cutlery drawer for us all to share! Goodness, no. It's more about getting rid of the unnecessary, living simpler, and being more grateful for the things we have.
However, true de-cluttering and simplifiying extends much further than just thinning out the wardrobe, the toy cupboard and making our homes a little less cluttered. It extends to making some breathing space in our heads, and in our daily calendars for ourselves, for the people we love; space to show up and be present without one eye on the clock or the 'to-do' list. I started with the idea that I need to be de-cluttering my home and making it easier to keep on top of the cleaning and tidying up, but actually, a large portion of what devours my time are the things that cram up my head - the ideals and the high expectations I put on myself, the unnecessary worries and cares that I carry around with me (instead of casting them onto the Lord), the not being able to say "no" to all those things that full up my diary each week when I know some of them aren't necessary and will add to the stress of the week.
Keeping it simple involves a whole new mind set: being more intentional with my time, being more present in the moment, living in the moment rather than always looking ahead to tomorrow and next week. When we are living in tomorrow we can't be present in the today, and it robs today of its simple joys and wonders. Jesus said that tomorrow will have it's own worries and stresses, - Matthew 6 talks about seeking God's kingdom first, and that there's no point worrying about what to eat or wear, or stressing about our tomorrows. Verse 34 so frankly states: So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own
And heck does each day have enough troubles of its own! Everyday we will encounter something that seeks to rob us of our joy or our time or our focus whether it be a catastrophe or the simple mundane chores of life such as a huge pile of laundry and a sink full of dirty dishes. In reality these things rob us of but a short time each day. But if we're worried about tomorrow and we're constantly focused on what's next, we will lose the joy of the present moment and we develop a habit then of always being preoccupied or mentally absent, even when we're physically present. Obviously, there is a need to plan ahead, but we should be living in today and not spending all our todays thinking about our tomorrows.
The problem with making our lives so full of stuff - whether that be physical stuff in our homes that we don't really need, or whether that be the unseen stuff - the worries, cares, anxieties, over-full calendars, the ridiculous expectations we put on ourselves, hurts from the past that we have never dealt with.....whatever it may be....all this stuff takes our focus and dependence off the Lord and onto ourselves. Instead of just trusting daily in Him to be our provider and our source, we take it upon ourselves to fulfil God's role for Him. He asks us to trust in Him, to cast our cares on Him, to let Him direct our steps, to be our Provider and be our daily bread. But we keep trying to do it all ourselves. We fill our lives with "stuff" and our head with worries and stresses, when in reality the only true fulfilment and contentment is found in Him; no possession or treasure, no passtime, not even any other person can give us the inner love and peace that He provides. His love is better than gold, even better than wine! (Song of Songs 1v 2)
Keeping it simple truly requires a shift in attitude to being more present with the people around us and with God, making time for Him daily. We're not called as Christians to say hello to God on a Sunday and ignore him the rest of the week. Christianity is a living relationship, not a dead religion. If you're going to church on Sunday and not engaging with Him every day, then I urge you to step out of religion and into relationship. It really will transform your life. He wants to be in communication with us every day and that takes some work on our part to be present with Him in our daily lives. It's a good step in the right direction to start with making time daily for Him then the other things follow suit.
We also need to be more grateful for what we have, rather than focused on what we don't have. When we take our eyes off what we don't have and we are thankful for what we do have, even if what we have is very little, it becomes more beautiful, more useful and starts to become a blessing in our lives. We are then free to receive more because our hearts are in the right place to accept the blessings God gives us, and use them wisely. We won't let our possessions rule us or possess us, and they won't rob us of our time, energy and joy. When we're living in an attitude of gratitude, living in the today in the joy of communion with God, we are free to say yes to the things we should be doing, and want to be doing, and enjoying life in abundance.
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