Chaos to order, more or less

What motivates you to clean up? I'm sorting through things. Again. It's 2am in a busy week of coach training but I can't sleep so here I am. Madness? Maybe. Hopefully temporary.

"I wish I could move in here!" That's the comment our guest keep repeating. "It's calm and uncluttered, not like my place." That calm comes at a high cost.

One rule of science drilled into our heads in high school said that everything descends from order to increasing chaos, or "everything is running down," not evolving into something better.

Most of us periodically fight the descent into disorder. We have surges of organizing, bouts of housekeeping, and indulge in spring cleaning. Some people naturally run toward order. Their floors are always vacuumed, their cabinet shelves immaculate behind closed doors, and their cars washed.

Since May, I've sorted, sold, and given away life-as-we-knew-it. Every time I get a little breathing space, I get another dump of stuff to sort. In the wee hours of this morning, I'm going through sewing things = a serger manual going back upstairs for the serger the kids said they wanted; the manual and bobbins for the beloved Bernina sewing machine claimed by our daughter; and a huge bag of donations for curbside pickup this morning.

What an ongoing chore for me as well as for my daughter-in-law, who's expecting a baby imminently and excavating her own boxes upstairs. Just when I think things are claimed (or slated to give away), we start another round with the same stuff. "Didn't you say you wanted this?" Oh yes we do. Oh no we don't. It's frustrating and exhausting for both of us.

I throw china, crystal, pictures, and books into bags and send them to the curb. Just don't care anymore. Don't want to touch them for the third time. Don't want to think about them. Don't care if they smash. Don't care if they get tossed.

With each donation pickup, my piles get fewer and thinner. W hasn't started on his stuff in the attic, garage or his office. I don't have to deal with that. I'm almost done with my end.

We crave order for many reasons. Are you an occasional or perpetual order-maker? Which of these match your motivation?

1. That's the way it works best: we have limited space and time and order makes everything run more smoothly (my mom's motivation. She gets satisfaction from keeping a clean house.)
2. Seasons and holidays: guests are coming so we put our best foot forward. We clean and decorate, viewing the rooms with fresh eyes.
3. Exhaustion: we're tired of dusting and moving too many things so we declutter with garage sales and donation runs.
4. Reinvention: we're ready for something new. We're spurred on by our New Year's resolutions or a shift in thinking. Our flurry of cleaning reflects our good intentions.
5. Boredom: we are tired of the old, refreshing our spaces with new decor.
6. Fashion: we pick up a decor magazine and realize that our 80s broadloom carpet and tufted sofas have seen better days. It's time for hardwood and clean lines.
7. Relocation: moving to a different community or space.
8. Life change: the new season of work or life doesn't fit the old life. Going back to school and need space on our desk for textbooks and a laptop? The kids have moved out and we can set up an office or workshop? They moved back in and we have to give up space?
9. Other - why do you create (or crave) order?

Dissassembly

30" snowflake lights
frame the 12' tree

It's not Christmas yet - except in those wholesale stores. In the sorting process, I pulled out some pictures of last Christmas, thinking how different things will be this year.

Last autumn was slow and quiet for me. Though I hadn't decorated our tree for a few years, I felt like doing it again. I pulled out all the boxes of ornaments: 35 years worth. A Freecycler took a half-dozen boxes off my hands, but the tree was still full. We hung huge IKEA snowflake lights on either side of the tree, moved the furnishings around to accommodate our guests, and celebrated with friends and family.

I snapped a few pictures, cooked a lot of food, and felt content when the season ended. I didn't seem to be in the same rush as other years, when I'd take down the tree the day after Christmas. It stood through the New Year. We left the MAKROS lights up: they turned to giant dandelions, decorating the ceiling in patterns of light and shadow as winter gave way to spring.

BEFORE: memories of last
Christmas

Every day in January, I gave away bags and boxes of excess things: clothing, china, ornaments, food. I was surprised how easy it was to let go of things I'd enjoyed for years. I don't remember missing anything after it was gone.

It's great fun to assemble a home. It's fun to declutter at a willing pace. It's harder to take it apart.

Yesterday, W - who hates heights - climbed up to take the IKEA pendants from the 17' LR ceiling and put back plain bulbs. A youth pastor from Gig Harbor happily took the lights off our hands. We sold the tree last month: our kids prefer their little one. Anyone want our remaining garlands and ornaments?

AFTER: W inserts a bulb
while T takes apart the last lamp

"Please bring home lots of paper boxes," I ask W. The laundry room has to be taken apart upstairs. The kids' cleaning supplies are crammed into the powder room. I can't sort things until I know how much storage we'll have, but there's no sense in heaping more into hallways and the LR!

As we vacate spaces, the kids are filling them with their own furniture, boxes, and K's toys. I admire my daughter-in-law's courage in sharing the household. We're eagerly waiting for the guys to finish out our new space: they work on it in the evenings and on weekends.

Our granddaughter thinks she's in Playland and is the most cheerful playmate. "Oma! Oma! Hi Oma!" she calls as she comes to find me.

The slow and quiet autumn of last year? It's a treasured memory as life unravels to usher in a new season.

Read more:
*Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand. Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

*Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Psalm 95:6-7 NEV

*Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught Peter, saying to him, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:31 NEV

Moravian Prayer: Gracious King, though we are fallen creatures, we thank you that you delight in our success and obedience, and willingly and generously catch us when we fall. Bless our lives as we seek to serve you in new ways and with great thanksgiving. Amen.

Life sorting

Seems like there's always stuff to sort around here! I just got through a major organization effort at the beginning of the year. Now my office and desk look like the Tasmanian Devil from the comic strips whirled through. My online calendars are unreliable: I found an afternoon appointment for today, entered on my phone calendar, that didn't synch to my computer. Who knows what else I missed?

I'm scanning years of university notes, so there are full and half-full boxes of scanned pages. "Keep them until you know if it stored correctly on your computer," warns my husband. So boxes of random notes, in and out of page order, have begun to pile up near the scanner.

For someone whose mind ranges as far and wide as mine, physical order is a must. I tend to pile printouts of interesting ideas. "I'll get to those later today," or "I can read that by week's end," I tell myself. That often is true... but when it's not, the stacks mount into chaotic read-me obligations. Those piles drive me crazy.

Today is a sorting day. Between three appointments (one at home, thank God!), I have to tackle the books, magazines, and papers in this one room. Besides, I need one of the papers for a morning appointment.

Sorting. Sorting. As fast as I can.

No matter how wonderful life it, troubles come. Schedules get interrupted. We get sidetracked by unforseen appointments or information. Perhaps people we know need more attention than we'd planned to give them.

I'm so glad God can keep track of time, people, and everything in this world. He never loses an opportunity to renew and restore, whether it's humanity or nature.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by everything you could be doing, eating, seeing, or thinking? How do you sort through your possibilities and obligations?

Read more:

*Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means 'hostility'). …

From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. 'I am the God of your father, Abraham,' he said. 'Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.'…

One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 'Why have you come here?' Isaac asked. 'You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.'

They replied, 'We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let's make a covenant.'…

That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. 'We've found water!' they exclaimed….

But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis 26:21, 23–24, 26–28, 32, 35 NLT

*"To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:25-26 NIV

*If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:8 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Liberating God, we follow your ordinances over the ways of human construction. At times, this may bring criticism upon ourselves, but may we be ever faithful to the way of Christ over any other semblance of law. Amen.

Cured?

Almost there

It's the final day of the Apartment Therapy January Cure. I'm looking back on a month of riding twin rails: cleaning out used spaces and shedding things no longer used. In the middle of the tracks, I laid a month-long commitment to purchase nothing I don't eat or use up. The month shaped up as fun and worth the effort.

• Today someone came to buy our unused Robomower. I had hopes of a nicely cut lawn at the back when I bought it 10 years ago. My husband still weed-whacks the wild area bordering the forest two or three times a year. Goodbye mower! (and lawn idea)
• Someone picked up sewing supplies and asked for more. Their homeschool coop teaches students to sew. (Look, Mom! We're found a home for the stuff we'll clear from your sewing room!)
• A CL-er is coming for the K-NEX boxes our boys outgrew 2 decades ago.
• We donated bags of clothing, books, and unused household goods ... three times since New Year's Day.
• We Freecycled at least one item each day in January.
• Our adult kids claimed some family treasures we no longer use.
• I bundled up collectables ("Just the Right Shoe" and Hummels) for resale. The British teapots are next.

A focused being that knows its purpose

So, am I cured? Nope, but I feel like I've ripped off a bandage of storing things I'll never use. I am beginning to heal. Internally, I feel more space for considering new directions of work and play.

Lessons I've learned about tackling excess? How we can reevaluate our life and spaces?

1. Notice what you have. One minimalist challenged me to name every item in a room and say aloud what its purpose was. "No utility? No beauty? Not adding value to our lives? OUT!" I'm not quite there but I'm looking around. 
2. Be grateful for every opportunity represented in the stuff. Just don't feel obligated to be everything and do everything you thought you could or should when you brought it home!
3. Imagine the life you're called to and designed for. Go outside your room (office / house / garage, etc.), take some deep breaths, and maybe go for a walk. Dream about the life you'd ideally be living. Then walk back in your door as a "stranger." Ask, "What parts of my collected life reflects the life I want to live?"
4. Take out everything and refocus. Remove the contents of a box, a closet, a desktop, a room. Put back only things you really like or need. Trash, repurpose, or rehome the rest.



Focus, through a doorway
at Cambridge

5. Rejoice. With each decluttering accomplishment, enjoy the space, energy, and the time you've gained. (You'll need less energy and time for maintenance, cleaning, or rooting through piles of stuff.) Keep looking for ways to pare down. Follow through on giving away stuff ... without regrets. If one day you need that 10th extension cord, borrow one from your neighbor or run to the shop on the corner.

Quoted in Real Simple Magazine

This process works for life as well as spaces: notice with gratitude where you are. Pray for direction and focus.

Serve well. Many routines are imposed at work and home. Beyond that, schedule only things that align with your calling and strengthen your relationships.

Let the rest go. We know that you're not superhuman, but we'd love to see you less frazzled!

Read more:
*It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him. 1 Samuel 3:18

*And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12:25-2 

*Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Lord, you promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Forgive us when we become anxious about life’s issues. You know what is best for us; please strengthen our faith and trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen 

Treasures worth investing in

I could only be a minimalist under duress.

Reading "The Joy of Less" by Francine Jay, I'm struck with the weight of our stuff. We are taught from childhood to trade ourselves for items we don't need, whether for their use or beauty. Jay talks about "the freedom of living with just 'enough' to meet our needs."

We covet things, save to exchange our lives for them (time=money), and fill our homes with them. Then we have to clean and maintain them, push them around to make room among our other stuff, store them when we're weary of them, and finally dispose of them. (Or if we're unwilling to do that, our kids or executors are stuck with the chore.)

The first time I remember distinguishing between the beauty that enhances my life and a house full of "pretty things," I was listening to professional organizer Peter Walsh. He was trying to explain to a hoarder that precious items should have a place of honor. That every thing was not important or worth keeping. But in the blank expression and distress on the person's face, I saw the same initial incomprehension I was feeling. Wasn't all the stuff I had pleasing to me? Useful? Or at least pretty?

As a follower of Christ, I'm obligated to keep my heart free from the love of acquisition. I'm not permitted to tie myself greedily to things. Jay asks in her book, "If someone offered you a great job [/ministry] if you could move across the country in 3 days, how would you respond?"

Would you or I:

• leap at the opportunity, thank God, and pack a few boxes?
• spend sleepless nights and days packing and sorting ... and fretting?
• decline because there's too much stuff to consider moving?

I had to think about that. This month, God has brought one thing after another along to encourage and help keep me moving. Some evenings there is more on the floor than I started with. The heaps of things turned out of drawers and surfaces come and go.

Bathroom during cleanup
(I love to read in the tub; I hate to
store exercise clothing in the closet)

Bathroom after
(books put away; clothing
hung on hooks, ready to use)

I've barely started but the weight is lifting. This home took 35 years to fill. Four children have grown up here and their residue lurks in the basement along with other forgotten treasures and junk.

How would I think I can sort and free myself from the clutches of memorial waste in a month, baring a catastrophe? I can watch people lose everything in an instant via BBC and Japan News. On my monitor, people run from war and floods and earthquakes with only their clothing and a small sack of belongings. Why do we think that could never happen to us? That we could never live without our possessions?

In contrast to the things we've been trained to value, what does God tell us to fill our lives with? Truth, wisdom, discipline, good judgment, relationships. Those cannot be taken from us by feast or famine. These things will remain.

Back to work, then!

Read more:

*Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. Proverbs 23:23

*God is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded? Job 9:4

*Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

*Who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Romans 9:20

Moravian Prayer: Mighty God, thank you for being available for us; forgive us when we fall and come short of your glory. Father, we ask for a fresh anointing on souls today, that we may experience your Holy presence in our lives. Amen.

Go! Just go!

Overwhelmed by information?

Got too much to do? Too little time? Perhaps it's time to clear the path. To pare your life into its wonderful essentials.

Many of our key choices won't rest on saying yes to great opportunities. Instead, the bulk of life-changing decisions involve saying no to unessentials and lesser things.

"Minimalism" and "living with less" is a current fad. Why? We have TOO MUCH surrounding us. Our brains get confused and overwhelmed by trivial. Details demand to be touched or negotiated.

Collecting too much of a good thing?

How was your morning? In the closet, did your trousers,  jackets, and shirts (blouses)  hang willy-nilly. Did choosing your outfit take more than a few minutes?

Instead of an easy 10-minute routine, did you root through the "plenty" in the bathroom for basics? Sort through skin cream / makeup and scramble for a fresh tube of toothpaste? Hesitate about which shampoo to use in the shower? Argh. Was there even time for a shower? Were you running late with too much to do before you left the house?

Was the rest of the day similar? Were you exhausted and discouraged by nightfall ... because you had too many plates and too much on those places. Did you drown in the details?

The top shelf "during":
piles pushed to one side
to install separators

As readers know, I'm on a clearing streak.  I've been sorting things I no longer use out of my life. This morning the top rack of my closet fell victim to my efforts. I'm glad I forgot to snap a picture of the before, with sweaters and tops leaning on each other. I recorded the during and after.

EEEK. That's all I can say. Eeek!

The top shelf "after': sorted into types (turtlenecks,
sweaters, T-shirts, etc.)

I'm no perfectionist: so what if the folded stacks lean a bit. I'm no minimalist: I kept clothes I've recently worn. I'm not obsessive about details: who cares about color coding? As with cooking, my creative method is to stand in front of the possibilities and quickly pluck items to go "into the soup" or on my back.

But I've been startled by this common sense, which eluded me before. As the house gets more orderly, it's becoming easier to define other choices. To say "Yes" to things that God is calling me to, and "No" to expectations that don't align with what I hear in prayer, meditation on God's Word, or from the counsel of those I trust.

Just the basics, please!

Some mornings when my toes touch the ground, I hear a little voice urging, "Go girl! Just go!" The hurdles and obstacles to a productivity seems fewer and further between with so many "NO!s" in the recent past.

How would you define your recent choices? Is there time to think? To reflect? Then to move "full steam ahead" once your course is charted?

Or is your life cluttered with so much "good" that the way forward seems impossible?

Read more:
*A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:1-2 NIV

*Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:22-26 NIV

*God says, “From this time forward I make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known.” Isaiah 48:6

*Let anyone with ears to hear listen! Luke 8:8

Moravian Prayer: Holy Redeemer, as we face another day, enable us to spend quality time in communion with you. Touch our listening ears and teach us how to have a closer walk with you. In your name we pray. Amen. 

Enough. Whatever that means.

At the turn of the year, I examine what's in my heart and my house. My home reflects who I am because we do most of our living here. We have people over. We sleep and eat here. And I move the furniture and chotchees around here.

Are you drowning in obligations? Cluttered by too much stuff? Stuck in place because you have too much life and too little time? I'm using three resources to examine my "ENOUGH" this year.

Here they are, offering those ready to consider what "ENOUGH" means three tools to act on that evaluation, materially and spiritually. Enjoy!

• Enough: Finding More by Living with Less by Will Davis Jr. A pastor takes a look at what it means to have "enough" and "not too much." Very engaging and a fun read. It will make you look around your home and office with fresh eyes. I hope it will also help you to engage the world in a new way.
• The January Cure by Apartment Therapy. A daily decluttering challenge that's fun to do.
• Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung. A look at the grooves habits have worn in our souls and how to retrain the heart for the life God designed us for. Cool. Startling. Confrontational - in a nice and inviting way.

Hope your New Year kicked off with great gusto and anticipation, as though "God with us" invites abundant life.

Share your personal resources or goals in the comments below.

Read more:

*When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! . . . Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest." Psalm 126 1, 4–6 [The farmers wept, parceling out seeds from what their family ate, not knowing if there would be drought that killed the seeds or rain to make it grow. They were literally "taking the food from their children" to plant next year's harvest. Ever feel that way when you invest in the future?]

*The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7

*Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

*Peter began to speak: “God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34-35

Moravian Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating us and loving us equally. Teach us to love one another in the same manner. In your name we pray. Amen.


* 

The season of desire

The season of Advent is also called "the season of desire." I've never picked up on that phrase before, but this year have noticed it in blogs, a few articles, and a devotional.
"What do you desire?" asks my mentor. (I'm reading Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.)

Here's my desire list for Advent:

• Renewed intimacy with the Presence. Sit, love, be loved. In all the busyness of the dissertation and tasks, it was easier to focus on doing rather than being with.
• Be present with guests. I love hospitality tasks but find it hard to sit down with company for any length of time.
• Discipline for health: good eating and exercise. Lose 8 lbs.
• Declutter Christmas "stuff": give away ornaments, garlands, and other excess. End up with 4-5 storage bins (from 10).
• Read and watch uplifting things. I want to resist junk on TV and in books.

What's your bucket-of-desire list?

Read more:
*If you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Deuteronomy 28:2-3

*May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NIV

*Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Luke 11:28

*I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 4-7 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Dear Jesus, you came to fulfill the law, to give the commandments a human body. You obeyed the law and infused it with love. May we know the freedom and joy of obedience. Amen.

Feeling 50 items lighter ... just in time for Christmas

I bought into the challenge to "Throw Out Fifty Things," offered by Gail Blanke. (Link here) I also decided to keep track of the first 50 things I tossed or donated or sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

After a week, I'm only on #12. Mind you, we count 20 magazines as "magazines" (= 1 item not 20.) It's not like things haven't been moving out of the house before that, either. This past year, every time "the Blind" or "Disability Services" or whatever charity called, I promised them at least one bag of stuff. You know, I can't remember what was in those bags. I haven't missed any of it.

Many of us feel gorged by stuff. We've purchased without thinking ahead, adding to our collections instead of replacing the old with the new. Now we're drowning in things. Consider this:

• Possessions take time to clean, store, and use. Therefore, they take time from relationships and other priorities.
• Things may offer false self-esteem. People won't like us more because we set a pretty table or drive a fancy car.
• Stuff costs money, which we earn by working. Before buying, consider how many hours of your future you'll invest in your new plaything or clothes.
• Gluttony is not just about food. We can over-indulge in God's blessings, encouraged by materialism and advertising. Then we feel food, obese and unable to move, trapped by too much "good stuff."
• Could we invest in others as we clear out our lives? Can we bless someone less well off who needs our excess bedding or furniture? If we have adequate resources, would someone unemployed be able to sell our collections and live off the proceeds? (I have a few of these: any takers?)
• Consider a No-Purchase month. Mine is until Christmas. I admit I've filled several online shopping carts, then hit the delete button. WHEW. Purchasing is addictive and I need to STOP IT! How about you?

My house clearing started two years ago by shedding 18 bags of books and magazines from ONE enormous bookshelf. Since, I've dumped clothing, furniture, rugs, bedding,  lamps, fabric, cleaning supplies, and more. The house is still full. (Let's not talk about the basement and garage.)

I can breathe in a few rooms. The living room and dining room now usually await guests, tidy and picked up. I'm rarely embarrassed about the state of the kitchen, though hosting last Sunday's lunch while the walls were being painted was a challenge. (Things normally on the walls and counters lay in piles, helter-skelter.) My office wouldn't please a perfectionist but everything I need is at hand and the floors and desks are clear. Our bedroom is emptier.

I'm pleased by the progress to date. I'm also aware that there are more things that need sorting and giving away. After Christmas, I'll purge more ornaments (currently down to 9 bins from 15, lucky me. I know. I know. But our tree is 10' tall! Let me know before Monday if you need gold ball ornaments and I'll have one bin less.)

I gave several of our kids the annual ornaments Grandma and I bought for them each year. They weren't grateful. Or nostalgic. It was just stuff. One couple traditionally has a 1' tree, hardly big enough for 25 years of two ornaments a year. Whether they keep it or not is up to them: once one becomes an adult, "precious" things get to be your own decision! "Keep or toss. It's up to you, kids!"

What are your challenges as you look through closets and examine your rooms and offices? Have the blessings become burdens?

What are you going to do about it? Why not start with the Throw Away Fifty Things workbook: find it here. I'd love to hear about your initial reaction and any progress in the comments below.

How to see with new eyes

Before: an office heaped by neglect
and drawers emptied to move a desk

What do you need to see with fresh eyes? What project or goal have you been putting off?

Most of us have old eyes. We look without seeing our habits, clutter, and destructive patterns because we recognize familiar patterns as norms. How can we see things with new eyes or fresh vision?

I walked through our front door Sunday night after spending two months in Montana. Before my sabbatical, I blocked out things around the house to focus on my dissertation and travels. One of the most exciting things about my return home (besides seeing the kids and our grandchild!) was getting a fresh look at the house.

Before: the other side of the table...

Yesterday I had an eye migraine which I suspect was caused by "good stress" and the elevation change. However, W got an early start today (6am) and I woke full of vigor. First, the dogs and I walked a few miles around the neighborhood. Then I unpacked food, clothes, and toiletries. Finally it was time for some real renewal of the house, which I'd been ignoring and putting off...

During: furniture begins its move into
place and the sorting begins.

I washed and de-spider-ed the conservatory before tackling my utterly chaotic, post-dissertation office. (Happily, Jonathan appropriated my "dissertation" desk while I was away.) I leveled a drafting table as my standing desk and re-purposed a glass table for my sitting desk. Some clutter waits to be sorted, but the bulk of my chore got done today. Hurrah! Hurrah!

So how can we look at things with fresh eyes so that we can renew ourselves or our spaces? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Leave your familiar environment and come back. Let things settle down while you think from a distance about new possibilities. I graphed a few ideas for my office while in MT before choosing a plan of action.

During: leveling the standing desk

2.  When you return, consider your priorities and who you are--before you restart routines. Priorities may require personal changes, spiritual renewal, or decluttering a physical space.

3. Make a list of what needs doing before the sheer mass of change bogs you down. I began to jot down must-dos and chores in a notebook, on the evening of our return. It took a couple of days before I had energy to begin. Those "little" actions I've notated may take months to complete, but I'll check them off as I go. The list helps steer next steps in the right direction.

4. Start small but don't quit until your energy runs out. Drift through the list, doing what is at hand and what pleases you. If you find yourself running out of steam, do something else. Then get back to the main task. (Between the two daunting jobs of the conservatory and office, I diverted to small chores on the check-list to keet energy high: I ran the dishwasher, washed and folded laundry, cut my hair, checked FB, and blogged.)

After: the sitting desk is ready. Time to blog?

5. Remember that things usually get worse before they get better. Don't get discouraged if everything feels like chaos. You don't have to finish what you started in one day!

6. Celebrate what you've accomplished. Take a photo of "before" and "during" so you can enjoy the "after." When I've finished my office, I'll post the final photos.

God is merciful. He made the world in six days rather than all at once. Afterwards, he rested and enjoyed his creativity. Let's give ourselves permission to do the same.

Read more:
*Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10 NIV 

*I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may keep my ordinances and obey them. Ezekiel 11:19,20 

*Jesus said,] "'I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. The Father and I are one.'"

John 10:28–30

*Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

Moravian Prayer: Come replace our hearts with whole hearts devoted to you, Lord Jesus. Take away our love of sinning and burn away the impurities of our minds. Help us bring every thought, word and deed into captivity through our mutual love and ministry. Amen.