Oh, how I dislike clutter. It always amazes me how quickly stuff can multiply in our home. I guess with six people living in a house, that happens; at least, here in America. But still, I keep trying to find ways to keep it at bay. We have the rule with our kids that says when a new toy or stuffed animal comes in, two must go out. We have a container that holds a few extra things that they can choose from to "change it up" every now and then, which is our attempt at keeping the amount of toys that are kept in their rooms to a minimum. And yet, even then, I still see too much "stuff".
Now, to be perfectly clear, not all blame can be placed at my kids toys and animals. I have always considered myself a "minimalist"; I'm not one to enjoy little, cutesy things, sitting on a shelf for no reason, other than to be cute. But as I sit here typing, around me are plenty of things that I could easily live without. For instance, the amount of highlighters in my pencil box. Really, how many highlighters does one person need? And to make matters worse, they are all yellow; I could justify it if there were a variety of colors waiting to highlight things that I see as worthy of remembering. But no, they are all yellow! I digress...back to the point of this post...
This past week, my husband has been coming home sharing with me, his heart. Which I love, by the way. Recently he has been reading a book that opens up the heart to a closer look at materialism, asking a Christian to search a bit deeper at what our heart is seeking after. I've been thinking about just that today as I clean out kitchen cabinets. Why is it that I have felt a need to hold on to things that I might need, just in case? For instance, why would I possibly need to own so many stirring spoons. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook but I highly doubt that there will be a need, in the near future for that many spoons. And ice trays....I have multiple ice trays just waiting to be used (which won't happen because they are the cheap, impossible to remove the ice from, kind of ice trays and yet, there they set waiting to be filled. Now, I am sure if I took the time to search Pinterest, I would probably find a very useful idea for using those cheap ice trays but I think, instead, I will be finding them a new home....a nice new, away from here, kind of home.
As I write here, my heart is focused really on something different than ice trays and spoons. As a mother, what am I teaching my children when I store up these things for a "just in case"? As a keeper of my home, am I making it an impossible task to keep my home orderly and pleasant to be in? I want so much for my home to be one that says "Come on in and relax. Let's sit and talk for a while; share your heart...what is the Lord teaching you lately?" Is this possible when I am so busy trying to organize all the "stuff" that I could have that kind of open invitation? Is it probable that I will sit often with my children, distracted my nothing and giving my 100% attention to what they say? I don't think so, not for me, at least.
SO, where do I begin? After just having a yard sale ( a big one at that), you'd think there would be nothing left to get rid of. And maybe there isn't. Maybe, it was just time for me to see that although I was inwardly labeling myself a minimalist; outwardly, I was holding on to things that we do not need. Speaking of which, anyone in need of spoons, yellow highlighters or cheap ice cube trays???
