I set out on a new journey to live with less. I am adopting a sort of minimalism lifestyle.
To kick start the New Year I convinced my best friend to get on board with me and de-clutter our homes. There are 30/31 days on a calender each month. On the calender we wrote on the 1st {31 items} and labeled each day with the corresponding number of items to dispose of.We decided to go ahead and get started early, so we had 34 items to get rid of to begin with.
We made it into a game. If we fail to remove the set amount of items, or forget a day, the game is over. The loser takes the winner to lunch. If we both complete the task and there is no declared winner, we will still go to lunch together to celebrate our accomplishments.
The first two days were easy, I had a lot of things sitting around that I no longer needed.
Today may be a bit of a challenge.
Why am I doing this you might ask.
I think of the scriptures in Matthew 19:20-22
The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.…
I do not want to be like this rich young man. I do not want to have so many possessions that I get attached to them. It is so easy to become emotionally attached to items that it becomes painful to let them go. I think that rich young man put to much trust in "things" thinking they would make him happy, or give him some social prominence. He failed to see that happiness is not with many things, but with life. And Who better to spend life with than the Life Giver!!
My quest for living with less is not to follow some fad, to get into another rat race...but to free myself from the love of "things" and have a heart that COULD and WOULD give up all to follow my Jesus!!
Now that I have established the why, let's look at the how.
I ask myself these three questions when I decided if I will keep or let the item go.
1- When was the last time I used this item? If it was over 6 months ago, I more than likely will toss it.
2- How can I use this item tomorrow? If I cannot think of how to use the item I will not keep it.
3- How did I even acquire this item? Why do I have it in the first place?
This question plays a key role in why we keep things.
Did someone special give it to us? Are you afraid to get rid of it for fear of hurting someones feelings? Did you buy it because you just liked it, or did you need it?
Do not be afraid to let an item go if someone gifted it to you knowing it will only collect dust. Your home is your sanctuary, only keep items you truly love and will use.
Find items that serve double duty and keep those.
De-clutter one room at a time so as not to overwhelm yourself.
Find a friend to play the de-clutter game with for extra motivation and support!
Lastly, stick to the calender!!
Happy de-cluttering!!
