Determining to Declutter

 



With the start of another new year, it seems that many people are thinking along the same lines: clearing out old clothes or things no longer needed to make room for gifts that were received during the holidays. Many devotionals and messages on decluttering have been coming on my radar screen lately.

I wasn’t planning on writing about decluttering. It seemed like that topic had been well covered. However, the idea kept popping back into my mind when thinking about the “Good News” message for this week.

Well, this may not seem like good news to some! Who wants to take time to tackle those corners of our homes or other places that seem to accumulate the things we no longer need or use? Making decisions about what to keep and what to donate or discard consumes mental energy as well.

All it takes is a good look around, coupled with the determination to do something about it. Praying for strength and guidance on where to start always helps too.

            I began the process last fall by decluttering the refrigerator from an accumulation of fresh peppers! Our pepper plants started producing during the summer and kept on even when the weather turned cooler.

Unfortunately, most of them seemed to be too hot for our taste. Even when parboiled and used in recipes like chile relleno, the peppers were just too spicy. But, I hated to throw them out and stashed them away in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.

Our grandson Nate and a few other brave friends were happy to have them.  However, the number of peppers exceeded the number of people who wanted them!

When the last pepper had been given away and the vegetable drawer was finally free to use again, I breathed a sigh of relief. De-peppering was nice. Having learned our lesson, next year we will switch to red peppers and bell peppers, with maybe just one poblano or chile pepper plant for the hot pepper lovers amongst us.

My next project was to gather all of our unused orthopedic items from the basement, bedroom closets and wherever else they were stashed away. We had been keeping a walker, knee scooter, an arm sling, various bands used in therapy, a pulley, almost new pressure cuffs worn around the legs after surgery, unused bandages, brand new compression socks and many other such things…just in case!

But they were filling much needed space and thankfully were no longer being used. When we moved into our small house, I promised myself not to fill the empty basement. Well, it didn’t take long to start storing things downstairs.

Aristotle’s theory that “nature abhors a vacuum” might not always prove true in nature and in physics but I think it proves to be true for human nature! At least, for this human and probably for most of us!

 One morning Al and I loaded all of the medical related supplies into the car and took them to the World Medical Relief Center. He had volunteered there in the past and knew that donations like ours were always accepted and would be distributed to needy areas worldwide.

After that task, decluttering my small purse was easy. I didn’t find anything to donate though, except for loose change!

There is still a long list of things that need attention, including our filing cabinet   containing files from my teaching days more than 20 years ago. How is it possible to accumulate so much stuff, I wonder? 

After last week’s Good News article on “Time for a Scrubbing,” our friend Kim Hawes wrote: “We are scrubbing here as well. Donating items we no longer need and loosening, undoing and releasing all toxic thoughts. Staying more connected to God and surrounding everyone, even those we may not care for, with love. Whew...it's going to be an amazing 2025!!!!!!!”

Decluttering our minds…now that is important too! As Kim shared, staying closely connected to God is a good way to rid ourselves of “toxic” thoughts that cause worry, anxiety, bad feelings towards others…

May we learn to make room for God in our thoughts this year and always!

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV)

 


 

 

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