Simplify

Simple.

For what seems like my whole life, I've always needed to "get myself organized" but I've never been to a point where I felt that I had actually accomplished anything close to getting myself organized. I have decided it's because I have too much stuff. Sometimes "organizing" is just moving stuff from one place to the other. My stuff would be so much more easy to manage if I just had less of it. I am on a mission to simplify my home and the phrase I keep reminding myself of is my life is better with less stuff.

When I am debating on keeping patches from a middle school choir festival that have served no purpose except to travel from one dark corner of a dresser drawer to another, I remind myself my life is better with less stuff. I didn't realize that I was so attached to inanimate objects, but sometimes when the thought "it doesn't hurt anything to keep it, I can always get rid of it later..." starts to creep into my mind, but then the word hoarder comes to mind and I find it much easier to let go of something after that.

When you get rid of the stuff, you allow the important objects to shine. I am currently reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts where she is deliberately focusing on all of the gifts from God. In the noise of clutter, it's harder for me to see these wonderful blessings God has given me. Voskamp's book is challenging me to reevaluate my belongings because God's gifts come in the most simple form. The sound of birds singing on a spring morning, the smell of dinner in the oven. It's time to simplify the stuff so I can focus on the important, the gifts God gives me every single day.

Another book that is inspiring me is Holley Gerth eBook The "Do What You Can" Plan. I heard Holley on an episode of the Simple Mom podcast discussing the concept of dreaming smaller instead of bigger in order to gain momentum and actually achieve the bigger goals. Now, I haven't even read the book yet, but I am already thinking about how this idea could help me declutter. Getting everything out and making a giant mess for the sake of decluttering is overwhelming to me. But, if I just do what I can each day, maybe go through a shelf and pull out the books I'm ready to part with and put them in the garage sale box, well then I did what I can for that day and I'm one step closer to a simplified home.

These are the thoughts I'm carrying with me as I sort through all the stuff in order to focus on the gifts.