Are you up for the challenge?

Clutter....clutter....clutter! Do you have it in your life? In your mind? In your house?  I have come to loathe the word itself.  Mostly because I realize it is so tied to my spirit and mental attitude towards life.  I firmly believe that physical clutter increases the mental and emotional clutter we have in our lives.  During these first couple of weeks of 2018 I have done a lot of reading and spent time looking around my world for the ways it is is tripping me up. 

According to Psychology Today:

1. Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren't necessary or important.
2. Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on.
3. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
4. Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.
5. Clutter makes us anxious because we're never sure what it's going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile.
6. Clutter creates feelings of guilt ("I should be more organized") and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or work spaces.
7. Clutter inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brain storm, and problem solve.
8. Clutter frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. files and paperwork lost in the "pile" or keys swallowed up by the clutter). 

I have always had a sentimental side, which helped me keep every piece of artwork my children made, and hold on to things that I thought would mean something one day. As my life has changed over the last few years, I have had to look at many things that I thought would surely have been family heirlooms and realize that they are now just clutter in the scheme of my journey.  It definitely feels funny to think of ridding myself of items that seemed to mean so much to me at one time. Although, I have been doing that little by little over the last few years, I am making 2018 the year to clean out and clear out.  It will help me in so many ways! So I am picking up the Declutter 2018 Challenge!  Rachel Jones over at Nourishing Minialism has a great Declutter Challenge and I hope you will join me on this journey...not just about getting rid of extra "junk" around the house but also extra "junk' around our hearts and minds!

Join Rachel and declutter 2018 things in 2018!

2013 New Year's Goals & Resolutions Blog Hop!

As the New Year approaches I can't help but think about my goals and resolutions for 2013 (yes, I make them!) One thing that seems to always be on my New Year's list is to pare down and simplify my life.  I did make some good strides in 2012 but I am determined that 2013 is going to be a turning point in my life in this area.  My Dh and I are already on our way with this one as we have spent today editing our Christmas decorations into 3 piles: "keep" "donate" "trash."  This has actually turned into a day of purging all kinds of things from our attic and is making me feel better already. 



Another goal is to get back into blogging so I decided to host my very first Blog Hop and hope you will link up and share your goals and/or resolutions for 2013!  I know I will get inspiration from other bloggers on what they want to improve, pare down or tackle in the New Year as well. 



So, link up below!!!  Out of courtesy, please share the code on your post so others can share in the fun and don't forget to visit other participants to say hi!





Thanks for sharing!!!

Baby steps and Monday Motivation!

Wow, I am showing y'all my mess (or at least ONE of them...there are plenty more). You may be asking why I am showing you the deep dark secrets that my kitchen cabinets hide; well, it is part of my New Years Resolution to pare down and simplify (Year 2!). Once-upon-a-time this was a well oiled and organized cabinet - one that provided much support and help in my times of need...Now? Not so much! Over the last couple of, gulp, years I have let it become a jumbled mess of stick-anything-that-doesn't-have-a-place-in-that-cabinet (think: that scary kitchen junk drawer - on steroids!) So today I tasked myself with tackling this cabinet, just this one as to not overwhelm or scare the natives...baby steps!

This is the cabinet that holds all my lunch making supplies and left over paper products from various parties and such. One thing I really dislike is being wasteful and by letting this cabinet become disorganized, I was very wasteful because many things that could have been used over the years were forgotten or became damaged and had to be discarded. THAT really bothers me!

Removing everything was where I started and deciding what things needed to find a better home was the 1st step to progress. Also, deciding what things needed to find the trash can was another important step! The collection of flower vases found a lovely home in the basement, neatly placed on a shelf!

Now things are back in and organized! We can now make use of the left over paper products as the need arises AND I can easily find the right dish without having to "unstack" the world.

FINISHED!

Gosh, I feel almost giddy!

The Whole Megillah

I have been a bit lacking in my 2009 blogging so far. I could blame it on the fact that I had a sick child last week, or that both of my boys had multiple basketball games/practices last week, or even that I have been delving into a cure for a deadly disease, but in all honesty, it is because part of my New Year's resolution was to simplify my life and one big element of that is making intentional choices on how I spend my time. I imagine it makes me a major geek, but I could spend all day sitting at this computer reading blogs and other "important" stuff. Yes, I realize that would make me a super, well-rounded, and well-read individual but it doesn't work into my simplification ideas because it tends to make me less than stellar in other areas of life...like, uh...laundry or actually talking to my family. Another area that I tend to compromise if I spend too much time online is my spiritual life. If I am not terribly careful I will literally give my Bible study time away to this machine.

In an attempt to really get into the Word this year I have joined in a new Beth Moore Bible study about the life of Ester. It is called "Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman" We met for the 1st time last week and even with only 1 session I am very excited about this study. I have done one other Beth Moore study, the one on Daniel, and really liked it; though it was challenging!!! The neat thing about this particular study is how it seems like it came at the exact time when I (yes, it is all about me!) needed it and it fits perfectly into where I am wanting to focus my heart, mind and soul. My MIL and and a couple of other family members are hopefully going to do this study at their church; so I am also hoping we can have some lively discussions on this study in the coming months. I would love to know if any of you are doing this study as well.