Clearing physical clutter

1 st Corinthians 14:40

But all things should be done decently and in order.

Like laundry and dishes one of the things about clutter is you can clean it up and it returns.

Under normal circumstances that should be no problem. My clutter problem started by my love of reading and clerical work, caretaking of family members and being too wiped out to deal with it. The amount of paperwork involved in care taking is phenomenal. You can only add to it by living in a small bedroom. It becomes overwhelming. Much easier to try and ignore the growing piles.

I am slowly sorting through the mess. I find I am able to think a little clearer as well.

Solution don’t procraticate. Break down your tasks and do a little at a time. Get a good filing system going. And get a mental picture of what you would like to accomplish. Wish me luck.

                                                  Corner before and after

Bin before and after filing and trashing some papers

Ten items to trash and ten items to give away.

Clearing Clutter from your mind and surroundings

Romans 12:1-2 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I have recently noticed my inability to keep things tidy. My areas or in my mind. I have been taking home a lot of things and just stack them on top of one another. My thoughts race from one thing to another.

Clutter can be an enormous drain on your time and energy. I am making a plan to de-clutter. I am hoping it will reduce some of my stress and frustration. I am going to reclaim my space and increase my energy. One benefit I hope to obtain from my goal of getting rid of clutter is to feel good about myself and the place where I live.

So here is how I am going to start this out. I will throw or donate 10 things for the next 14 days. I will keep you posted on my progress. I will try to uncluttered my mind as well.

A) Room or Area Clutter

1) Set your goals.My clutter control goal is to keep those things that make sense in the space that I have. I decided to ask myself a set of questions. When did I last use the item? Am I likely to use it again? Is it worth holding onto it, given my bedroom is small and is cluttered?

2) Develop a plan.
Without one I found it was a real motivational drainer. I found it helpful to make a to-do list with a set time for each task. This can be as little as 10 minutes a day. Write down what you want to de-clutter. Break down your tasks so that you can keep your de-cluttering tasks specific. After I set a task I will complete it. I choose a small thing to organize - ex: organize a drawer, corner or a part of the closet. I will not stop halfway; I will try to complete the task.

3) Have a vision to reduce clutter in the future.
By focusing on what you want and the relationship between you and your space (rather than the quantity of stuff) you really make some permanent ch.anges in your habits. Imagine how good it feels to have an organized home and life and to know where your things are.

B) Mind Clutter

1) Reduce Worry.
Think about the right now. As the old saying goes yesterday is gone and tomorrow can take care of itself. If something frustrates you, tell yourself that I am doing the best I can at this moment in life.

2) Positive Thinking.

Fake it until you can make it. Say to yourself I can do this. Positive thinking can cause you to believe so you can be.

3) Learn from your emotions.

Is this feeling a response to ignoring a need, pushing myself too hard, expecting too much of myself, or somehow treating myself without kindness and compassion?

4) Journal
Spend a few minutes each day to write down your thoughts. Then write the good things that happened that day and what you are thankful for.

5) Cut yourself some slack. 
If you find that you are slipping back into behaviors that you are trying to change, congratulate yourself for recognizing that. Then recommit to the new behavior.

My hope is if I follow these simple tips will help me get back on track, clear the chatter in my head, and help me make time for the things most important in life.

My feeling of grief

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a child. But when I became an adult, I grew far beyond my childhood, and now I have put away the childish ways.

- 1 Corinthians 13, 11

This verse runs through my mind, along with thoughts running as swift as the White River here in Indiana, during a flood.

My father, lying in a darkened nursing home room, was close to death. But as he reached for my hand and looked at me intently, he was fully aware that his daughter was at his side.  He told me I love you and I said the same. I answered as confidently as I could despite the tears in my eyes and the quiver in my voice. I knew he was almost ready to begin his journey home to God. But I'm not ready and don't want to deal with this by myself.  The next day a nurse from hospice came to sign my dad up for the program. I asked how long do you think he has? She answered days maybe a couple of weeks. That day he never opened his eyes or spoke a word. I busied myself downloading pictures of him to make a video. For his funeral showing. I went home after sitting with dad for the last 8 hours. I was tired. I awoke to a ringing phone that Monday morning I dreaded answering it, feeling immediately awake. The nurse told me dad had passed away in his sleep peacefully.  Oh God I cried running down the stairs to tell my sister. It had been a long, agonizing 17 months watching my father go from a stroke, the   ICU, dialysis, dementia trying to take his mind, and having to learning to walk again. He'd improve all around only to worsen again to finally needing more and more care as his heart continued to decline and finally just gave out. I was trying to do my best but never feeling adequate to the task.  With my father’s death, memories of the months of exhaustion, fear, self-doubt, second-guessing-and, yes, complaining, "When will all this end, when will I get some help?"- Those thoughts instantly vanished. I had experienced the death of loved ones before, but never did it hurt like this. I was almost 50 years old, but I felt helpless. The death of my father has affected my ability to sleep.  But mixed in with that is also a sense of relief along with the grief. I will see a place we went together or hear a song and the tears come. I am usually alone when this happens. But I try to keep it all together. We may have lived enough years to be an adult but we will always be a child in relation to our parents. Even if we find ourselves "parenting our parents" before their death. With all the memories I am finding it is the father of my youth and childhood that was buried.  His last hospitalization he flat lined and stopped breathing, a nurse told me I should start preparing for his death. it is virtually impossible to prepare ourselves emotionally for the loss. When it is our parent it sounds kind of cliche to say he had a long life and was suffering surely it is a blessing to know he is with Jesus now. But that is what I have to believe. I would like to be a child again and hug my daddy one more time.