*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
There are very few books I have read more than once (and few movies I have watched more than once). (affiliate link) Clutter Free by Kathi Lipp is one of those books. Many people have defaulted to reading the other decluttering book, but I have a hard time remembering the title…no, really, what is the order of the words in the title? There were some great ideas in that book, but I will have to agree with what this article said about it. Clutter Free is different because it digs a little deeper to the heart issue of clutter. If I asked you to think of one thing you would never be willing to part with, I’m sure you can name at least a dozen things. Things aren’t simply things, they are memories, connections, histories… I mean, isn’t that why we have museums…and people visit museums…and sometimes pay a lot to visit the aforementioned museums? I’m sure Kathi dives even deeper in *Clutter Free, the Bible Study, but for now, we’ll see what we discover this month through Clutter Free, and figure out what “next step(s)” we can take to embrace and overcome some challenges of motherhood.
I’ll be sharing my reflections on this book through the month as we journey through what “HomeLife” is to you…and me.
I will be reflecting on some discussion guide questions, as well as some quotable quotes, from each chapter to keep it condensed, otherwise I am a pretty wordy mama.
1. Why Your Home is Cluttered
– The “Everyday Actions that Cause Clutter” that I identify with most is “You rearrange clutter instead of dealing with it.” Everything seems to just get shuffled around.
– One routine I have been putting into place this past week to get myself “closer to the clutter-free existence you long for” is creating low goals. I set a goal of getting rid of 10 items from our office each day, but I normally go over the goal. It’s small enough that if I missed a day for a reason, I could easily catch up.
Some quotable quotes:
Whenever you store something, pile it up, put it down “just for a minute,” buy a tub to put it in, or shove it into a closet or drawer to deal with it “when there’s more time,” you are simply playing musical chairs with your stuff instead of really dealing with it.
When you save everything, you can find nothing.
2. Finding Contentment with Living Small
– I don’t think I ever really feel I need to “go bigger,” but it is a challenge to discuss with our kiddos why they don’t have their own rooms, a TV, smartphones (or even an iPod), or the-new-gadget-of-the-week like all of their friends.
– One shift I can make to begin to be content with the home I now have is to not complain about things that need fixing and to slowly create beauty with what we already own and save up for the fixes.
Some quotable quotes:
For so long, our dream had been to have a bigger home. And now we do – not because we moved into a bigger space, but because we have less stuff in the same space.
My question to you is, do you really need a bigger house? Or is there a way to be content with the space you have?
3. The Spiritual Side of Clutter
– I spend so much time rearranging the clutter, I am unable to let relationships be built by opening our home to more people.
– My favorite benefit of non-ownership is that it frees up money.
Some quotable quotes:
I think the best way to determine the right balance is to figure out when your house becomes a blessing or a burden.
I think one of the greatest gifts a clutter-free life can give us is the opportunity to follow God wherever he leads.
4. Recognizing the Real Cost of Clutter
– I don’t have any intentional organizational systems currently in place in our home, but we do try to keep all items in their designated rooms. Most things that belong to Norm and me go in our room, things for work, school, and ministry go in the office, food-related stuff go in the kitchen, etc.
– An area of our house I can work on tomorrow to let go of things costing me too much is our office. It seems to be the “catch-all” of random knick-knacks that end up in our home from kid parties, festivals, and other activities.
Some quotable quotes:
Every single item coming into our home cost us something.
Just the caring for, storing, and clutter of too much stuff can cost us time in a hundred moments a day.
Your turn: Has clutter ever cost you space, time, attention, or energy? How did or will you deal with this?
P.S. Next week I will be reading Part 2 on Why We Buy Stuff.
P.S.S. You can check out My 2017 Book List (specifically curated for the Work-in-Progress Mom) and read along with me this year.
*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a tiny percentage if you make a purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.