*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Read about Part 1: Uncovering the Costs of Clutter HERE.
Read about Part 2: Why We Buy Stuff 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. 😉 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. 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.
9. What Your Head Tells You About Clutter
– Clutter has made me an organizing fool. Things come into our home and I try to shuffle it all around to make it “fit” so it can stay in our home whether we use it or like it or not.
– This has made it difficult to really live out the life God has designed for me to live when I am simply concerned about the stuff instead of the people around me.
Some quotable quotes:
At its heart, clutter is a lack of peace.
[Clutter] steals away the life that it promised in the first place.
10. Just in Case
– I keep office supplies and school materials “just in case.” Once a teacher, always a teacher. :p
– If you had to scale down to only what I actually needed, I would let go of hundreds of things in our home. It feels very freeing to sit with that thought.
Some quotable quotes:
Scale down to only what you need, and then add a bit of what you love.
Yes, we need to be planners and wise with our resources, but that is not where our security comes from.
11. But So-and-So Gave It to Me
– We love experience gifts and try to give them when we think of it and when we know what someone else might like.
– The patterns I have set myself to struggle with clutter is signing up for email list where they send you emails with upcoming deals and sales.
Some quotable quotes:
When every possession is special, none of them are.
Things do not equal love.
We need to be intentional about he clutter burden we are imposing on others, whether it’s the gifts we’re giving or the legacy we are passing down.
12. I’ll Put It Here for Now
– I have too many “just there for now” items in our house. It seems my time is not my own, so I stop what I do and help someone else with something without returning to my previous tasks.
– Some costs of not putting things away are lost items or lost time in trying to find items.
Some quotable quotes:
For most of us Clutter = Indecision.
Train your brain to remember that whenever you say to yourself, “Just for now,” that is the beginning of your next clutter pile.
13. But I Spent So Much Money on It
– I have hung onto clothes and books just because I spent “so much money” on them.
– I completely agree with this quote, “Peace is far more valuable than any amount of money you spent on an item,” because I would rather not to have see certain items than be remind of the money spent or person I’ve not become from simply buying an item.
Some quotable quotes:
Peace is far more valuable than any amount of money you spent on an item.
14. Dealing with Other People’s Clutter
– It is easier to deal with another’s clutter because I don’t know the “cost” of it.
– Everyone hinders my clutter-busting process…and progress. :p Some ways I can make decluttering easier for everyone is decluttering my own stuff first.
Some quotable quotes:
With other people’s junk, there is no history for us. But with our own junk, we know the emotional and financial cost of each item. That’s why it’s so hard for us to give anything away.
15. I Want to Be the Kind of Person Who…
– I don’t really find myself buying to impress or be like others. I can wear out an article of clothing like no other.
– A new passion I would like to pursue is an online ministry. A “failed experiment” I have already blessed someone else with is letting go of some of our art supplies.
Some quotable quotes:
And because of this, I’ve reached the conclusion that when my only action is buying things and never doing, those things become the clutter that crowds out the rest of my life.
…buying something to become someone wastes the resources God’s entrusted to me…buying to become wastes the someone God has already paid for me to be.
16. It Might Be Worth Something Someday
– In the past, I have held onto books because of potential value.
Some quotable quotes:
Cull the best and get rid of the rest.
17. But I Have So Much Invested in It
– Some “end of life” decisions to be made to move forward is decluttering trinkets.
– I can declutter 50 things this week to make room for those things that are truly important to me.
Some quotable quotes:
I think one of the reasons for the high correlation between clutter and depression is the fact that people slowly stop doing the things that bring them joy because there is so much stuff around them that keeps them stuck.
At some point, we need to end some things so we can hold onto to the things that are most important to us. And when we define the things that are truly important to us, we can start recognizing the things that are not important to us and eliminate those things from our life.
18. What If I Don’t Have Enough?
– Some lies I have told myself about what my stuff will do for my life is that an item will help me to become more organized. What I really need is to be more disciplined.
Some quotable quotes:
…no matter how little we have, we are better when we share.
Your turn: Have you discovered why you keep stuff?
P.S. Next week I will be reading Part 4 on How to Get Rid of 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.