31 Days Fall Challenge: Week Three ~ Hidden Clutter... Part 2

Source
Welcome back to the second part of this post.  If you read yesterday's post, you saw two spaces in my house where I have "hidden clutter".  Our air conditioner was not working for a couple of days and it was just too hot in the house to care about de-cluttering.  Thankfully, our landlord came today with the AC guy and now it's a cool 74* in my house. =) No excuses - time to get to work on the mess!

As you know, this challenge is all a part of the 31 days Fall Challenge - Making Your Home a Haven.  She challenged us to also set a timer for twenty minutes and go through the house with a trash bag and just clean up.  I did that this morning and was glad to have gotten so much done!

Well, there was a second part to the challenge and that was to take care of some of the "clutter" in our spiritual life.  She reminds us to think about unconfessed sin in our lives and challenges us to take care of it.

1 John 1:9~If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

When I think about "spiritual clutter", I always think of our hearts being like a closet.  I am glad that my closet is one area that I keep in order.  I like all my hangers facing the same direction and I like to group my pieces.  I also line them up by color and length.  It sounds like a lot of work, but the system works for me.  I used to hoard my clothes, even if I didn't wear it that often or if I grew out of it - but I came to grips with the nonsense of that and took several bags to the Goodwill.  

So, let's take a look at the "closet" of our hearts.  Is your heart neat and tidy or are you overwhelmed with an abundance of unnecessary things?  You may have some things in your heart that you just feel you can't let go of...but those things no longer "fit" you. They may have been okay for the old you, but not the new child of God that you are now.  Maybe you have some bitterness in your heart.  How about jealousy?
Just like you wouldn't want a closet full of dirty, ill-fitting, or outdated clothing - I don't think you'd want sin, bitterness, anger, jealousy or any other thing to go without attention in your heart.  The only way to take care of that problem is to confess your sin.  Just because you are a child of God, it does not mean that you can live however you want.  Our freedom in Christ was bought with a great price and we should live in a way that is honoring to our Lord.  We are human and of course, He knows that.  We will fail often and when we do, we need to confess it to Him.  It's better to keep the closet of your heart clean and in order.  You will feel better for it!
James 1:21~So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
My clothes closet may be in order, but I know that I there's always some cleaning to do in my Heart Closet.  I'd rather own my sin and come clean than live in the filth of denial.  Besides, who doesn't want a lighter, clutter-free heart? =)

31 Days Fall Challenge: Week Three ~ Hidden Clutter... Part 1

So here we are into the third week of the 31 Days Fall Challenge...Making Your Home a Haven.  I'm really thankful that Courtney decided to host this challenge.  It has helped me so much in just 2 weeks. I know that there are lots of different challenges and blogs out there in "cyber world" for wives and moms and women in general, but I like something that really challenges me spiritually and practically.  We always have room for improvement and should remain teachable throughout our lives.
Here’s week #3′s Challenge: List a few of the spots in your home that make you visually stressed. Now go buy something for that spot – like a basket to put it all in! Work on cleaning up clutter. Throw things away.

While you’re at it – clean up some clutter in your spiritual life. What gets in the way of your peace spiritually?

Well, as I mentioned, I've already been working on the clutter in my home.  If you are a regular reader here, you know that I've mentioned tackling the clutter and having a desire to live in a home that is comfortable, organized, welcoming, and clean.  My biggest clutter zone is my garage and that's just from moving many times in short periods and then storage for all of our church/school/ministries and family of 6.  However, I would like to minimize it all, not just for ease, but to be less of an eye sore when I see it.
Anyway, I looked around at my house and I must say that I've got things pretty much the way I like it to be.  We have church Bible study and prayer at my house every Wednesday now and I've finally got a handle on keeping the house presentable.  However, I do have some weak spots and these will be my challenge for this week.
Here's spot number one:

 This bookshelf is in the corner of our "office" room.  My husband Marco uses one side and I have the other side all set up as a craft space.  This is not a room that has a door that you can close to tuck away the clutter when company arrives.  When you walk into our home, it is the first open space to the left - the front room.  This bookshelf has become a catch-all for my school things for my little guy, crafts and such for the kids and for church, etc.  I also have a box of framed pictures that need to either be hung or re-purposed.  The box on top of it is our church projector that we use and then the gift bags are from parties we've recently had.  It all needs to get straightened out.  My husband has boxes of books in the garage and he needs to go through those.  I think I will encourage him to do that this week so that I can spruce it up for him.  This spot has been on my nerves for a while, but it doesn't ever get done.  Now is the time!
Here's spot number two:

This mess is inside our pantry.  Out of the picture, but to the right are shelves that keep our canned goods, pastas, etc.  That is fine and in order.  The shelves that we're looking at WERE in order at one time, but have gotten out of control.  Part of it is that I've done a lot of entertaining lately and instead of putting things away properly the first time, I just stuff it in there and make sure it won't fall out.  This will be handled this week for sure.  I will post pictures for you all  hopefully before next Monday!
There you go.  Two spots that really need my attention.  They may not be anything that bothers anyone else because they don't even know it's there, but I know what is happening and it bothers me.
Tomorrow, I will be sharing with you Part Two of Hidden Clutter.  I will be talking about the clutter that's different...the clutter that is weighing down our hearts.  See you then!

One Little Word|Captured|Week 2

In my 3 in 30 post, I posted a picture of the work in progress in my craft room. Well, I am definitely enjoying my JOURNEY this week. I finally got my craft space to where I feel like I am very happy and things are at my fingertips and I can create without clutter and craziness. Creating is a necessity for me. Now, I can really appreciate my happy place. I got a couple gift cards to Michael's for my birthday and I just held on to them because I wanted to use them on something special. I could've blown them on scrapping supplies, more paint or ink, more paper...but why? I already have so much stuff. The problem was that I didn't have proper storage and things were always hidden away and I'd forget about it.
I waited until their storage sets were 40% off and I got all of the shelves and drawer sets with my gift cards!! Thank you to my loving friends that gave toward the gift cards for my birthday! This is what you got me. =)
So far, I am making the most of my JOURNEY in 2011. I was sick on and off during the first week, but I am feeling better and ready to tackle the challenges and goals that I've set.
Click on the sidebar to visit Jill who is hosting the OLW Captured so that you can join in too! It's not too late.

Reverb 10|Day 20| Avoidance

December 20 – Beyond Avoidance.
What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)
(Author: Jake Nickell)

____________________________________________

I am going with the practical answer on this prompt and going with the thing that first comes to mind when I hear the word avoidance. De-cluttering/organizing my home and garage is what I've been avoiding. Marco and I have moved several times since we've been married and each time we move, I think that I am going to REALLY simplify. Then moving day comes and I am just too exhausted to even think of it. Now that we are a family of 6, I realize that it's not going to get any easier if I put it off any longer. We moved into this house in June and I did start to organize and purge,,,somewhat. Besides the size of our family and all that comes with each individual, my husband's and my occupation both lend to lots of "stuff" - mostly books, papers, files, LOTS of classroom stuff, etc. That's in the garage. Toys that one child outgrew, but now the next one is probably ready for, holiday decorations, oh...whatelse? Lots of STUFF.
Then there's my craft studio... I do manage to keep it looking really nice and inviting, but I REALLY want a new system where I can get things managed better so that I can USE what I have. It's a small space and it's our front room of the house. The thing I have the most of is paper and I really want to find a great system for easy access as well as an easy way for me to organize it. I'd like to invest in some organizational shelves or something like that, but it's got to look nice and be functional.

The other things I'd like to purge in this house would be clothes that everyone seems to be hanging on that no longer fit, board games we no longer play (we've got a ton), and kitchen items.

Yes. I am going to tackle this. As a matter of fact, the more I typed, the more inspired I became. Yes. This is it. I must simplify. It would be such a burden removed from my life. Then I can focus on some of the other, deeper issues that I've been avoiding...like my weight... *sigh* O_O