Organized Clutter

Yesterday I cleaned out my clothes closet and drawers. I had a big bag of clothes for the trash, one for donations, and one to try to sell on consignment. And today it was the bookcases in the living room. When I was through, I had one bag of trash, one pile to give away, and another pile of things to relocate.

Now here's the kicker after all that work. My closet looks just as full. And my bookcases don't look any emptier. I thought I was going through them with a fine tooth comb, but evidently it must have been one of those wide tooth shower combs for getting out tangles. All I can say is that my clutter is more attractive now. The librarian in me mandates if you have to have clutter, it must at least be organized.

Something tells me that God doesn't see our lives that way though. Clutter (sin) is clutter with Him, regardless of how it's packaged. I pray that I can clean out my ugly habits and character traits with that fine tooth comb called the Ten Commandments. I'll be glad then when I move into my heavenly mansion. It'll be a nice, clean move. No work involved. Piece of cake.

We know where the clothes disappeared TO, but where did they come FROM?

Housekeeping Recipe

This recipe is guaranteed to create a sweet heavenly home, if served daily with love.

Ingredient To-Do-List for the Entire Family:

T--trash (garbage, paper products, etc.)
D--dishes (dirty plates, cups, glasses, etc.)
L--laundry (clean and dirty clothes)

1. Pick up all trash and put in designated trash cans, or better yet, pick it up right after it falls or before it gets laid down. (Take trash cans out daily.)

2. Take all dishes and eating utensils to the kitchen sink, preferably right after eating from them.  (Wash them daily, along with the rest of the kitchen.)

3. Deposit dirty clothes in a designated hamper and clean clothes to proper drawers and closets. (Visit laundry facilities weekly, or use them at home, as needed.)

(Some of us just need it spelled out in 1, 2, 3 format!)

Garage and Mind Clutter

Winter is baring down in Nebraska pretty fast and one of the preps many of us are facing this fall is organizing our garages, and in my case, clearing out the clutter of three generations (parents' house we had to empty and daughter's overflow from their small apartment, not to mention 12 years of my belongings that no longer "belong").

Thanks to my nephew, I can now pull my car completely into the garage and even have room on both sides for entering and exiting the car doors! There is no way I could have achieved this garage remake were it not for his help and a neighbor's truck to haul it all off.

I am reminded of all my mind clutter collected over the years. Without God's help every day, I am in danger of getting lost in the shuffle of unneeded and even harmful mind clutter. Clutter can be neutral (neither harmful nor beneficial), but all of it can have a negative impact if it takes up room that should be reserved for God and His plans for my life.

The best things to store in our mind's garage are passages from the Bible. How amazing that our brains are built for unlimited storage room for this valuable commodity--God's Word. It will never go out of style, become unsightly, or lose its value. And ultimately we will end up looking as beautiful to the world as my garage now looks to the neighbors driving by.