We returned from Christmas with our families, and went straight to
cleaning and decluttering for hours. Hours turned into days of cleaning
and decluttering. I don't know if it is the extra stuff we receive at
Christmas, or the bareness of the house after the decorations have been
taken down, or the resolutions to get organized, but January is a
universal time to clean up and organize. Magazines have organizational
ideas on their covers. Target has sales on their bins and boxes and
label makers. Ikea sent me an email catalog inspiring me to "Conquer my
clutter."
Matt made a profound statement to me after spending hours in the garage straightening everything. He said, "How many hours do we spend every week organizing our crap?"
That question has not left my mind. We do spend so much time organizing our stuff. If we don't, then we feel guilty that we don't and for Matt and me, we get irritable when we are messy. Something is wrong with this.
As IKEA stated in their ad, we must "conquer our clutter". What a word choice. Conquering suggests that I'm in battle with my stuff. I have to overcome it before it overcomes me. If I can keep it organized in bins and pretty boxes, if I can add cabinets and drawer dividers to contain it, if I can add rooms to my house so that it stays controlled and in it's place, then I will have conquered the clutter. And maybe I'm so in control of my clutter, that I can buy more.
We are probably the only people in the world who can make "The Container Store" a thriving business. We buy enormous quantities for our families of 5 at food warehouses and then we buy bins at the Container Store so we can contain all of our stuff.
I do this too. I'm not passing judgement at all. We are expanding our laundry room even as I speak, so that we have more storage space. I just got back from IKEA looking for drawer organizers.
But it is good for the soul to consider, how many hours do I spend organizing my crap? Is there good stewardship there in how I spend my time and my money? Will I ever be able to conquer my clutter with more organizational tools and tips? Or is this more about conquering my need for worldly comforts? I won't ever be able to organize or clean my way out of that.
Matt made a profound statement to me after spending hours in the garage straightening everything. He said, "How many hours do we spend every week organizing our crap?"
That question has not left my mind. We do spend so much time organizing our stuff. If we don't, then we feel guilty that we don't and for Matt and me, we get irritable when we are messy. Something is wrong with this.
As IKEA stated in their ad, we must "conquer our clutter". What a word choice. Conquering suggests that I'm in battle with my stuff. I have to overcome it before it overcomes me. If I can keep it organized in bins and pretty boxes, if I can add cabinets and drawer dividers to contain it, if I can add rooms to my house so that it stays controlled and in it's place, then I will have conquered the clutter. And maybe I'm so in control of my clutter, that I can buy more.
We are probably the only people in the world who can make "The Container Store" a thriving business. We buy enormous quantities for our families of 5 at food warehouses and then we buy bins at the Container Store so we can contain all of our stuff.
I do this too. I'm not passing judgement at all. We are expanding our laundry room even as I speak, so that we have more storage space. I just got back from IKEA looking for drawer organizers.
But it is good for the soul to consider, how many hours do I spend organizing my crap? Is there good stewardship there in how I spend my time and my money? Will I ever be able to conquer my clutter with more organizational tools and tips? Or is this more about conquering my need for worldly comforts? I won't ever be able to organize or clean my way out of that.
1 comment:
I enjoy your words, not just the "Clutter" one, but the oldest son not believing in Santa any more one.
Thanks for telling about your life experiences.
They remind me of our family when the kids were young and we were young parents.
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