mama's journal @ the welcome home

The problem with attempting to make dramatic changes, or to carry out new resolutions, or most anything, really, is that we’re still the same people with the same proclivities, habits, personal styles, bents. The tidying, or in my case, the project of eliminating clutter, only lasts as long as the determination/work/project continues. No matter where you are in the project of eliminating clutter or tidying, you’re still you.

You’re still you. I’ve had to repeat this to myself many times in the last couple of weeks as I see myself “dropping my guard” on eliminating clutter. Just recognizing this has been inspiring. And I’ve remembered a couple of old adages: It didn’t get this way over night and its not going to go away over night, and: Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

As the weeks pass, and still maintaining the mindset of working to eliminate clutter and possessions, I’m sure seeing that no matter where I am in this process: I’m still me and this is a process, not a race. No one’s keeping score and there’s not an arbitrary finish line. I understood this when I made the decision to not sort and eliminate the boxes of mementos and memorabilia. But I still seem to operate as if there’s a score being kept or a standard not yet met.

An important revelation for me was to realize that I didn’t need to try and be someone else. I’m still me and am just fine being me. I’ve spent over forty years being a wife and mother to eleven children and have had decades of learning how to arrange, make space and organize things. I really don’t want to start over and do things differently–I won’t be able to maintain that persona, know what I mean? I don’t need new methods, I need to apply what I already know! This is freedom!! I hope if you’re on this track, you’ll see your freedom, too!

I watched a few episodes of the Netflix reality series Tidying Up. I mentioned in a previous post that I stopped watching after a few episodes bcz I didn’t need/want to learn new ways of storing things or folding clothes,— that, and I couldn’t get into living other people’s clutter drama. I also didn’t need a new mindset concerning possessions. I bristled at the thought of thanking items before setting them in the discard box. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had already taken to thanking the Lord for His provision and the use I had for the items I discarded (and I even sought forgiveness for the carelessness I’d exhibited for the several items I bought but never used). But even as I “fast-forwarded” through the shows, what I saw inspired me to stay my course and keep eliminating and organizing my “new normal.”

I already know how sort, clean, and organize things well and I already have an ample supply of plastic bins, containers, and drawers. I like the way I fold things, I like to order and arrange things. I know the flow of our home, and have learned by trial and error where things go best. I like the ways we use space in this old farmhouse. All that to maybe inspire you to take a look at your life and recognize your strengths and abilities, too.

In all this clutter elimination and tidying, I’m still me – with all my abilities, successes, failures, quirks and flaws.

And if you’re in the process, remember this: you’re still you! If you’ve got tidying to do (or like me, have the arduous task of a massive elimination of items!), keep in mind: if you won’t use it, no longer need it, want it, like it: Let it go! Thank the Lord for His provisions, repent if that’s in order, muster up the strength to do what you can/must for the day, tidy up your house and live a joyful, clutter-free, ordered life.