I sorted through the linen closet today. I’m not totally sure why I have a linen closet. When I wash sheets they go right back on the bed. Same with towels. So for what reason do I have stacks and stacks of towels in my closet? Old towels, faded towels. Same with sheets. Why do I have mis-matched, worn sheets. Was I waiting for 20 people to suddenly need a place to sleep? Or desperate refugees to be walking by my house and longing for a handout of someones rejected linen?
I don’t understand why these things have been sitting here unused.
Gives me a great moment of introspection. Why all the excess. Why all the “what if I need these someday?” I won’t. Toss them. Free myself from the clutter.
As we have prepared to full time RV, I have had a goal to fill a trash bag every other day. (This does not include anything of value i.e. something that could be donated to the Goodwill) It sounds so excessive and wasteful, right? Well apparently that’s how we’ve been living. (Don’t judge. You have deep cabinets too)
Tonight my kids were playing hide and go seek while I tried to sort through the stacks and stacks of DVDs we never watch. Griffin decided to hide in the cabinet above the refrigerator. (Creative little spot, right? He set his stop watch and it took Bennett 11 minutes to find him. But the longest record goes to Ella who hid in a trunk we use for an end table in our living room. Anthony helped her hide and replaced the lamp and pile of junk mail after she got in. She was there for 20 minutes. Hello claustrophobia. I would have had a panic attack crammed in that dark box.)
Back to the hiding spot above the fridge… In my house, that cabinet is where stuff goes to die. I assume in the homes of really tall people this is not the case. They can easily reach in there. The tops of their refrigerators are probably clean too. Not the case here.
Contents of the cabinet: 8 reusable plastic water bottles that haven’t been used in years and a broken hummingbird feeder.
It’s cabinets like these that fulfill my goal of filling a trash bag.
The excess is convicting.
Or is it the laziness?
I’m not an organized person. And no one will accuse of me of being a fantastic housekeeper.
I think there have been moments in my life when I was better about stuff like that. But then I had 5 kids and I homeschooled and then I went through tragedy and well, something has to give.
I have dear friends who are amazing artists. Some who are very organized. Some who are very intentional and present whenever I’m with them. Some who are the life of the party. Some who are great listeners. Some are great with details and some keep immaculate houses.
But none of them do it all.
I wish I was a more organized person. And I wish I had the energy I see in some people who go, go, go and don’t stop. (Oh, all the things I could get done!) And I wish I was a better listener and not so easily distracted by the myriad of things swirling in my brain. But also, at some point, I just have to let all that go.
It’s the variety that makes the world go round. While a friend of mine might read this and shake her head at my hoarding problems, another may say, “Wait, don’t throw the hummingbird feeder away! I’ll fix it!”
The truth is, God made us each unique. Giving up the quest to be someone we aren’t releases so many unnecessary burdens. So while I’m purging my closets and cabinets here, I’m also realizing there is a lot of stuff inside me that can get thrown out too. That maybe every few days I could take a spiritual garbage bag and dump the things I’m storing that aren’t part of God’s plan for me. Pressures I allow on myself, interests that don’t need pursuing, habits that need to stop.
Purging is a freeing thing. Taking a bulging white trash bag to the outdoor bin lets off a little adrenaline rush. And letting go of things that aren’t part of what God is calling me to is a major spiritual boost as well.
Who knows, someday I may say, “Wait, where is that movie we once owned? It’s a classic!” But I know I will never say, “Wow, I still really wish I was trying to be someone I’m not.”
Taking that spiritual garbage bag and ridding myself of the excess is a liberating. Try it. What needs purging in your life?
