Happy Friday and welcome to day 10 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
For the rest of our time in this challenge, we will work our way
through the living areas of our homes. And we’ll start with the front
entrance.
Your front entrance sets the mood and first impression of your home.
Will it be one of peace and rest? Or should there be flashing red
lights and signs reading “Danger”? Does your entry way convey
confident authority or disordered anarchy? Your family and guests will
immediately receive the unspoken message.
Without a plan, entryways can become a dumping ground. Family
members kick off shoes, drop bags and toss keys. Most often, that
happens because there isn’t a place for those items. With a bit of
rearranging, you can create a beautiful front entrance, one that offers a
“Welcome home” for your loved ones and their possessions.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Day 9 - Miscellaneous Paper
Welcome to Day 9 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
Before jumping in to the last day of dealing with paper clutter, I want to share a thought.
Today as we wrap up paper clutter, I’m going to share some tips for some of the papers that sit in a pretty basket somewhere in your home until they overflow. Then you go find another basket and fill that up too. Or perhaps you’ve got little slips of paper taped on the fridge and sticky notes spread around and you have no idea where to put that information. And if you have children … well … enough said.
Special cards, papers and letters
If you’re like me, you love to hold on to birthday cards you’ve received, a love note from your spouse or a drawing from a child. Those items hold precious memories for me, such as the self-portrait my eldest son did in kindergarten – it was a rainbow.
Before jumping in to the last day of dealing with paper clutter, I want to share a thought.
Today as we wrap up paper clutter, I’m going to share some tips for some of the papers that sit in a pretty basket somewhere in your home until they overflow. Then you go find another basket and fill that up too. Or perhaps you’ve got little slips of paper taped on the fridge and sticky notes spread around and you have no idea where to put that information. And if you have children … well … enough said.
Special cards, papers and letters
If you’re like me, you love to hold on to birthday cards you’ve received, a love note from your spouse or a drawing from a child. Those items hold precious memories for me, such as the self-portrait my eldest son did in kindergarten – it was a rainbow.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Day 8 - What to Keep
Welcome
to Day 8 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
Today we are going to continue to deal with paper clutter. If you have paper under control, I hope you’ll consider sharing some of your tips in the comments on my blog. You can do that by clicking on the title of this email.
Yesterday, I shared my practice of sorting papers into similar stacks. This helps me break down an overwhelming project into smaller pieces. My overloaded brain needs that! Now, I want to share some tips for managing paper that we need to keep, and identifying paper we don’t need to keep. I know some people are striving for a paperless file system, but that’s just not realistic for everything. And so I’ll be presenting ideas for what to do with a hard copy of paper and an electronic copy.
A filing system is critical for keeping your home and office free of paper clutter. Filing cabinets don’t have to be clunky gray metal. They can be lovely pieces of furniture. Purchase one larger than you think you need, and solid enough to not break when full.
Today we are going to continue to deal with paper clutter. If you have paper under control, I hope you’ll consider sharing some of your tips in the comments on my blog. You can do that by clicking on the title of this email.
Yesterday, I shared my practice of sorting papers into similar stacks. This helps me break down an overwhelming project into smaller pieces. My overloaded brain needs that! Now, I want to share some tips for managing paper that we need to keep, and identifying paper we don’t need to keep. I know some people are striving for a paperless file system, but that’s just not realistic for everything. And so I’ll be presenting ideas for what to do with a hard copy of paper and an electronic copy.
A filing system is critical for keeping your home and office free of paper clutter. Filing cabinets don’t have to be clunky gray metal. They can be lovely pieces of furniture. Purchase one larger than you think you need, and solid enough to not break when full.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Day 7 - Dealing with Paper Clutter & She Stands Alone
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming two groups to my blog. The
first is my faithful group of new friends who are de-cluttering their
lives through my 15-Day Clutter-Free Challenge. We are on day 7 and we
are going to take a look at paper clutter. I’m also welcoming Encouragement for Today devotions
readers who read “She Stands Alone” today.
CLUTTER-FREE DAY 7
Next, I’ll address our paper clutter. One would think given the digital age we live in, managing paper wouldn’t be a problem. But it is! Organizing stacks and piles, papers and files is an ongoing challenge for women. Especially those of us who grew up pre-computers.
Years ago I saved anything I thought might be handy in the future. Especially information on paper. I saved every bill, receipt and magazine. For years! My approach was filled with “just in case” and “what if” thoughts. Because maybe, just maybe, I might someday need to know how many times we changed the oil in our vehicle. Ahem. (probably not)
It took years before I realized the paper I was trying to manage, was really managing me. I was over-cautious, overly sentimental, and much too optimistic. Plus, sometimes I just didn’t know what to do with all that paper, so I postponed making a decision. And the piles grew.
CLUTTER-FREE DAY 7
Next, I’ll address our paper clutter. One would think given the digital age we live in, managing paper wouldn’t be a problem. But it is! Organizing stacks and piles, papers and files is an ongoing challenge for women. Especially those of us who grew up pre-computers.
Years ago I saved anything I thought might be handy in the future. Especially information on paper. I saved every bill, receipt and magazine. For years! My approach was filled with “just in case” and “what if” thoughts. Because maybe, just maybe, I might someday need to know how many times we changed the oil in our vehicle. Ahem. (probably not)
It took years before I realized the paper I was trying to manage, was really managing me. I was over-cautious, overly sentimental, and much too optimistic. Plus, sometimes I just didn’t know what to do with all that paper, so I postponed making a decision. And the piles grew.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Day 6 - Creating a Project Management Planner
Welcome to Day 6 of the Clutter-Free Challenge.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It’s my hope and prayer that you feel lighter now that we’ve tapped into the wisdom of God, aligned our hearts with His through prayer, done a personal assessment of everything we have to do and started the editing process to trim down an overwhelming schedule.
Last week I promised we would do something with that list of tasks and responsibilities you’ve been creating, and that’s our focus today. I’m going to share an approach that has truly revolutionized how I organize my tasks and responsibilities.
For years I tried to manage all I had to do on one list. I tried to prioritize that to-do list using various methods, all without success. I had huge projects next to phone calls. It was just too much to put on one sheet of paper. It was like trying to squeeze my size 9 feet into cute little size 6 shoes. It wasn’t happening.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It’s my hope and prayer that you feel lighter now that we’ve tapped into the wisdom of God, aligned our hearts with His through prayer, done a personal assessment of everything we have to do and started the editing process to trim down an overwhelming schedule.
Last week I promised we would do something with that list of tasks and responsibilities you’ve been creating, and that’s our focus today. I’m going to share an approach that has truly revolutionized how I organize my tasks and responsibilities.
For years I tried to manage all I had to do on one list. I tried to prioritize that to-do list using various methods, all without success. I had huge projects next to phone calls. It was just too much to put on one sheet of paper. It was like trying to squeeze my size 9 feet into cute little size 6 shoes. It wasn’t happening.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Day 5 - Editing Responsibilities According to Priorities
Welcome to Day 5 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
I’m so proud of all of you for signing up and making it through the first week. To celebrate, my friend Karen Ehman has offered to do a giveaway! She’s giving away a signed copy of her book, “The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized,” plus a $10 gift card to Target so you can treat yourself to some organizing products. We’ll tell you how to enter at the end of this post. Karen will also be helping me moderate comments while I’m out of town.
Today, we are going to start looking at removing some of the clutter in our schedules. So let’s get started.
There’s nothing like a new year to bring hope and optimism into our hearts. This year, we promise ourselves, is the year we get our act together. This year we will get and stay organized, start exercising and lose weight! This year we will read the Bible completely through, make more time for family get-togethers, pray nightly with our children and have a date-night with our husbands. Certainly we are intelligent, competent women … we can do this … right?
I’m so proud of all of you for signing up and making it through the first week. To celebrate, my friend Karen Ehman has offered to do a giveaway! She’s giving away a signed copy of her book, “The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized,” plus a $10 gift card to Target so you can treat yourself to some organizing products. We’ll tell you how to enter at the end of this post. Karen will also be helping me moderate comments while I’m out of town.
Today, we are going to start looking at removing some of the clutter in our schedules. So let’s get started.
There’s nothing like a new year to bring hope and optimism into our hearts. This year, we promise ourselves, is the year we get our act together. This year we will get and stay organized, start exercising and lose weight! This year we will read the Bible completely through, make more time for family get-togethers, pray nightly with our children and have a date-night with our husbands. Certainly we are intelligent, competent women … we can do this … right?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Day 4 - The Myth of Mult-tasking
Welcome to Day 4 of the Clutter-Free Challenge.
Thank you for posting your wonderful comments yesterday. I LOVED reading them. Although I couldn’t respond individually, I want you to know that I read them. Some of you shared really hard things, and I took time last night to pray for you. Some of you shared exciting things, and I celebrated with you. And for everyone else, you touched my heart by sharing a piece of your life with me. Thank you. I wish I had 1,000 books to giveaway, but I only have one today (but I promise to have another giveaway later). The winner of yesterday’s giveaway is: Rachael who commented at 10:40 on 1/11/12. I’ll send you an email in the morning.
Yesterday I made you work pretty hard, so today you don’t have a heavy assignment. Just some interesting facts that I think will make you feel a whole lot better about not being able to get your thoughts together.
Thank you for posting your wonderful comments yesterday. I LOVED reading them. Although I couldn’t respond individually, I want you to know that I read them. Some of you shared really hard things, and I took time last night to pray for you. Some of you shared exciting things, and I celebrated with you. And for everyone else, you touched my heart by sharing a piece of your life with me. Thank you. I wish I had 1,000 books to giveaway, but I only have one today (but I promise to have another giveaway later). The winner of yesterday’s giveaway is: Rachael who commented at 10:40 on 1/11/12. I’ll send you an email in the morning.
Yesterday I made you work pretty hard, so today you don’t have a heavy assignment. Just some interesting facts that I think will make you feel a whole lot better about not being able to get your thoughts together.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Day 3 - Dealing With Mental Overload
Welcome to Day 3 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
After seeking God’s help with this de-cluttering process, the next step on our Clutter-Free journey deals with minds. I’ll venture to say 75% or more of our clutter problems aren’t because we don’t work hard enough, or that our homes are too small or our children are messy. Most of our problems start because we can’t think through what needs to be done. We can’t get our minds under control. We can’t make decisions. We are on mental overload.
Do you know that feeling?
For years, I lived with an ongoing sense that I should be doing something all the time. It ate at me. Even when I was focused on something important, there was a latent unease about what else I should be doing. It was an underlying anxiety that hung around, even when there was no pressing deadline or responsibility. It caused stress and lack of sleep.
After seeking God’s help with this de-cluttering process, the next step on our Clutter-Free journey deals with minds. I’ll venture to say 75% or more of our clutter problems aren’t because we don’t work hard enough, or that our homes are too small or our children are messy. Most of our problems start because we can’t think through what needs to be done. We can’t get our minds under control. We can’t make decisions. We are on mental overload.
Do you know that feeling?
For years, I lived with an ongoing sense that I should be doing something all the time. It ate at me. Even when I was focused on something important, there was a latent unease about what else I should be doing. It was an underlying anxiety that hung around, even when there was no pressing deadline or responsibility. It caused stress and lack of sleep.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Day 2 - I Align My Thoughts With God
Welcome back to Day Two in our Clutter-Free Challenge. I’m so glad you are here.
Today we are going to start in the command center of our de-cluttering journey – our minds.
It’s not usually a lack of energy that holds us back. It’s not too-small cabinets. It’s not a lack of a garage that keeps us from being able to make decisions about what to do with our stuff. It’s our minds, our thoughts, our mental processing. Let me give you examples of what I mean.
*I’ve looked at a to-do list that is waaaaaay too long, felt overwhelmed and made a decision to turn on the TV. What a self-defeating decision.
*I’ve looked at an overflowing closet and thought “Maybe those too-small shoes won’t hurt me next time I wear them.” Not logical. They will.
*I’ve held on to a gift I will never use, in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. That seems like a nice thing to do, but I’m being controlled by my assumptions and fear of rejection.
Today we are going to start in the command center of our de-cluttering journey – our minds.
It’s not usually a lack of energy that holds us back. It’s not too-small cabinets. It’s not a lack of a garage that keeps us from being able to make decisions about what to do with our stuff. It’s our minds, our thoughts, our mental processing. Let me give you examples of what I mean.
*I’ve looked at a to-do list that is waaaaaay too long, felt overwhelmed and made a decision to turn on the TV. What a self-defeating decision.
*I’ve looked at an overflowing closet and thought “Maybe those too-small shoes won’t hurt me next time I wear them.” Not logical. They will.
*I’ve held on to a gift I will never use, in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. That seems like a nice thing to do, but I’m being controlled by my assumptions and fear of rejection.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Day 1 - Welcome to the Challenge
Welcome! I am SO HAPPY you have decided to join me for a 15-Day
Clutter-FREE Challenge. I’ve been planning, preparing and praying over
this for months, and I’m excited to begin. Today I want to give you an
overview of what this challenge will look like. But first, I want to
address what I know is on many of your minds. Maybe you are itching to
get started, but if we don’t deal with what’s going on inside of us,
we’ll only put bandages on the outside problem of clutter. I want more
for you than a temporary fix.
I know everyone is starting this challenge from a different place of optimism. Some of you are charged up and ready to tackle the clutter in your lives. Yet others are so discouraged and defeated, and we haven’t even started. You’ve tried everything, and you are ready to lock up your house and move. I understand. I’ve been in both places before.
The truth is, my mind can be my biggest enemy in this battle of the clutter. I’m sure some of you can relate. We blame and label ourselves. We compare and discourage ourselves. We judge and give up on ourselves. And so today, before giving you any tips, I want to start by praying for God’s truth to replace the lies that have held us back. You see, this isn’t just a battle of “things,” it’s a spiritual battle. Please pray with me before reading any more:
I know everyone is starting this challenge from a different place of optimism. Some of you are charged up and ready to tackle the clutter in your lives. Yet others are so discouraged and defeated, and we haven’t even started. You’ve tried everything, and you are ready to lock up your house and move. I understand. I’ve been in both places before.
The truth is, my mind can be my biggest enemy in this battle of the clutter. I’m sure some of you can relate. We blame and label ourselves. We compare and discourage ourselves. We judge and give up on ourselves. And so today, before giving you any tips, I want to start by praying for God’s truth to replace the lies that have held us back. You see, this isn’t just a battle of “things,” it’s a spiritual battle. Please pray with me before reading any more:
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