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:
Heavenly Father, You alone know my heart as I start this challenge.
You know the depth of my discouragement and the loss of my hope that
I’ll ever be free of the clutter in my life. So today, as I take this
step with Glynnis and other many others, I’m asking for Your help. Help
me have Your perspective on the areas of my life that feel
overwhelming. Clear my mind of the negative chatter. Protect me from
an enemy who wants to confuse and defeat me. Reveal his lies and
replace them with Your truth about my worth and potential. With Your
help I believe I can make progress. In Jesus name, Amen.
Each time you feel overwhelmed and
discouraged remember to pray. Satan wants you bound; God wants you
free. See the lies for what they are and ask God for His truth. It’s
amazing how empowered you’ll feel when you use the weapon God has
offered you – truth.
Now a bit about why I’m doing this challenge. As I was writing my
book, “I Used to Be So Organized,” I studied many organization, time
management and productivity books. I read magazines articles on
organization and visited many organizing blogs. Everywhere I looked, I
found great tips on how to develop efficient systems for organizing.
Even with all this information available, much of it free, why do so
many people struggle with getting organized?
It actually didn’t take me long to figure this out. The answer was
obvious. Most of us have too much stuff in too little room – whether
it’s our minds, schedules, offices or homes. There’s just more stuff
than we need or can manage.
You see, there is no point in “organizing” stuff that shouldn’t be
there in the first place! And there’s no benefit of trying to get a
handle on your schedule if your responsibilities outweigh your resources
for getting everything done.
If you’ve got an organization problem, I’ll be brave and at the risk
of offending you, say you have too much stuff in your life. I’ll bet
you have stuff stacked, tucked, shelved, boxed and piled around your
house. And the thought of bringing any kind of order to all that stuff
overwhelms you.
I know. I’ve been there. That’s why I don’t want to spend your
valuable time telling you to buy more storage bins, filing cabinets,
cute baskets or bins.
For now, let’s not think about how we are going to bring order to our
stuff. Let’s just think about getting rid of clutter. Together we’ll
spend the next 15 days working through areas of our lives that tend to
feel out of control. We’re going to simplify. Doesn’t that sound
appealing?
Together we will: assess, categorize, recycle, shred, toss, give
away. It will be like going on a diet, only you can have Starbucks and
brownies while you work. At the end of this challenge, I promise you’ll
be lighter. You’ll have the weight of a messy office, kitchen or
bedroom off your shoulders. You’ll feel unburdened by too many thoughts
running through your mind. You’ll have a lighter schedule and be able
to identify your priorities and focus on what’s important.
Our purpose in getting free of clutter is to be freed to do what God
is calling us to do. Clutter in our minds, spirits, time and resources
drains us. It saps our creativity. It discourages us before we get
started. We are free from clutter to obey.
Thanks for joining me on this 15-day challenge. And I understand if
you can’t get it all done in 15 days. Just work at it as you can.
Maybe for you it takes 15 weeks. And that’s okay too. Just keep moving
forward. We’ll celebrate the little victories together.
Tomorrow I’ll share a spiritual principle that will help bring
clarity to your mind. Everything starts there, and we need to get that
area under control first. Until then …
Grace & Peace, Glynnis
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