What is Your Treasure;Secrets of Simplicity

Found money, a lottery win, inheritance from Great-Uncle Joe, buried treasure, an oil well shooting to the sky with black gold or a game show victory…each carries the potential of a windfall which could potentially change someones financial future. Why then do lottery winners or overnight millionaires often find themselves in a familiar position of ruin or worse a few years later?

The accumulation of more is not always the answer for our lack. As you pursue a less complicated life, one of the blessings you will find on your journey will be a fresh vision for what your true treasure is and where it can be found.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34

We each have bric-a-brac which means the world to us, but little to anyone outside of our four walls. I am an avid garage-saler, but am seldom drawn to signs which advertise  in bold black letters, “Estate Sale”. I find them a little sad. The sale usually indicates the “end of the line” for an individual. Treasures purchased over time by one now relegated to a long-term care facility or recently laid to rest are now haphpazerdly strewn for the casual purchase by anyone who comes with money in hand. Immediate family members have already come and taken away anything which holds sentimental or physical value. The trimmings and trappings gathered over a lifetime are laid bare for the world to see and purchase for pennies on the dollar. Photos, once treasured by a family, are now casually sold for a pittance.

 

 

As you begin to sort, toss and organize the areas of your life which you have chosen to tackle, I encourage you to allow yourself the privilege of keeping what matters most to you. Simplifying your life does not mean throwing everything away.

My father left this life after a short 4 week battle with pancreatic cancer. Ater his funeral I climbed into his teal green 1991 Ford Ranger, thinking about my dad with tears streaming down my face. While sitting there I saw the leather driving gloves he wore every winter, casually tossed on the dash, waiting for him to come back and drive his prized little pickup with nary a skip in time. I recalled my dad wearing those calfskin gloves for years, and I purposed in my heart to ask mom if I might be able to keep them. A few days later when I asked her if I could take them home, she simply said, “They are gone. I needed to get rid of everything, it was too hard to have it here.” It broke my heart. I wanted to keep those gloves, but it was her way of trying to heal and sort through a lifetime of memories.

Use Photography to Preserve Memories

When we moved from our home, a friend wisely encouraged me to take photos of the walls and rooms in our home before the packing marathon began. I am grateful for her advice.

• Photos captured  the place where we had displayed photos of our children in a trio of frames for over 20 years,
• A wild array of notes and reminders on the side of our refrigerator told the story of our lives and priorities
• Kitchen cupboards where I often taped artwork my children had lovingly created were snagged with my camera
• The overgrown and eclectic perennial garden spanning the width of our back yard reaching to the sky in wild abandon was captured forever on film
• Our beloved screened porch with my prized wicker furniture and wooden rocker; my favorite ‘room’ in our home is now treasured and not easily forgotten.

 

By capturing bits and pieces of things which you no longer have room for, either physically or emotionally, you may find yourself better able to release the space they occupy in your life.

If you are not physically moving, but feel the need to declutter a space and are overwhelmed with the process of choosing what to keep and what to clear out,  I suggest, using the rule of three boxes. Label them Keep, Give Away, Throw away. Fill, repeat, fill, repeat and … well you get the idea!

• Begin by emptying a closet, drawer or desk- a clear palate is the best way to have opportunity for seeing what works for you and what you need. Looking at an entire room may cause you to run with your tail between your legs. Don’t plan to work more than an hour at first.
• Begin to fill your three boxes in each room, when they are full set them aside and get three more!
• Small is better than nothing. Set a timer for 30-60 minutes. Rome was not built in a day and you did not accumulate your treasures in one either.
• You will not make sense of the chaos in your corner closet, basement or garage all at once.
• Breathe. Know it is a process , stare overwhelm in the eyes and keep going.
• Consider your extended family; might they be interested in something you no longer need, want or can keep. (remember my dad’s gloves? )
• Enlist the help of a trusted friend who understands your struggle and is willing to tackle the clutter monster with you.

If you are unsure whether you will “need” or want an item in the future, no problem, no guilt.  Add one more box to the rule of three… put HUGE question marks on all sides of the box, tape it shut, date it and tuck it away in your basement or garage on a shelf for six months. If you have not needed what was in there within that time, don’t open it, simply carry it to the car, stop at your local  Goodwill store, drop it off and back away slowly. Keep breathing.

 Who begins too much accomplishes little. German Proverb

Challenge for Today- Close your eyes, take a deep breath and choose a space to declutter. Not sure which space to start with? Ask yourself the following.

• Look at the space, is there a theme  to the type of “stuff” which tends to overwhelm your home such as paperwork, clothing, or collectibles?
• Has cleaning in this space become an impossible feat because of too much stuff?
• Is the floor covered with clutter and items you need to put away?
• Are the tops of tables, chairs, and other furniture hidden beneath piles? 
• Does your space provide a proper filing system and or storage system?
• Has it been more than 4 weeks since you’ve sorted and purged this space? 

 

If you have answered yes to most or all of these questions, you know you are looking at the right place to begin. Collect your three boxes and choose one area of the space you stand before and begin.  If you are wrestling with how to decide which of the three boxes something may belong in, test it against the following questions as you go through each item.

• When was the last time you used it?
• Is it a collectible you could display and enjoy?
• It the item usable or is it outdated?
• Can you find it when you need it if you left it where it was?
• Is the item beyond repair?

This is not an easy process. It is tough to teach an old dog new tricks and a lifetime of habits are not set aside without a struggle, which is why we are in this together. Hubs and I sorted a pantry and revamped a closet to make it work better for us just yesterday. It had to get worse before it got better. Everything had to come out before we could consider how to create a more efficient system.

Remember,  invite your friends to join us, send them our link and bring them along on your quest for less stuff (inside and out) and more of a life you love!  You will find a place to sign up on the top right of the screen! One of you will receive a special gift at the end of our journey!  Blessings my friends! 

Thankful we are do not do this life alone. Grateful for you my fellow sojurners on our way to learning to live a better life with less!  I am encouraged by the comments you are leaving and the multitude of stories you have shared with me. We were created by God to dwell in community and for this and for you I am thankful!