Did you find yourself with the New Year's resolution to eliminate excess things in your life? After almost a month into the new year, it may have been a challenge to start off on the right foot, especially coming out of the holiday season on the tired side. January, for me, is a month of trying to take it easy and focus on getting back into a routine. For some of us, getting back to normal can be more than a couple of days, more like a few weeks. But slowly we find ourselves getting back into the swing of things, and one thing I personally experience is wanting to clean out some of the excess things that are starting to clutter my life.
It probably begins with putting away all the Christmas decorations, where I find that everything that came out of the box doesn’t fit back into the box. That’s mostly due to the fact that I probably added to the Christmas repertoire from some holiday shopping. But I find that in those moments I see many things that I truly could do without. Typically there are some items that haven’t been used in a while or maybe even years. I take the time to sort through those boxes that get opened once a year and select the things I know I will continue to use and those that I no longer do. I usually come across a few items that are hard to give away, typically because of a sentimental attachment. I have a rule that has helped me in moments like this and it’s setting an expiration date. Sometimes it’s six months or a year at most, usually, it depends on the item and the frequency it should be used. If I don’t use it at all within that time frame, into the donation box it goes. If it does get used, then it survived another year. With seasonal decor, I feel like this can be easier to do, especially when our taste evolves throughout the years and certain items become too dated. I’m certainly not encouraging you to get rid of things just because it’s not in style anymore. But we all have been there where we buy something more so on impulse than necessity and later realize, “this really isn’t my style.” To avoid that problem, I would encourage you to seek classic items that won’t easily go out of style and can be easy to mix into different trends and tastes. But decluttering your holiday boxes can be easier to do than your everyday home items.
When was the last time you cleaned out your closet? Are you holding onto certain pieces with the hope they will fit again? Or do you find yourself wearing the same items because they are comfortable and are the pieces that look best on you? Have you looked through your board games and movies to see which ones you never play or watch? What about the kid's toys that they forgot existed? When was the last time you used that casserole dish? Do you really need to keep the mandoline slicer you bought, thinking it would make your life easier but you’re still slicing the potatoes with your favorite knife? I think I made my point. We fall very easily to the idea that more is better and more useful, but as humans, we really are capable of doing with less. After just experiencing two days without water because the pump broke, I am reminded once again of just how much we can do without the excess, but also how creative we can be in repurposing things we already have. And this isn’t the first time the water has been out. How many times has the electricity gone out and we find ourselves reverting back to some of the ways our grandparents lived and cherishing the memory later? Just think about what life was like over a hundred years ago. Life was simpler, but it was also harder. Some of the things we use every day like fetching water which has been simplified for our use in our modern times. We don’t fetch the water from a well with a bucket any more thanks to modern amenities, but things were appreciated more back then because of the work that was put into acquiring items. And because things weren’t cheap, being resourceful with what you had was a common practice.
Commercialism has brainwashed a lot of people into thinking items can only be used for what the label says. To an extent, yes that is true with certain items like chemicals or fragile things. But for a vast majority of common items, they can have a second or third purpose. When we seek to be resourceful with the items we already have, we learn to live and need less. Instead of buying another gadget for the kitchen, try considering if you already have something that would do the same job. An example in our home is we don’t have a griddle. Not that griddles wouldn’t be a comfort to have in the sense of their nonstick surface, but because everything we would do on a griddle we can do with other appliances or items that are used more frequently. Pancakes I cook on our iron skillet which I use for cooking everything from meats and eggs to veggies and sandwiches. Sausages and bacon we cook in the oven. Tortillas are warmed up in the oven or skillet. Sandwiches are pressed in the skillet. Is it a little extra work at times? Yes, but it’s also one less appliance taking up space that I probably would only use once in a blue moon. Our home motto is to be creative with less, and this applies to every aspect of our home life.
Sometimes the old-fashioned ways can help us to be more humbling and detached from material things. It also allows us to be resourceful and creative, overcome challenges, and grow in various skills. Now, not everyone lives the same way, some people can live without a griddle while others use it for everything. That’s the whole point of analyzing what you use and don’t use in your home. I might use a tea kettle and never a coffee machine whereas another may use a coffee machine and never a kettle. Just as each person's needs are different, what is needed in each home will be different. What is important to note is that regardless of the circumstances and the necessities of each home, we can all do with a little less clutter in our lives. Teaching ourselves to become detached from the material things in our life is not just humbling, but what God in fact calls us to do. Heaven is not about the modern comforts and commodities, it’s about being with God. Allowing ourselves to become attached to the things of this world, especially the material things, sets us up for disappointment in the next life, and how sad of a thought it is to be more concerned about the things that make my life easier than the relationship with another, or the relationship we should be seeking with God.
Setting into motion a new perspective on life can be hard, but it takes time to set those new habits and ways of thinking into motion. But if you never begin then there will never be progress. You don’t need to wait for the New Year to start fresh, but it does make it a little easier. Take the time to examine what are the things in my home that are just cluttering up our lives. Try to look at not just the material items but also the activities that could be affecting your everyday. Examine that meticulously color-coded calendar on the fridge or the long list of extracurricular activities going on. Take the time to sort through the closets, attic, kitchen, and bedrooms, and ask yourself, “Is there someone out there that needs this more than me?” Take a look at the things that are taking up space, collecting dust, or there are multiple of the same items. Examine the things that no longer serve a purpose or that no longer suit the stage in your life that you are in. If it is something you completely forgot you even had, I would say that is a good indication you don’t need to hold onto it. Eliminating the excess doesn’t mean going off the grid, it just means living within the grid you truly need. If we are constantly adding more to our lifestyle and into our homes, we will find it harder to balance everything going on around us. You’d be surprised how living with more items can sometimes create more work for you. But the biggest thing we do to ourselves is we end up finding fulfillment in items, we allow ourselves to be dependent on them. We begin losing the ability to be self-sufficient and rely more on the material than on ourselves. We become overly attached and slowly our lives just get more cluttered with things that slowly eliminate our opportunity to continuously grow in humility and simplicity. Take the time to set into practice a new way of living within your home this year and to find the time to eliminate the excess that is just getting in the way of you living a life that constantly seeks to grow interiorly and not materially.
Kommentit