De-Clutter Your Home & Life - Part 2 : Your Mind

So we are finally kicking this cold out of our house for now. Oh, mylanta! It was very rough! I can finally see the computer screen well enough to write, so here we go!

We left off on "spring cleaning" and I think it is important for us to get into the habit of keeping our lives organized as well.  We talked a bit before in How To Declutter Your Home and Your Life - The Basics about the effects that "clutter" (both emotional and physical) have on our lives. Many times, it can make us feel overwhelmed or depressed and it often drains us of our energy.  Clutter is no fun for anyone and can certainly add stress to an already-stressful life!



Since we carry "clutter" in our minds as well, we need to think about organizing our minds so that we can live our lives in the way we were meant to live them. I will say that I firmly believe that God has a purpose for each and every person on earth. We may not always know what that purpose is, but it is important to live WITH a purpose. It is no fun to just float around "doing" every day instead of "living". How awful would it be to feel like you are here by accident?  Do you ever feel like you just "exist" to get your "to do" list done? That's NOT the plan He has for you...let's DECLUTTER AND FOCUS! :)

We first have to begin with a vision for our lives. What I mean by that is, you have to think about what your life would be like if you could do ANYTHING...if you could have any goals, go anywhere, accomplish whatever you want, etc.  Ask yourself these questions:

-What would you do to earn a living?

-What would your day look like?

-What would you do for fun?

-Where would you live?

-What would you do more/less of? 

These questions will inspire you to take a look at your life as it is right now. Do we ever really get a chance to do that? Some of us may, but I rarely sit down to ponder it. I just know that my life right now is NOT what God wants for me. 

So, answer the questions above and see where you stand with where you want your life to be. Are you on track? Do you feel like you need to regroup and rethink your goals for your life? Are you ready to change your thinking? (Even baby steps make a huge difference!) Let's do it!

Write the answer to these questions down, maybe in a journal or notebook. Keep them handy so that you can reference them on this journey.  They will help keep your mind focused on the ultimate goal.  But first, we have to get rid of all of the "junk" in the way!

When we identify the "clutter" in our lives, we have to realize that our FEELINGS about the clutter are what determines our THOUGHTS about it.  We then turn these THOUGHTS into ACTIONS.   For instance, I have a "to-do" list sometime 25 items long every day.  How do I feel about the list? I HATE it! I feel like it will never end and it makes me feel...well...hopeless at times! UGH! I'm sure many of you feel my frustration. I end up working all day long from morning until night trying to get everything done.  I fail more often than not:

-The feeling - overwhelming hopelessness

-The thought - "I am not a good mom if I fail at my list"

-The action - I work around the clock on the list and totally stress-out.  Not cool at all.

Make sense? Now, I am not saying that lists are bad. I actually think they are important. BUT, it's a matter of prioritizing what I put on that list that is going to make the difference. We'll talk about that in a bit. 

Let's try one more example:  Say you have an old stool that you used to sit on at your grandparent's home when you were young. The stool was very special because it was stuffed with shredded money. Yes, shredded money. How fun is that, right? Well, the stool smelled like smoke, but after your grandparents died, you NEEDED to have that stool to remind you of them. Well, over time, it was put in storage since you didn't want the smell in your home around your kids. And the stool was burnt orange, not really the color of your decor. So, it sits in storage along with the other items you couldn't part with.  You LOVE your grandparents and could never part with that stool.  Using the FEELINGS to THOUGHTS to ACTIONS, let's see what happens:

The feeling - great memories and love

The thought - you don't want to end the memory

The action - you keep the stool even though it is of no use.

Ding, ding, ding...I found clutter! And, yes, the story is true. That was an awesome stool!  My solution to that clutter? I kept a tiny baggie of the shredded money, took a photo of the stool and kept them in a memory book. Bye- bye stool and bye-bye one big piece of clutter. I still love my grandparents and my memory of them hasn't diminished because I got rid of the clutter.

Now, I don't think we need to throw EVERYTHING away. But, really...take a moment to examine your clutter, whatever it may be. What feelings and thoughts do you have about your "clutter". How can you get rid of it?  This doesn't deal with only the physical clutter, but the emotional as well.

Let's take a look at an example of emotional clutter:  Let's say you had a best friend in high school through college that betrayed you in such a way that you "never" could forgive them.  Maybe you see that person around your town and you do everything to avoid them.  Or, maybe you walk right by them with your nose held high in the air to make sure they know you are still upset with them. We've all been there, right? Well, this is emotional clutter. It drains you of energy and gives you useless stress.

-The feeling: betrayal

-The thought: your friend must "pay" for what she did

-The action: you go out of your way to be rude or to avoid her

The solution: FORGIVE them and get over yourself! Forgiveness doesn't mean you have to FEEL like it didn't hurt you or that you condone what they did. You just have to tell yourself that people make mistakes and you are no longer going to waste your energy by dwelling on it. End of story and end of clutter.

And yes, I even spoke to her one day when she got in line behind me at the post office after almost 17 years. If I can do it, so can you! :)

OK, so I got on a bit of a tangent about clutter. But it was only to further illustrate some types of clutter and what clutter can do to us emotionally.  It is draining. Confront the uncomfortable feelings you have about your clutter and see if there is something you can do about it.  Once you identify it, it is much easier to deal with!

Now, we need to get our minds organized...here's what you can do:

     -Jot down some notes about your goals and what you want for

      your life.  Maybe keep a notebook or journal especially for this?

      Break down your goals into small, achievable steps.

     -Take your list and prioritize your "To-Do" lists. Do you really

      need to do everything on the list? Can something wait? Trade

      unnecessary tasks for some "me" time each day.  We can't work
      20 hours a day and expect to be successful at anything. Cut the

      list down to NECESSARY tasks.  You will get them done

      more quickly and probably even more successfully this way.

     -GET SLEEP!  If you can get 7-8 hours a night, you will find

      you get WAY more accomplished than if you would if you were

      doing your "chores" all day and getting only 5-6 hours. If you

      aren't getting 7-8 hours, ask yourself what is stopping you...

     -Exercise. Even if it is just a short walk a few times around the

      driveway. Do it. No excuses. And no, laundry is not exercise!

     -Limit your negative influences. TV, movies, negative people,

      negative thoughts... All these affect your mood and carry over

      into your thinking...which we now know affects your actions.

      "What goes in will come out!"  Negative in, negative out.

     -Plan your day.  I can't believe how crappy I feel on a day that I

      have not done this. I still can't figure out how people function 

      without a plan each day.  "Playing it by ear" is not nearly as 

      effective as planning out when you are going to the store or

      when chores have to be done. If we "wait" for a "good" time to

      do something, it usually doesn't happen.

This is just a starting point for how to begin organizing our minds and "spring-cleaning" our clutter. 

Now, we need to prioritize:

1.  Make a list of your top 10 priorities in life.  They should reflect what is important to YOU. Not what you want to look like on Facebook or what you want others to think of you.  Use YOUR values.  Maybe a priority is family time, a family vacation, a strong marriage?  These are just some examples. Keep track of this list.

2. Make a list of all of the activities you participate in.  Do these activities reflect the priorities that are important to you? Do some activities take up time and give you nothing in return? Figure out what you can cut if you are overwhelmed or not meeting your priorities.  Do you really need to be scout leader, soccer coach, dance mom and room mother for your kids' classrooms?  Yes, we want to be involved, but what are you compromising in order to do that?

3.Take your calendar and schedule time to start meeting your priorities.  If your goal was family time, schedule some activities a few days each month to take the kids to.  If your goal is travel, make time to go to AAA to grab some destination books.  If you want a strong marriage, schedule a counseling session if needed.

4. Read you list regularly, minimize time spent around negative things or people, say "NO" to unnecessary tasks and...PRAY! :)

OK, so you have homework! I would highly suggest taking time to do this if you REALLY want to get rid of all of the "junk" in your life.  It is definitely time for me to do that.  I can't WAIT to see where I am at this time next year!

Have you had success with de-cluttering your life? I'd love to hear how you did it!  Post some photos on our Facebook page if you have had success in spring-cleaning your rooms, too!

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You could be taking a defensive driving course...

Well, with all of this "spring cleaning" business we have been talking about lately, I thought it would be fun to write a more "light hearted" post!

Have you ever had someone innocently ask you as a mom, "So, (insert your name here), what did you do all day?" Ha! If I had a nickel, right? Well, lately, I have been pondering that question myself. If you have been following along, I had a very involved surgery (4 of them at once, actually) that has required me to stay home from work and activities for 8 weeks. Something I had never done before. I went back to work just 2 weeks after each of my children were born...even with a C-section. "Sitting still" is not in my vocabulary.

But, with this newfound "boredom", I came to wonder what it was that I actually did all day anyway.  Well, I am on track to start work next week again and am getting back into the habits at home. Strangely, I still feel like I could use another 10 hours in a day just to get everything done.  I couldn't possibly relay all of the things I had to do in just one day...

...Or could I?

Enter: The online defensive driving course. Ugh.

Well, I thought that since I had 30 days to complete it that I could just read/skim through and answer questions on my time. Um, nope. Instead, I am sitting here as I type this waiting to click on the "next" arrow to switch slides after the "time limit" has gone by. WHO THE HECK NEEDS 1 MINUTE AND 4 SECONDS TO READ A PARAGRAPH!!! For crying out loud.

Needless to say, this is a very frustrating way to take the course...clicking on an arrow after the clock runs down to "0" minutes left on each slide.

So, I am trying to find ways to get things done in between "clicks".  When I got thinking about it, I DO have LOTS of things that I do each day that may go un-noticed by the question-askers.  I know their questions are innocent and don't imply that I don't do "anything" all day. But, I thought it would be fun to see what goes on in the life of a "have-to-stay-at-home" mom!

***DISCLAIMER: In no way am I down-playing the importance of defensive driving or the course itself. I am simply frustrated that I am able to pass all of the quizzes easily by reading each paragraph at lightning speed compared to the time limits that you are required to spend on each slide.

What better way to kill a few hours of this course than by documenting what I have done "all day". It is quite humorous to me, if no one else! :)

So here we go...a day (or a 1/2 hour anyway) in the life of a "have-to-stay-at-home" mom:

CLICK!

-Start this totally strange post.
-Lunch time for the son - reheated chicken, got a banana, milk and cheese stick with 4 clicks in between.
-Try to get son to the lunch table in between clicks!
-Get up to get the ranch dressing to dip the chicken in, click, click!
-The baby needs a binky, hold her off until lunch with son is done.
-Click, wait, click, wait, hurry up!!!,  click...
-Text message from a blocked caller, crap! I thought it would block texts, too! Resist temptation to respond with a temper.  Click, click.
-Bud, you gotta take smaller bites of cheese. What? You want to dip it in ketchup? Ugh. Click.
-Quick, grab the binky again!
-Google ways to block text messages on Samsung Galaxy S4
-Oops, forgot to click...
-Smaller bites, buddy!
-Dang phone.
-Dang binky. Clickety, click, click, click!
-Google again so I actually get an answer.
-More milk.
-Click, click...gotta get the "Phone Warrior" app.
-Click...why is she still crying?
-Grab the baby and put her on my lap...click already!
-Click, click, click, finally found the app.
-Here's a napkin, buddy.
-Download the app.
-Click, click, click
-Ok, let's make a bottle.
-Ugh, the test is asking me to prove my identity again. I took too long making the bottle.
-Click, try to get comfortable in the kitchen chair while feeding the baby and clicking away.
-Typing with one hand sucks! Reposition baby and hold bottle with chin to type with both hands.
-Keep eating, bud. Yes, I know you don't want to take a nap today.
-Keep eating, baby girl. Don't fall asleep now...click. Click, click.
-Sigh. I better save a lot of money after this...
-WHAT? QUIZZES? I guess the heading "no final exam" didn't mean that there were no quizzes.
-OK, 5 easy questions. Thank goodness. Paying a bit more attention to detail now. Click.........click.
-Forgot to block the texts now that I got the app.
-Honey, you are taking a nap today.
-Click. Wake up, baby, you are not done with your bottle.
-Burp the baby. Click. 
-Stop typing so I can actually burp her.
-Wipe the spit-up off the floor. Don't forget to click!
-Wipe the ketchup off son's face...with the clean side of the burp cloth. I'm gonna wash it anyway, right?
-Honey, you have to take a nap. You can play for 15 minutes and then it's time. Yes, it is, now go.
-Oh my gosh, I need eye drops again. Stupid Lasik.
-Click, click, in between...run!
-Wipe crumbs onto the floor to sweep with homemade Swiffer!
-Glance at the clock and realize it has only been 20 minutes. Ugh.
-Let's check email. I don't need to type to do that...
-Oops, forgetting to click.
-Ugh. I hate email.
-Oh gosh, I forgot I have a meeting tonight. Make a list of stuff to bring and topics to cover...
-Log out of email. It has to wait.
-She's asleep, put her in the bassinet.
-She's awake. Apparently, she doesn't want to be in the bassinet.
-Binky, where's that binky? Click...
-Grab the homemade Swiffer and sweep fast! I have 47 seconds!
-Buddy, let's go to the bathroom before nap. Yes, bud, come on...
-Realize that this post could go on forever.
-Come on, bud, you HAVE to use the bathroom. Now.
-Go physically get him to bring him there.
-Binky. Aahhh, she took it.
-Do I have enough time to put the ketchup and ranch away before I need to click?
-Go get more soap for the bathroom. Wipe up the toothpaste I spot on the sink from this morning.
-Oh gosh, did I read this slide already? Type in to confirm who I am again...
-Realize that I have lots more to do than blog today.
-Decide that you have probably had enough of this post already! :)

OK, so it may not have come out as funny as I thought it may.  But, the next time you are at home and wonder what you have accomplished, remember this post. You do A LOT more than you will ever get credit for!

And SMILE! You could be stuck clicking away for 6 hours! :)

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How To Have Successful Outings With Children

I'll never forget the day a good friend said to me, "we hardly ever leave the house with the kids."  My eyes must have been as big as softballs...she must've noticed and began to explain how the 2 children were "difficult to control" out in public.



Have you ever felt that leaving the house with your children in tow to do some shopping or go out to eat was just more trouble than it was worth?  Have you ever felt like the whole world was staring at you when your child began to misbehave in public? I will never forget...

As a mom of 4, I have had those times where I felt "out of control" of the situation with my children in public and felt like I was being judged as a "mom" by everyone around.  In fact, I felt so guilty sometimes from my children acting out that I asked for the advice of a pastor at church.  I felt that I was somehow failing my kids because I wasn't always in control of them and they dared to defy me in public.

Now, before I go any further, I must say that my kids are generally well-behaved. At this point in my life, I had been feeling the pressure of today's society to be a "perfect" mom. To be the mom that can do anything, go anywhere and be anything she wants to at the drop of a hat. Ugh. Society. Full of lies and unobtainable expectations.  I was a good mom and I knew it. But somehow, I felt inferior. Maybe you have had a similar experience?

Anyhow, what I finally came to find was that no matter how "good" of a parent I was, there were still going to be those days where the kids would have melt-downs, cheerios were going to be thrown at passers-by and I would have to scoop one child up into the grocery cart with the other while I chased another around the store as the ice cream melted and the milk got warm. That's just life and I wish I could say it was always easy, but NOPE!

With that being said, there ARE some things you should do before your outing that will give you a better "handle" on behaviors and allow your anxiety to be somewhat relieved when it comes to outings with your children.

1. Prepare your children - Even I tend to become anxious when having to suddenly rush off unexpectedly - can you imagine how a child - who craves structure naturally - feels every time they are told to put their toys away and to get their coats on? The behaviors can start before you leave the house. So, try to prepare the child a few hours earlier if possible and explain to them what they can expect to do on the outing.

2. Consider timing - Whenever possible, try to plan your outings with your child's nap and eating times taken into consideration.  If you plan on grocery shopping at noon with your two children who usually nap at 12:30, chances are you are setting them up for failure right there.  It is ideal to have full tummies and rested bodies when heading out the door.  If that's not possible, at least have some snacks handy and plan to keep your trip as short as possible.

*On a side note, I have always been in the habit of taking my kids wherever they need to go at whatever time we have to go.  This includes during nap and feeding times.  Obviously, we have melt-downs. But doing this from their birth may have helped them adapt better to situations on-the-go than always planning every outing around nap time.  I think people fall into the trap of planning their lives around naps and eating times, especially first-time parents.  This "training" worked for me, but we know all kids are different. It is just a suggestion and may not work for all kiddos. *

3. Take necessities - I'll never forget the time I took my newborn daughter to Walmart for a prescription and forgot the water to mix her formula with for her bottle.  I quickly remembered when she started screaming at the top of her lungs while we walked around the store waiting for the script to be filled. I had to sprint with her to the opposite side of the store to get a case of water, then I had to buy the water and mix the formula before she stopped crying and screaming!  I was stared at as if I was running around naked and dancing like a monkey! I might as well have been!  Well, needless to say, I never forgot to restock the diaper bag again...at least until 7 years later with my newborn at Disney World. Ugh. So, whatever your child needs, double-check that you have it!

4. Plan for discipline - I feel like sometimes the poor parents that are in the "Oh my gosh, my kid is screaming and I don't know what to do" phase at the store...yeah, we've all seen them...sometimes they seem like they just don't have a plan for discipline.  I see mom's go from warning after warning to screaming, spanking and eventually leaving the store after the behavior has carried on for 1/2 an hour or so. I feel so badly for those moms.  They NEED to be at the store, obviously, but they just can't get the kids to behave. And, yes, there WILL be times that you can do NOTHING to calm them down. OK.  But, a plan for discipline is SO critical for a child whether or not you are at home or on an outing.  Here is my plan:

   a.) They get a warning.
   b.) They get one more warning & told the next consequence.
   c.) They get to sit in the corner, one minute for each year of age.
   d.) We leave the store. Or, they lose a favorite activity/toy.

You can make your own plan, but the key is CARRY-OVER!  Follow the plan at home, follow it at the zoo, the store, your friend's home, the library...wherever you are. Children will not know what is expected unless it is reinforced over and over again.

I'll remember putting my daughter in the corner for the first time at Target when she had just turned 2.  I got so many "you are a horrible mom" looks from this one older woman.  But I would have also gotten that same look if the behavior continued any further.  The behavior eventually stopped and my daughter was SO shocked that I disciplined her like that in public. Your child will eventually catch on!

5. Teach behavior - I hate to say it, but sometimes children have just not been taught how to behave in certain places.  How many of us have seen kids knocking products off shelves or taking toy balls out of their bins and tossing them at people in the store.  Then you see the parent(s) just laughing at them and letting them carry on?  I TRY not to judge, but boy is it difficult!  Bottom line, teach your children how to be respectful of other people and their property.  That's not to say that all behavior is lack of proper parenting, but it is how WE as parents react that determines how long and often the behavior appears.

To Sum It Up:

I've basically found that children will behave how you EXPECT them to behave.  If you hop in the car expecting to have a horrible experience, you probably will.  Your children will feed off your negative energy.  However, if you think to yourself, "I am going to have fun with my kids today and they may melt down...but I am prepared," then chances are, the "bumps in the road" won't seem like mountains and won't frazzle you as much...especially if you have prepared!

So, the next time you want to do something with the kiddos in public, I challenge you to take these steps and see if it helps! Remember to put on your "calm" face, or things will fall apart quickly!

Do you have any tips for parenting or taking kids on outings? I'd love to hear them!  And here are some Kid Crafts and Kid-Friendly Recipes for you to enjoy as well!


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How to De-clutter Your Home & Your Life - The Basics

Spring is finally here! At least that is what they say, anyway!  So, before we get down to the nitty-gritty of spring cleaning, we need to understand WHY spring cleaning is so important to us and to our well-being.  I am also going to re-organize my life at the same time. It’s time to start fresh forever! Let’s do it together!

CLUTTER SUCKS!

I know everyone has a lot of “clutter” in their lives, whether it be physical and/or emotional.  I am a person that LOVES to throw stuff away. However, I am the only one in my family that loves to do so. I wouldn’t say our house is over-cluttered, but that it has just enough “stuff” lying around to make me crazy!

On top of that, I have been handed an emotional pile of “clutter” recently and I just want to “clean house”.  I am turning the “NO VACANCY” sign on for the emotional clutter hotel.  I’m a strong girl and I’m gonna buckle down and do so right along with you!  If our emotional lives are cluttered, it just piles on the anxiety and the mess we feel inside as well…and that’s not healthy for anyone!

So, I wanted to share with you a bit of psychology about clutter and the way it makes us feel…

WHY SPRING CLEAN?    Well, there are many negative effects that clutter has on our lives. Emotional and physical clutter can cause us to feel many ways:

-Clutter makes us feel depressed, overwhelmed

-It robs us of our energy

-Clutter can affect our relationships

-It can take away the peacefulness of our home

-Clutter makes it harder and take longer to clean
-Physical clutter takes up our space at home, emotional crowds our heart
-Emotional clutter stays with us all of the time, there is no escape
-It robs us of thinking clearly and logically

 These are just some of the things that clutter does to us. So many of us have low energy in the winter anyway because of the cold temperatures. Adding clutter to that and being “cooped” up inside just drains us of even more energy. So, most of us look forward to opening the windows and “airing out”  since the warmer temperatures give us more energy. We want to clean our lives out and start fresh!

 

KEEPING OR TOSSING PHYSICAL CLUTTER:   This is not a difficult thing for me when it comes to physical clutter, but I know many people struggle with letting go of items when they are “spring cleaning”.  There are a few reasons why and we must understand them so that we can figure out how to deal with those items.  Each item connects us to either an event in our lives or a certain person.  Here are some reasons it may be hard to toss the clutter:

 - Getting the “value” out of it – Some people can’t toss things because they “still have tags” on them, or they just spent money on the item recently. Even though you keep an item, it doesn’t mean you are “getting your money’s worth”. You need to actually USE the item.  So, what is done is done, if you can’t return it and don’t use it…get RID of it!

-  Monkey-see, monkey-do -  Some of us grew up in a home where family members had difficulty with clutter. So it is easy to see where we can “learn” the behavior of “collecting” things that may be of no use.  It is hard to break a habit, but it can be done!

-   Status – How many times have you gone to the store to buy that “must-have” item that everyone else has. And you NEVER use it. What a waste of money, but hey, you don’t want to pitch it, right? Wrong!

-   Security – Some of us feel more “secure” if we are surrounded with “things”. At least that is how some of us may THINK we are more secure. But the truth is that “stuff” doesn’t protect us from anything. It actually hinders us!

-   Emotional – I see many people in my life very attached to “things” that remind them of people, especially ones who have passed. They may feel guilty for getting rid of grandma’s favorite footstool or dad’s old broken-down tools. But the truth is, just because we get rid of “stuff” doesn’t mean we are getting rid of memories. I actually take photos of this kind of “stuff” before I get rid of them. That way, I have the visual, but not the clutter that I won’t use!

 

BENEFITS OF DE-CLUTTERING:   There are so many benefits of de-cluttering your life, both mentally and physically. Just look at the light at the end of the tunnel:

- The less “stuff” you have the more room you have to grow and for new opportunities to come into your life.

- The less “stuff” you have , the less time it will take to find those items around your home.  Hence, the less energy you waste looking for things.

- If you have “less”, you will use what you have MORE than you use right now. The value of your objects increases!

- If you don’t have as much “stuff”, you don’t have to clean as much “stuff”, saving more time and energy.

- The less “stuff” you have to take care of, more time and energy can be focused on taking care of your priorities. Don’t waste time worrying about all of the “stuff” you aren’t using!

These are just SOME of the benefits of de-cluttering and organizing your life.  I know that when I go to bed at night, the list of “To-do’s” often runs through my head. “Re-organize the hundreds of toys in the playroom…AGAIN. Re-organize the shoes, hats, mittens and coats in the mudroom…AGAIN.  Re-organize the cupboards…AGAIN. “  I hate it! I have too much stuff that I don’t need - stuff that someone else could benefit from. I mean, how many “Magic Bullets and Fondue sets” do you actually need? Ugh. Let’s do this!

GET READY!  I am going to “spring clean” my home and life for a whole year.  The reason I am going to do this for a LONG time are two-fold.

 1.) Practice makes perfect. The better I get at organizing myself into a manageable system for everyone I the house, the less I will have to organize in the future. 

2.) Life is busy. Really. If I give myself this goal of organizing my life in just a few weeks, I will immediately feel defeated and not want to even begin. It is overwhelming.

Give yourself time to get this together. It is too hard to change things overnight. So, the first step is to let things happen gradually.  You will avoid so much frustration by moving step-by-step. It is a marathon, not a sprint.  However, don’t use this as an excuse to procrastinate. Set goals and time limits. However, make them realistic enough to achieve.

DITCHING EMOTIONAL CLUTTER- Well, this is my weakness.  I let things build inside of me until I crack. I have a temper that is right up there with the best of them. I’m gonna flat out tell you that my rock is JESUS and the BIBLE. It is where I am going to go to “fill up” on whatever is missing in my life. “Stuff” doesn’t cut it for me. It doesn’t make me feel “safer”, it just builds up the anxiety.  But God restores, fills and heals. No matter who you are.  So, that’s where I am heading.  I am also going to dive deeper into what my life’s purpose is as I de-clutter. I am not a wandering soul that lives today and is gone tomorrow. I know life goes on after death and I know I have a purpose while I am here. I am going to work on listening to God as he speaks His purpose for me. It’s going to be “less” Erin and more “God”. Try as I may, I am still in the habit of doing things “my way” and it needs to stop!

So what do you want to de-clutter this year? Is it your home, office, heart? Now is a great time to start living as you were meant to live. We can start to focus on the important things in life instead of having to deal with the “garbage” all of the time. Our kids need us. Our neighbors need us. Our world needs us to be focused…

LET’S DO THIS! Who’s with me?!

We are going to take a look at organizing our life goals next time… be thinking about where you are in your life and where you would like to be at this time next year.  Think about your family and what you would like to see happen in that area. Are you spending enough time with them, do you have time for yourself, are you involved in too many activities to keep up with?  Keep all this in mind and stay tuned for the next spring cleaning post!

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If you are inspired to de-clutter, “share” this with a friend who may want to join you. It is so much easier to do this together!

 

 

Check out my other posts on cleaning while you are here!

The Best FREE Thing EVER!!!!! No Coupons Needed!

 

Just wanted to let you know I wish you all many blessings this Easter weekend...

THE MOST important holiday ever!  

 

There is nothing out there that is FREE that could even compare to the FREE gift of salvation that we can find in Jesus. We don't deserve it, we aren't worthy, and we can't "buy" it!

It is totally FREE, NO strings attached!!! 

 

Lots of people are under the impression that you have to "EARN" salvation, forgiveness and unconditional love. Oh, how I hope that if you learn nothing else in this life it is this:

Jesus loves you, yes, YOU! The sinner, the liar, the thief, the adulterer...the list goes on and on! There is NOTHING you can do to get Jesus NOT to love you! He gave his life for YOU, so that you wouldn't have to pay for your sins with your life. You can have ETERNAL life, all you have to do is ask him into your heart! It is NEVER too late and you can NEVER be too lost!

 

So, this Easter weekend, know that it is all about YOU and what Christ did for YOU. You are HIS child and will always will be! May you find true peace and comfort knowing that you are LOVED!

 

God bless and talk to you next week! <3 Erin