Stage 2 of Decluttering

I have had the privilege of talking with a few of you about what to do after you have decluttered, decluttered some more, and MORE. You are at the point where you feel you are as far as you can be – where getting rid of more, means getting rid of “the hard things.”

So now what?

Decluttering and simplifying often means getting rid of the physical clutter in our lives. That is the easy part (as hard as that is to believe). Getting rid of physical clutter is easier because you can SEE the change – you can see the progression. Once you have all of your spaces decluttered and organized, where do you stop OR start again?

This is where simplifying becomes that much harder.

It starts within.

You may remember reading Rebekah’s Story and her journey towards a more simplified life. I have had the joy of continuing the conversation with her and I would like to share some of her thoughts. We both have been wrestling with what it means to not live for our possessions, but live for the one Who created us – God.  We wrestle with how not to continuously pursue the things of this world, but the things that make a DIFFERENCE in this world.

I asked Rebekah what it means to her to live a simplified life. These are a few of her suggestions:

• Thinking about how I want to spend the hours of my life on meaningful pursuits instead of caring for objects is impactful.

• Dreaming about what I might be able to do with time gained from a lighter itinerary of maintenance is motivating.

• It is sobering to consider the impact of what excess costs me, my family and our future.  Objects require stewardship, time, and in essence, life.

• Part of living simply is making purchases carefully.

• I think it is important to be mindful of the poor and thoughtful regarding what is appropriate in the light of their suffering.

• We can be compelled to replace something that is in perfect working order just because it is no longer in society’s definition of accepted style.

• I have also been struck by the power of pattern and color.  For example, when my kids were little, they would be drawn to a package of something they would ordinarily not want because of the image on the box.  My son liked Spider-man, so a box of fruit snacks with a Spider-man image on it would make him want it.  I took that opportunity to talk to him about marketing and the power of an image printed on a box.  I told him that the fruit snacks might be really good, but did he really want fruit snacks or did he just think the picture was cool?  I asked him to consider what would happen if I bought a package of Spider-man stickers and put a few of them on a can of potatoes.  Would he now want that can of potatoes just because of the image?  It was eye-opening to him.  I came to realize later, I am not much different.  I see a throw pillow or a frame with a cute pattern or beautiful color, and I am drawn to consider buying it.  I find that very interesting.

This is just the beginning of what is going to be an ongoing conversation about entering into Stage 2 of Decluttering. If you are at this point, what are some of your suggestions? I am going through this stage right now in my own life and am excited to see ways in which I will continue to be challenged, yet also make the necessary changes too.