Clear Out the Clutter

“Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.”

—D. H. MONDFLEUR

For He… is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.

—1 Corinthians 14:33

Clutter always makes me feel overwhelmed and I am the type of person who must clear it out before I can ever start to feel better. My husband tends to want to save things just in case he looks back years from now and realizes he needed that one thing; but my philosophy is if I were to need it five years from now, I probably wouldn’t remember where it was anyway, so I should just give it to someone who can use it now and get another if and when I ever do need it again.

If you find yourself cluttered up and done in by disorganization, ask yourself why you seem to hang on to everything that comes your way. Do you feel obligated to keep it just because someone gave it to you? Of course, we don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, but on the other hand, if a gift is given correctly, it comes with no strings attached. If someone truly gives you a gift, it should be yours to do with as you please.

Quite often, people give you things they like that may not suit your taste at all. Although you deeply appreciate the thought behind the gift, you should not feel obligated to use it. God gives us bread to eat and seed to sow (see 2 Corinthians 9:10), which means some of what He gives us was originally intended to be something we could pass on to someone else.

I once gave a friend an expensive bracelet I owned and, after about two years, I noticed it on another friend’s arm and realized she had given it away. For a moment, I was tempted to be hurt but quickly remembered my own guideline. I gave it with no strings attached and had no right to dictate its future. Once given to my friend, it was hers to do with as she liked. The fact that she gave it away did not mean she didn’t like it or was unappreciative. It may have been a huge sacrifice for her to give it and she probably did so in obedience to something God asked her to do. Believing in and for the best is always the simple way to approach issues.

In order to keep my surroundings clutter free, I regularly pass things on to other people. I have learned to enjoy it and see it as a way I can give. I like nice things, but I don’t want so many I can’t enjoy them because everything appears untidy and disorderly.

Many times, the clutter in our lives isn’t the fault of others—we’re the ones to blame! Do you have so many clothes you become confused trying to get dressed? Do you have so many decorative items sitting around you feel like a bull in a china shop when you try to dust your home? Do you have so much of something that you never use it all before the expiration date runs out? Do you find yourself moving lots of things from place to place but you never actually use or even enjoy them? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then I believe you need to get bold and clean out the clutter. Get yourself a giving box and fill it up with things someone else will really enjoy but you will never miss. This step will simplify your surroundings and, in turn, clean up the clutter in your spirit and give you a more peaceful, simple way of looking at things.