Clearing the Clutter

Simplifying Life

“…what we cling to says a lot about the state of our souls.”  Paula Houston

         My girl-cousin, Sandy, is cleaning out her closets. Her house is on the market and she is trying, little by little, to clear out everything she doesn’t use and doesn’t need. She called me this week to say she’s mailing a box of clothes to me. Of course, for someone who hates to shop, this is a windfall of good fortune. Sandy gets clean closets, and I get new clothes—win-win!

         As a quilter, I’m a hoarder of fabric. My son, Ian, brings old clothes to me from estates he’s clearing out—things that have been stored in other people’s attics, basements and closets for decades. Most of it is unusable. Fabric, like almost everything else, rots with time, especially when exposed to moisture and temperature extremes. I always feel a little sad when I see precious children’s clothes and shoes, which have been lovingly and carefully packed away, fall apart when I take them out of the box.

         It’s a good idea to make time to clear the clutter. I tend to stack anything that I’m not ready to use, recycle or throw away. After a while, I have stacks of stuff everywhere I look. I find that when my house is cluttered, so is my mind. I have difficulty concentrating. Not only that, but I can’t finding things I need because they are buried in the mess. Then I waste time sorting through ‘stuff’, while feeling frustrated and irritable. It’s not a pretty picture.

         The liturgical season of Lent, which stretches from Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22) until Easter (April 8), is an excellent season for clearing out the clutter—both in our surroundings and in our minds. I have found that if I do one small task each day—something as simple as cleaning out a junk drawer—I can make a significant dent in my mess by Easter. So this year, I will undertake a ‘Lenten Simplification’ project. I will no doubt be writing about it, so I invite you to join me. My motto: “Less is more!”

                                  Staying on track,

                                  Jane