Chapter 8 – Simplifying – Part 3

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Exercise 3: Things I Can Do Without

Take a walk through your house and write down everything you could do without.

Well, this could take forever. I’m sitting in my dining room because I have yet to make a transition to the black chair or bed for portable typing. I’m still plastered to a table with wires coming out of everywhere like a patient in need of fluids.

Here is my first day without school. I woke up early even when none of us had to get up for hours. And it has backfired. The youngest is sitting here beside me talking and talking and talking. What is it about no school that wakes the heaviest sleepers up?

Anyway. I start by looking at my desk. Yes, it is in the dining room. I don’t use anything on it. My old computer is there. Christopher is trying to save it and revitalize it. There is my old camera. I don’t take pictures. There is a pencil holder full of pencils that are either unsharpened or broken. There is a mail holder that holds things I’m not done with yet and I hate it because it looks messy and it hides stuff from me. There is a box of notecards and envelopes. I rarely send notes. The answering machine is there. It is worthless. The volume is turned up to max and you still have to have utter silence in order to hear it. There is a mini filing container that holds various post-its with various numbers. It is the first place a look for something lost. There is a tape dispenser that the girls use and a pencil sharpener that never did its job. All of my receipts sit there until Sunday when I do the budget. There is a filing drawer that has all of my bills and statements back to 2009. Time to get rid of 2009. Then there are multiple drawers containing CDs, calculators, stamps, return addresses (like I use those anymore) and various little things that accumulate and multiply. I wish it would all just go away.

There are the set of TV trays. We use those maybe twice a year. We don’t eat in our living room. We have two extra chairs for when the table extends for 10 people instead of eight. And that happens maybe once a year. We have a credenza that happens to match my desk. It is full of crayons and paper and glue and markers. Easy access to crafty stuff for the girls. Sometimes the drawers are left ajar and it drives the grownups to insanity. There are knick knacks on top. And an absinthe dispenser that hasn’t been used near enough but it looks way cool in a 1920s house. Very art nouveau. Oh, and the cork screw. I get it. It’s our make shift bar. Underneath is our wine chiller and extra bottles to be chilled as room is made. We cannot possibly get rid of that ;).

Ahhhhh. The 55 gallon fish tank. We can get rid of that as soon as this round of fish die. Too much work and upkeep and not enough action. Well, the cat likes them.

Built in china cabinet full to bursting with glassware we don’t know what to do with. And candy we’ve hidden. And shells that make a mess. And that’s the glass section that you can see. In the bottom, closed portion, is another place to hide stuff. We could probably get rid of everything in there and not miss it.

Then we come to Gabi’s corner. School is out, so hopefully that pile of stuff can disappear. It’s just a pile like the girls have in their rooms. Since when did a rat’s nest become acceptable?

And the glorious dining table. It is actually looking lovely at the moment. We have a birthday party tomorrow so the paper is mostly cleaned off. There are 3 laptops, a pile of magazines, my pile of books, the girls’ school pictures and awards, Mothers’ Day cards, and one chair full of my Sunday School and Vacation Bible School stuff. That’s what the drawers and doors should be used for. Storing the stuff I use. I could put it in the cabinet until I need it and it would go back there Sunday afternoon. My guess is that it will go into the basement and get temporarily lost. Ugh!

One room that is cluttered. I am nowhere near a hoarder, but I can certainly see how it happens. If we could tackle a portion of a room a day during the summer, wouldn’t it be lovely and liveable come the next school year? I’m drowning in stuff! I cannot see what I want or need anymore.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

And when the Devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Luke 4:13 (ESV)