{DECLUTTER!} Define your space!
This is our DECLUTTER series kick-off at the Quirky Kingdom!
Here’s an organizing gem you can add to your toolbox…
Declutter Tip: Define your space.
Once you know the purpose for a space, then it’s a whole lot easier to kick out all the things that don’t serve that purpose!
If I had understood the purpose of my dining room, I wouldn’t have tried to cram my office in there. If I had understood the purpose of my writing room, I wouldn’t have used it as a place to poke random Christmas storage and craft items.
When my writing season came around, the Holy Spirit nudged me to get rid of EVERYTHING in my writing room that didn’t help me fulfill that calling right now. That meant I had to put away my art easel that was displayed so cutely in the corner. All it did was make me long to paint, or think about how long that unfinished canvas had been sitting there. I put away everything that didn’t simply help me write the book draft. And wow! It helped me so much to be free from distraction! And it took mental stress off!
Put it to action:
What is one room, corner, closet or space in your house that needs some loving? Just start with one space. Now ask yourself and ask the Lord… What is the purpose of this area?
Once you have defined the purpose of that space, then ask: What is in that space that does not serve THAT purpose? Kick it out.
Better yet, kick out EVERYTHING in that space and then only put back what serves your purpose. Want to clean out your junky corner and make a reading nook? Then clear it all out and carefully select what goes back. (This is a tip I learned from Love the Home You Have by Melissa Michaels. One of my favorite light reads! I always seem to go back to this book when I need to destress!) : )
The Motivation:
One motivating factor to keeping things decluttered is the fight to maintain the integrity of a space’s purpose.
That’s where I am right now. Defining the purpose in each space I have online. So while I work on that in online dwellings, I’m going to help you guys rearrange and repurpose your physical dwellings.
The Lord’s been talking to me about DECLUTTERING for years. And it’s on my mind to guide you through that process!
There are several “filters” or “questions” we learn to ask ourselves as decluttering becomes a habit. (Because one and done isn’t gonna cut it with clutter. Stuff breeds.) Defining the purpose for a space is one of those filters. I can’t wait to share more with you!
By the way, I ask God to confirm the things I write before I publish them, and ladies! I have heard probably a dozen of you tell me you are decluttering right now!! So, I will take that for confirmation.
So, here’s to kicking off our new series! You’re going to LOVE it! We’ll be kicking butt on clutter together and that’s so rewarding.
GIVEAWAY WINNER! A hot-off-the-press copy of Made Like Martha is going to… Miss Jennifer! Congratulations! And thank you to Ms. Katie Reid and WaterBrook for providing the copy!
Stay tuned! More giveaways to come!
Some bonus thoughts on REORGANIZING: Apparently, I’m reorganizing my bathroom, kitchen, and my blogs too. I thought the advent of SplatterJoy meant (or even required) the close of the Quirky Kingdom. But I quickly realized that’s like trying to shove my pantry and my linens and my closet into one little art studio. You see, I’m learning that there are certain things I need to store on one site and other things I need to display at the other. I can’t shove it all in one place!
Sorry for trying to cram everything into the guest-bedroom (where you’ve been staying!)
This makes me really glad that you are the kinds of friends I can have over in the middle of reorganizing my kitchen!! Thank you for hanging out with me while I rearrange things.
I’m reading all these articles lately about branding and platforms and social media. They tell me I need to be consistent.
Guys! Have you ever been to my house?!?
The only thing I do consistently is to change things up!!! Bahh! I’m always reorganizing and redecorating and rearranging. Or at least I’m working on diagrams to convince my husband to help me rearrange (again). So as for the need to be consistent… I’ve decided that will have to mean I’m consistently rearranging. Sorry! That’s just who I am. An INFP. I have to feel it out first. It’s the artist in me, I suppose?
Consistency will have to mean that I am consistently discovering God’s kingdom in quirky places and that I consistently delight in the mess-making of beauty and redemption. It will also mean I consistently LOVE and CHERISH you!