Weird combination! I know. But life is like a closet that gets cluttered by accumulating “stuff” that you throw into it. Pretty soon the dysfunctional mess makes it hard to find anything in the closet. It’s just like life that we fill with a lot of junk, sometimes to the point where we lose sight of anything really important—starting with God. There’s nothing better than a good closet cleaning, throwing out the stuff we don’t need, to simply our lives.
Whether you clear a closet, clean a basement, or manage your desktop or mail on your computer, simplifying life is a good thing. Accumulating stuff you never wear or use just gets in the way. I remember opening one of my mom’s closets when we were moving her later in life from a large townhouse to more manageable apartment. The closet would barely open because there were so many clothes and so much junk piled on the floors. My guess is that my mom barely used five percent of the stuff in that closet. But she simple threw stuff in there she didn’t know what to do with or couldn’t throw out.
Life is like a closet—or a basement, new hard drive, etc. It starts out empty and we start filling it. It naturally gets disordered over time, especially if we don’t straighten it up on occasion. If we keep filling it to the point of overflow it can get dysfunctional. The more stuff we accumulate the easier it is to lose focus on what should be at the center of our lives—God.
God means life to be so simple. As I often write—and remind myself all the time—we are the ones who complicate life. We accumulate stuff that just clutters our lives and in the extreme can make them dysfunctional.
There’s nothing better than a good cleaning! It’s sometimes daunting where to start but if you just start in one place and peck away you will make progress. I am doing this in our basement, on a regular basis going through stuff and throwing it away. It feels good to make progress! And I’m doing the same thing with life, getting the clutter out and simplifying. It’s sure easier to see God acting in your life if you can get rid of the extraneous stuff.
If you have everything ordered in and outside of your life, good for you. If not, start with the closet and as you are de-cluttering it think about how you can do the same with your life. You may not have help with the closet, but God is always there with you to help with your life!
Have a great, de-cluttered day!
The Real Secrets to Life™ 