Living Simply Saturdays

Living Simply! I can't tell you how many times I've gone through my home trying to purge, and I do purge some things, but I hang on to way more than I actually purge. I've even wasted more time than I should have trying to find ways to organize, which is not bad in and of itself, but when I'm procrastinating on doing the actual work, then it is bad. In the last year, though, we have moved once, and it looks like we will be moving again soon. I had gone through about a year and a half ago and gotten rid of countless possessions that I just didn't need. As of right now, there are little "clutter spots" that I need to go through, and I really want to hit my boys' room, with them, and see what things we can live without. Purging isn't all I wanted to write about, though. I think that the hardest things for me to get rid of sometimes are the things that other people give me, and not necessarily because I love them either. I have such a hard time with this because I don't want to hurt their feelings. I've come to the conclusion lately, though, that I want my home to be a haven for myself and for my family. If I'm harboring things here because I'm afraid of what someone else will say, it's not my haven. Our homes should be our havens, ladies, and that's it! We should surround ourselves with things that we love! Not with things that we keep around just because they were a gift or out of guilt. Maybe that thing that you are harboring on your bookshelf can find a better use, or maybe, just maybe, there's a better home for that "clutter." "Clutter" as defined by The Merriam Webster Dictionary is defined as "to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness." Is that "clutter" taking up space that could otherwise be filled with something that brings you happiness? The "clutter" in our lives can bog us down in our every day lives. Maybe someone else would love to have that piece of "clutter." Maybe that piece of "clutter" could be someone else's treasure. Believe me, I'm preaching to myself here....I need to hear this because it's something I've been struggling with lately, since I'm trying to make my home more of a haven for our family. Living simply could be as "simple" (not to make a pun here) as ridding yourself of that item/s that you just don't love. Proverbs 31:22 says, "She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple." Maybe it's time our homes were made up of our own individual styles of "fine linen and purple." Think about it. Read more Living Simply Saturdays over at Keeper of the Home!