GraceLaced » SimplyNesting

Reflections on De-Cluttering Down Deep

Ruth — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:00:47 +0000

My house is almost perfectly clean…about 15 minutes of every week, total.

I’m never caught up on laundry.

I’m always missing a sock or three in every load.

I sometimes act like cleanliness IS next to godliness.

I shared on Monday that I am keenly aware that an organized and de-cluttered home is not my highest calling in nesting. In fact, I can have simplified, highly organized spaces throughout my house, yet be void of the joy that is found in a home that is occupied with the worship of Christ. I truly believe that we honor the Lord with stewardship of our homes, with diligence in our house-cleaning, and dedication to simplification. But, that can’t be the end. It can’t be our ultimate goal, or our sense of daily satisfaction.

So, in response to my own challenge this week to de-clutter in a deeper sense, I’ve focused on one main area:

What I think about.

The truth is, if I want to think on: the Word of God, the Gospel, the greatness of Christ, his faithfulness to me, my high calling as a wife and mother, the joy of my salvation, and the hope of eternity…

I cannot fill my mind with: worldly counsel, self-pity, worry, ingratitude, hope for material gain, bitterness, self-sufficiency, and temporary pleasure.

Those thoughts just don’t co-exist well with a mind given to gratitude for God…did you read yesterday’s post?

Sanctification does not happen formulaically…but it does happen one obedient choice at a time, in His strength, to His glory. And for me, these choices include prioritizing time in the Word, limiting opportunities to compare myself with others online, reading more on the attributes of God than on the attributes of a beautiful home, and listening more carefully to the way I speak to my children and husband, than to the opinions of others.

And, to pray…and not talk about praying.

That’s what I’ve been thinking on…so much so that I hope to make little room for superfluous thoughts to take root.

This week…though I swapped out the kids’ seasonal clothing bins and finally cleaned up our bedroom, there are no before or after pictures for this final week for the real challenge at hand. I have not arrived, nor will I ever, this side of heaven. Yet, God is faithful to complete the work He has begun.

Baby Cinco is just about done bakin’…and my greatest desire is for him to arrive, to a sweet owl room prepared just for him, to a home that functions well in the daily routine, and to a family nest that’s nestled in the verdant branches of the True Vine.

I’d be so blessed to hear any of your responses to this week’s challenge…our final challenge of Simply Nesting. And if you are still struggling to know how to make changes in your life, be encouraged…our God is at work, and will lead in His time. If you care to share, please feel free to link up to your post on this week’s challenge. For God’s glory, not our own.

Thanks for joining me these last four weeks. It has been fruitful nesting…inside and out! Be blessed!

Simply Nesting: Final Week {De-cluttering Down Deep}

Ruth — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:00:45 +0000

Here we are at our final week of the Simply Nesting challenge. Thank you for coming along, friends.

I have something different for you this week. While there are still many areas of my home that could use simplification and a good clean-out (oh, let’s see…the bedroom, kids’ dressers, refrigerator, master closet…), I’ve decided to end our challenge focusing on an area that may perhaps be of the greatest importance in a mother’s life. More critical than a clean closet, an organized pantry, or a simplified utility space, is a de-cluttered life in the way that matters most: that is, in heart and mind.

What I have learned the last four times I’ve been blessed with a new baby is that structure, schedule, and simplification in the home makes a huge difference in welcoming a newborn, but more than anything, it is how I’m prepared in the thoughts of my mind and the meditations of my heart that seem to most greatly affect this, and other seasons of my life.

Simply stated, we must not think that providing a blessed nest for our little additions only involves cleanliness and comfort…a mother surrendered to the Lord may be the sweetest nest of all.

So, this week, feel free to de-clutter and simplify your messy drawers, pack up unused items for donation, and clean out your refrigerators. I will be. But, more importantly, let’s give deliberate time and thought to how we might de-clutter our lives…our minds…and simplify our hearts to focus on what’s really important.

THOUGHTS TO GET THE JOB DONE…

1. If you desire to be driven by the worship of God, how is that reflected in your daily routine?

2. What does your current routine reveal as your greatest priorities? Are they the priorities that are informed by the Word of God?

3. If your mind is a (junk) drawer, what things are superfluous, and really need to be weeded out.

4. Does your time on the computer help you focus, or does it clutter your thoughts? While resources like the internet, blogs, and websites offer helpful information, does your time on the computer suggest that you should choose more wisely which ones are most worth your time?

5. Does social networking online simplify or clutter? Does the time spent “connecting” result in greater focus, or less? Determine what is the appropriate amount of time and energy to be used in this arena.

6. What does your mind meditate on most throughout the day? Worries? To-do lists? Material things? Scripture? Prayer? The Gospel truths? What changes can you make so that your mind meditates on fruitful thoughts?

7. Does caring for your home, family, responsibilities feel like an obligation or a privilege? In what ways could you cultivate a more thankful heart in your daily routine?

8. Take out the trash! What sinful thoughts and tendencies can be mortified today, acknowledging the finished work of Christ on your behalf?

9. If your heart was a closet, are you storing up treasures in heaven, or are they earthly?

10. A complete remodel, rather than a surface cleaning, is what our hearts really need: apply the truth of the Gospel as the means for all change.

We will link up on Friday once again, but this time, I encourage you to perhaps consider writing a post that addresses an area of your life you’d like to seek discipline and de-clutter in. You can be as vulnerable or as vague as you’d like to be, but I’d love the opportunity to hear your response to nesting in this way this week…and to pray for you in your struggles and victories.

Thanks for letting me speak to the heart, and for sharing what ultimately matters most.

Before and After {Simply Nesting In The Laundry Room}

Ruth — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:00:31 +0000

It feels good to simplify. To organize. Clear out. To make the most of the space you have. That’s what this nesting challenge is all about, isn’t it? How did you do this week? I’d love to hear about whatever cleaning/nesting project you accomplished, even if it wasn’t your laundry room! And though I struggled to find time to actually complete the project this week, I’m so glad that I made it happen. If I’ve learned anything in these last three weeks, it’s that you can only take on one space at a time…one day at a time. Stewardship of our resources and our homes isn’t something you arrive at perfectly; it’s a process you work at perfecting day by day.

Feel free to link up! I’d love to know how you simplified and organized your life this week!

As always, thanks for your presence here at GraceLaced…you all bless me! Have a wonderful wonderful weekend!

Simply Nesting: Wk 3 {The Laundry Room}

Ruth — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:00:46 +0000

Two weeks down and two weeks to go of our Simply Nesting project! If you are new here, Welcome! I’m doing a nesting challenge for myself and anyone who cares to join me in the remaining weeks of this pregnancy, hoping to stay motivated to simplify, clean-out, and organize the spaces in my life I use the most, but seem to maintain the least! We link up on Friday, when I and those who choose to participate reveal the before and after pics of this week’s challenge.

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Laundry is just a part of life. Everyone does laundry…either in a hallway, utility room, in the garage, in a bathroom, or at the laundromat down the street. Laundry’s not a glamorous, but can be oh so satisfying. Do you agree? Don’t you love the smell of fresh towels? Do you love to fold and sort? Do you look forward to hanging whites out the line on a bright sunny day? Perhaps I’m speaking in hyperbole, but I think we can all agree that the rewards of completed laundry are comforting.

A clean and organized laundry room only makes our job easier, doesn’t it? However, more often than not, you will find lint bunnies, detergent drips, stray socks, and scattered cleaning products strew across the tiny space I have dedicated to the almost daily practice of washing and drying. It’s time to make the most of the space I have. Won’t you join me?

TIPS FOR GETTING THE JOB DONE

1. Remove everything from your shelves. Wipe down; sweep and mop. Start with a clean slate!

2. Take inventory of all cleaning products, spray bottles, and various supplies. Simplify by throwing away and/or combining multiples of repeat products.

3. Southern Living’s 10 Ways To Organize a Laundry Room gives ideas for various sizes and styles of laundry spaces.

4. Consider creative ways to conceal unsightly cleaning products ad containers, especially if your laundry space is a thoroughfare. The YoungHouseLove folks did it this way.

5. Base your organization on your system for laundry and cleaning. Consider your process to determine your needs.

6. If you have little ones helping you with laundry, make sure all chemicals and cleaning supplies are out of reach, and properly labeled.

7. Baskets, inexpensive plastic tubs, and buckets can be useful for sorting and containing unsightly rags and dishtowels.

8. If space permits, consider installing a small line or pole for hanging small articles to dry.

9. Consider adding a few elements of decor or color to your laundry space. Why not your “work” room more attractive?

10. Take pics and prepare to share on Friday!

Help yourself to a button to share that you are nesting too!

Again, thanks to all of you encouraging and joining in! Let’s do it all to God’s glory!

Happy simplifying….and have a wonderful Monday!

Before and After {Simply Nesting In The Linen Closet}

Ruth — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:00:10 +0000

Congratulations! We’ve completed Week 2 of my Simply Nesting Challenge! This week, we’ve simplified, organized, and cleaned out our linen closets. I’m loving the fact that when I pull one set of towels out, two more do not come tumbling after.

Now it’s your turn! Just like last week’s Before and After post, you can link up at the bottom of today’s post. Don’t forget to link your blog post address, not your blog. I’m so looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labor. You’ll have all weekend to link up!

Thanks for nesting with me. Only two more to go…come by Monday to get the scoop on Week 3′s Simply Nesting project!

InLinkz

Simply Nesting: Wk. 2 {The Linen Closet}

Ruth — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:18 +0000

Thanks to all of you who participated in last week’s challenge! The rest of my house may still be in chaos, but by golly, I’ve got an organized pantry!! Hopefully, the rest of you are inspired, and will join us this week…

…for The Linen Closet!

The linen closet, or whatever you may call it in your home, is the place where you store sheets, towels, extra blankets, and sometimes toiletries and various sundries. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I see linen or bathroom closet makeovers that look like this:

Photo credit.

My linen closet will likely never look like this for a few reasons: 1) I don’t have enough space to allow stacks to be freestanding in pretty little piles, 2) My linens do not all coordinate, 3) I often have little helpers who put linens away.

But…the goal here, in our challenge to simplify and organize, is NOT to have a model home; it is to be good stewards of form and function. The principle is this: We don’t have to have nicer things to begin taking care of our homes. It matters less what the actual value of our possessions are, but more the manner in which we care for what we are given. With that in mind, let’s strive this week, to make the space and the resources we have work for us once again.

TIPS FOR GETTING THE JOB DONE:

1. Remove all contents of linen closet and sort by function/type.

2. Determine which sets of sheets are being used, and which remain untouched year after year. Generally, no more than 2-3 sets are necessary.

3. Check each set of sheets for holes, stains, and general usability. Launder if necessary and fold neatly. You can find directions for folding fitted sheets here. Stack in sets. (One idea is to stack a set within one pillowcase of the set to keep it neatly together and easily accessible.)

4. Organize and sort towels. Check for any towels that are worn out and ready for the stash of rags in the garage or utility room. Launder towels if needed, and fold neatly in coordinating stacks or according to use. You can find good directions for folding towels here.

5. Shop your own home for baskets and containers you already have, for organizing random toiletries/sundries that need to be stored in your linen closet. Don’t be afraid to toss or give away lotions or soaps you have no intention of using. However, if you have houseguests often, consider putting together a basket of away-from-home toiletries for your guests to use.

6. If you feel inspired, consider making (or purchasing) small sachets with lavender, for your newly organized linen closet. There’s nothing like fragrant and fresh sheets and towels!

7. Take pics and prepare to link up and share your nesting efforts on Friday! Don’t forget to grab the button below if you want to share the challenge on your blog!

Enjoy simplifying! Thanks for nesting with me!

Before and After {Simply Nesting In The Pantry}

Ruth — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:44:26 +0000

Yay! We made it through our first Simply Nesting challenge: The Pantry. I don’t know about you, but I found things I hadn’t seen, smelled, or tasted in years! It feels good to take inventory, doesn’t it? I love that cleaning out a pantry helps me see what is really needed and what is not; what are my impulse buys, and what are staples. I should do this more regularly…

I’m leaving the link party (click at the bottom of post) open until Sunday night at 10pm. (That means you really have all weekend to finish the project and still submit your post!)

See you on Monday for the reveal of our Simply Nesting, Week 2 project!

****If you add this link code to the HTML view of your post, you can display this gallery as well!****

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Simply Nesting: Wk 1 {The Pantry}

Ruth — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:00:10 +0000

I’m not sure if it’s more accountability for you or for me, but either way, as I told you on Friday, I am beginning a 4 week challenge here on GraceLaced. Four weeks is about all the time I’ve got left to organize and simplify my life before baby Cinco arrives. Wanna join me? I really hope you do…for your encouragement, but also for my sake….so that I’m not the only one fessing up about how disorganized I can be!

If you have a blog of your own, read through each Monday’s post for these four week, schedule time to complete the project, and post on your accomplishment on Friday of each week. Visit my post each Friday for before/after pics of my nesting efforts, and you’ll have an opportunity to link your blog post up to mine! I’ve never done a “blog-hop” or link-up, but have seen how fun it can be to get to know other bloggers and people who have like minds or interests. {Leave me a comment here if you plan to link up. If no one participates, then I’ll just enjoy my own little project here for the next four weeks! }

If you choose to join me on this nesting venture, grab the button below by cutting and pasting the code on your blog so others can join in the fun! I hope this will be the giddy-up you need, as our goal is not to be perfect, but to be diligent day by day.

So, today, I present to you our project for Week 1: The Pantry.

If you have a clean and organized pantry, you can excuse yourself now, and go have a latte while you pat yourself on the back.

For the rest of us, this is the week we’ll be reclaiming this most frequented spot in our home. Perhaps you find yourself buying items at the grocery store that you already have, but just can’t find. Maybe things seem to move from one shelf to another because little hands attempt to put things away. Whatever the condition of your pantry, see this as motivation to get this much-used space to work for you.

TIPS FOR GETTING THE JOB DONE:

1. Pull everything out of your pantry.

2. Wipe and scrub shelves. Mop the floor.

3. Sort all pantry items by type/cuisine/use/etc. Don’t forget to check the expiration date! If you haven’t used it in a year, throw it away or give it to a neighbor!

4. Group opened packages (ie. chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, etc.) by use, and seal closed either in ziploc baggies or with twist ties. I like to combine odds and ends ingredients in plastic shoebox containers to preserve freshness and so that I can find them easily.

5. If you buy in bulk, consider purchasing plastic or glass containers for storing flour, sugar, rice, cereal, etc. Creative DIY labels can be found here, here, and here.

6. Replace pantry items back on shelves with the following considerations:

a. What should be accessible for the kids? (cereal, lunch fillers, etc.)

b. What should not be accessible to the kids? (glass jars, gummi snacks, anything chocolate…)

c. Are the items you use most readily accessible, or do things topple over when you try and get to them? {‘Cuz that would not be considered “readily accessible.” }

7. Stand back and admire your work! Oh, and teach your family the method to your madness!

8. Take pics, and share your post on Friday!

Have fun, and thanks for nesting along with me!