Minimalist Monday

By Carolyn Greene

It’s Monday, the beginning of the week, and most of us are already overloaded with things to do, places to go, and people to see.  Sound familiar?  What makes the to-do list even more overwhelming is the fact that every time something is needed to perform those important tasks, we must first spend twenty minutes searching through piles of stuff to find it.

My husband and I have spent more than thirty years in the same house (with a large basement for storage), and during that time we’ve collected many possessions that have gradually changed from blessings to clutter.  We’ve also added activities that keep us bustling from appointments to deadlines.

What’s a busy, overloaded person to do?

First, be grateful.   Those things that gather dust in the basement or attic were, at one time, blessings from a generous God.  The work deadlines are further blessings … opportunities to provide for our family and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.   With each new book I write, I am thankful for the blessing of creativity and for the readers who make it possible for me to perform a job I enjoy more than any other in the world.

Second, minimize.  The Flylady, a home organization guru (flylady.net), encourages her followers to do a “27 fling boogie” every week.  Or perhaps it’s every day.  At any rate, the idea is to hunt down 27 items to give away or throw away.  It’s amazing how easy it is to find 27 things that no longer add value to our lives, but which may bless someone else.

In our family, Thanksgiving was a time when we encouraged our children to sort through their old, outgrown toys that were still in good shape and give them to a charity so other children could enjoy them.  This not only made space in their toy boxes for the new gifts on their own Christmas wish lists, but it also taught them the pleasure of helping children who were more in need than they were.

Third, reduce the inflow.  Speaking of Christmas wish lists, my friend and fellow author Jenn McKinlay overheard a father tell his children that the previous Christmas they’d received everything they wanted, yet it was the family’s worst Christmas ever.  This year, he told them, they could each have four items, and that’s it:

Something to wear.

Something to read.

Something you want.

And something you need.

Such a plan would certainly make a child think long and hard about what goes on that wish list.   And for us adults, there’s the one in, one out (or two out) rule.  If a new pair of shoes comes into the closet, one or more pairs need to go out.

Fourth, focus on what’s really important.   A well known financial expert suggests we keep an open hand policy … a hand that’s open to give to others is also open to receive blessings.  I prefer the image of an overflowing teapot:  God continually fills our teapots with blessings.  Out of that teapot full of blessings, it is our duty and honor to fill the cups of those around us.

How do you (1) manage the abundance of blessings in your life and (2) use them to serve others?

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Carolyn Greene is blessed to write for two publishers of inspirational fiction, including the Southern Blessings series for Love Inspired which will be launched in June 2014.