Want to know something about me? I am a backpack geek. As in every year when it was time to shop for new school supplies, the thing I looked forward to the ABSOLUTE MOST was getting a new backpack. I couldn’t even contain my excitement over the new pockets and the change of educational material scenery that would unfold with the purchase of a new bag. Jansport was always my tote of choice, although honestly they were a little pricey for the ones with all the best pockets and zippers.
Nate says I shouldn’t tell you guys these things, but I say that if I’m going bold I’m going ALL THE WAY and just putting it out there.
I guess it’s safe to say that I like for everything to have a home. I love storage spaces and containers, shelves are my BFF, and drawers with built-in slots for things? Dreamland, y’all.
So when I was thinking of things to do that would help embolden me for this 31 day journey I tried to include things in all areas of my life. I wanted to challenge myself in physical ways that weren’t about my appearance, but that would also include my home and my dreams. We’re going to embark on some big dreaming stuff in the next few weeks, but for now I knew that I was going to have to take a great big leap of faith and tackle our guest room closet for the home part.
Now for someone like me who loves organizing and cleaning and having a home for all the stuff you’d think this would be a dream project. HOWEVER, I liken it to the closet that Monica hides from Chandler in The One with the Secret Closet. Do y’all know that episode? Where Monica and Chandler receive a hideous bowl as a wedding gift and decide to put it in a closet, only for Chandler to find out that she keeps it locked? The episode goes on to a point where Chandler believes that Monica’s ex-boyfriend Richard is living in the closet and in a state of panic he takes the door off the hinges only to find out that OCD Monica has a closet stacked to the top with messy, unorganized chaos.
This guest room closet is my Secret Closet you guys. It’s a place that all of the things I didn’t want to deal with when we moved went to hide. It wasn’t stacked to the ceiling, but it was pretty messy and scary in there. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew not what the outcome would be. And with the exception of that cute little dude in the first shot, there wasn’t really anything pretty about it.
Here’s where the bold part comes in: I (not so secretly) want to get rid of all our extra stuff. I want it gone. I want it out. I want it to be a blessing to others and not a burden to us. We are in the process of considering a new home in the next year-ish, and there are so many things that I absolutely do not want to move with again. And yet I sit here and allow myself, my family, to store up so many things that we don’t need. In a world that pushes us to get more more more, all I really want to do is simplify and pare down to the absolute minimum. To be free of the burden of THINGS so that the light yoke of the Lord’s work in our life can shine through more. (P.S. here is an absolutely incredible post from one of my favorite bloggers about how she did this with her family).
It starts with a closet y’all. We have a million moving boxes in our garage just begging to be filled up and taken to Goodwill, and tackling this closet was the first step in that process. So if you see me without my red lipstick, my hair a mess and wearing shorts instead of my cute jeans, this is why!
Good for you! Just found your blog today and am enjoying reading your 31 days posts. It’s quite the undertaking, isn’t it?! Glad to have the month half over now. 🙂
Anyways, we’re moving in about a month, and there are so many things I don’t want to move either. So good for you for thinking ahead and purging things. Doing the same has made me feel so much lighter! Enjoy!
Thanks Shay! Yes, it has been a little overwhelming at times but it’s really stretched me in some huge ways! So glad you stopped by – good luck with the move!!!
First of all, a purged closet is one of my absolute favorite things. I just did this in Owen’s room to try to make room for Baby #2’s stuff, and it felt so good!
Second, I loved the post you linked to! So encouraging!
Thanks Liz! I’m all in the mood for purging now…I am taking 3 huge moving boxes of stuff to Goodwill this week. Just feels so amazing!
Isn’t that such a good feeling when you finally haul out all the junk? I always wonder afterward, “Why the heck did it take me so long to get to it?” There’s gotta be some kind of faith metaphor in there… 😉
Oh, I so needed this reminder. We moved from a tiny apartment to a pretty big house 3 years ago and I’m amazed (and a little horrified) at how quickly we’ve managed to fill it up. I agree–it’s so freeing to give this stuff up. What a great challenge!
You GO girl. Lookin good, lookin good! We began tackling our garage this weekend….filled up an entire outdoor trash bin with just plain junk we weren’t using. The journey never ends!