Oh, it can be done! You can have organized chaos. I know because we did it this past winter. For almost 9 years on this farm, we have accumulated stuff. Stuff, you know like....too big/too small clothing....decorations....toys....and lots of other stuff that we just might be able to use "tomorrow". It don't take long to become overwhelmed by stuff.
Since we are no longer milking in the evenings, we (orchestrated by Dave) decided that it was time to de-stuff. Now I don't know how you and your spouse work together deciding what needs to be de-stuffed, but things got somewhat heated around here at times. Don't get me wrong, I was more than ready to clean out and get rid of and simplify! However, the value of "stuff" depends on the eye of the beholder and for some reason what I beheld looked different to some of the other pairs of eyes around here. So, we had to come to an agreement. If it was junk (worthless or broken), it got tossed onto the back of the dump truck to be burnt (yep, yep - fine with me), but if it was something that someone would buy at the Salvation Army Store, or we could give away, it got boxed and loaded into the back of the van (and here is where we had trouble. "Nobody is going to buy that!" "Yes, they will, I would!" (and obviously I did and now am needing to get rid of it and I am wondering how we got to this chaotic state????)) Hey, if everyone would decide to just burn everything they don't need, there would be no second-hand shops, right? :) And this family right here would be running around in rags that belong on the back of the dump-truck!
The men started in the summer house, and I was too chicken to ask what all they put on that dump-truck, but so far nothing of importance came up missing. Then the house, ahhhh.....more my territory. We started in the attic, every box, every barrel, every bag (well not quite "every", but close enough) got investigated. Bags and boxes were brought down to the next level to be sorted and either returned to attic, lugged to the dump-truck or van. I just had to take a picture of this amazing "organized chaos".....
Made my mind want to shut down and plead with the men to just load it all onto the back of the dump-truck, which they would've complied happily, however, in the midst of the mess, there was "value", I beheld it. One thing that was confirmed in my mind again is that although de-stuffing can be a painful process - it is extremely freeing!! One box at a time and very soon the room was tidily empty. EMPTY looks good! I like empty! So empty that sounds echo off the walls. :)
We traveled to our bedrooms, sorted all our clothing and trinkets and either boxed or tossed what was not absolutely necessary.
Next was the school room/laundry and once again, boxes of stuff got put in van and shared with fellow home schoolers or dumped. Our porch was next in line. This room was started on our Thanksgiving/Christmas break last year and is now almost finished except for a door on the pantry and something on floor.
The warm weather arrived before we had a chance to complete all the organizing we had planned but, now outside work ranks higher. The rest will have to wait for rainy days.
A thread of thought kept running through my mind as we organized our chaos. What we have accomplished was all external organizing - creating organized messes so that we can clean up our physical belonging! I am longing to do the same thing in my soul. Open the doors to all the rooms in my heart, rip them apart and de-stuff. What about that room where pride is hidden behind the spotless mirror? What about that room where impure thoughts are hidden under the righteous talk? Let's peek in the room where gossip, criticism and condemnation are hiding their ugly heads behind the beautifully hung curtain of faked niceness. And THAT room!! You know....the one where you just want ALL the stuff to be loaded on the dump-truck and be able to start afresh with God's peace bouncing off the empty walls? One room, one box, one bag at time - only you and the Heavenly Father above - sorting, tossing, keeping - and the end result is pure, genuine peace of heart and a love for the Maker of our souls.
Until next time...........
