“Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”
— Wendell Berry
In just a short time, we had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year–along with flu season, of course. You have probably traveled and/or had company visit your home. After that, you had a running start to the New Year, and all the clutter from the holidays and guests isn’t completely gone.
Perhaps your gifts are sitting in a pile still, waiting to be put away. Perhaps your guest room still needs to be cleaned and sheets washed. Maybe you need to donate some clothing since you received plenty of new outfits.
When your home is disorganized, you feel frustrated with every little thing because it adds to your shame that the home is not as organized as it should be. Furthermore, cleaning become such a burdensome task because there are papers everywhere, and you can’t just dust the top of your dresser. A simple 20-minute dusting job becomes a much larger job because surfaces have not been cleared off.
When there is a pile of gifts on the floor, the thought of vacuuming or sweeping seems overwhelming. When the clutter is gone, you can clean efficiently instead of sighing that the job is ten times harder than it should be. You can also minimize depression because living in chaos and disorder can easily cause depression.
It’s rather tempting to let everything stay as is. Who wouldn’t rather read a book or take a nap? I encourage you, however, to consider these three reasons to organize your home even though life just doesn’t stop.
1. The guilt will be gone.
When your home is organized, there is no nagging voice in your head that keeps telling you that you are behind in your work. You know that it’s important to organize; it’s just not a priority at the moment.
When you make it a priority, though, you will have the satisfaction of a tangible task completed. Your family members will notice and appreciate it too (whether or not they will admit it).
It may take a few hours, and you certainly do not have to do it alone. Kindly ask your spouse or children to pitch in on a Saturday morning or afternoon, and you can enjoy the weekend and beyond in an organized home.
2. You can anticipate the future with joy.
When you know company may be coming for a wedding or birthday party in a month, yet you have not organized the home after last month’s guests, you can dread the otherwise highly-anticipated occasion. When your home is organized, you are ready for the next set of guests (whether they come for a meal or for the weekend).
Instead of dreading getting up each morning because you have to face your clutter, you can wake up to an orderly, organized home!
3. You can relax in a calm environment.
When you take time to organize your home so that everything is in its place, you can enjoy the fruit of your labor. Instead of stressing over the chaos in your home, you can relax and spend time with your family. When you see clutter everywhere, you become stressed. On the other hand, when you see order and organization, you feel a sense of calm. Your environment does affect you mentally.
God commanded us in I Corinthians 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order.” His commands are always for our benefit!
What steps will you take to get your home organized after the holidays and keep it that way? Please share in the comments!
Have a beautiful week!
Luba
