Seven Days' Worth of Clothing

Online a month or two ago, I read an article touting the benefits of paring down one's clothes to seven days' worth.  The author contended that choosing her outfit, gazing at her closet, and laundry had grown easier since implementing this step.  I procrastinated for weeks, directing the dinner theater and preparing for Holy Week.  Then I procrastinated for days, just procrastinating.  Finally on Friday, I found another article online describing clothing needs for seven days - four short-sleeved shirts, three long-sleeved, three jeans, etc.  I adapted the list to my situation, wrote a short memo of how many different articles I needed and set to work.  After hauling all the clothes out on the floor, I started putting back only those items that fit well, looked good, gave comfort and didn't go over the limit.  I filled a bucket with sentimental, seasonal or "I might need these later" pieces, and piled up at least ten things to give away.  Now - voila!  The writer was right!  Gawking at my closet gives me the giggles; this morning I had no trouble deciding on what to wear to church, and hanging up clothes couldn't be easier with all the extra room.  I wish I had a "before" picture to post, but here's the "after" and this is a course I highly recommend.  Suffice it to say that if spring ever gets here, I will do the same with my spring and summer clothing!

Providential Miscommunication

Sometimes miscommunication works out for the best. On Thursday I played the organ for a funeral at Svea. A niece of the deceased, Kris, played a saxophone solo, beautifully, and remained on the praise platform for the rest of the service. The last hymn, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," was in a different hymnal which had been handed out before the service. Kris didn't have the hymnal on the platform and wasn't singing the first verse. I tried to catch her eye and nod toward the correct hymnal sitting on a pew beside her, but she didn't get it. Finally I took advantage of a break in the music and actually pointed to the hymnal. Kris thought I pointed to her saxophone, so she picked it up and started playing along. Her beautiful tone and excellent improvisation provided a lovely addition to the hymn, and the congregation appreciated it. I didn't even tell her afterward that it had been a miscommunication - the Lord works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform!

I Love a Good System

My kids think I'm a nerd because I know the words to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and half the answers on Jeopardy! and I like classical music and oldies (other than 50's or 70's, which they also like now). So don't tell them about this nerdiness - I love it when my things are well-organized. I've been reading and implementing a book called "Getting Things Done" by David Allen, who strongly recommends filing everything in folders with printed labels. I had things all over the house, in binders and boxes and school folders, but I'm gradually moving everything into one file cabinet. I find myself smiling as I go to create a new file folder, or file a piece of paper or a receipt, because the system is so good. I know I'll be able to find these things when I need them.

The other two books I'm currently reading for implementation are "The Simple Living Guide" by Janet Luhrs, and "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero. These three books are good to read together because they are complementary. The gist of the first is that if you can get everything off your mind and onto paper in a good system, then the power of your mind will be unleashed and you'll get more things done. The gist of the second is that we are seduced by our modern culture into believing that happiness comes from getting more things done and having more things, and we need to release expectations and things in order to find true happiness, which is found in relationships with people. The third, the only Christian book in the bunch, argues that many of us are missing out on God's best for us because we have never grown up emotionally, even if we are frenetically "growing" spiritually. "Mature spirituality and emotional health are inseparable." So the three books balance each other out, and while I'm getting more things done, I won't mistake that for the source of my happiness or for mature spirituality.

But I do love a good system!

Baby Steps

I've worked the FLY Lady plan (see FlyLady.net if you want to organize your life) on and off for years, and her mantra of "baby steps" was validated last week. The furnace room in the basement was a mess. There were empty softener salt bags, extra mattresses, bags of wheat, and tubs of snowsuits, extra textbooks and Christmas decorations all over the floor - none where they belonged. The pathway back to the "Christmas room" was blocked, and it was generally depressing just to go in there. I knew I had to do something, but how long could I put it off? :)

FLY Lady says that we should take baby steps for any project because if we try to do the whole project, we may succeed, but we'll be so exhausted that we'll never set foot in that room again! Her recommendation is to set a timer for 5 or 15 minutes and do what you can in that amount of time, do the same the next day, and so on until it's finished. Last week I decided I would take Philip down there and we'd work for 15 minutes. When the timer beeped, I couldn't believe it - the room was transformed! Everything had been put away; the mattresses had been moved into a closet, and the pathway was clear! The mountainous job I thought I faced turned out to be a molehill after all.

What other tasks might I finish in no time - if I would just try?