Cassettes and Christmas

A note for my younger readers: the white thing in the picture is a cassette tape. It has songs recorded on it. After records and turntables, came 8-track tapes then cassettes then CDs. The first ipod was called a Walkman and it played cassette tapes. I actually won a Walkman from a local Christian bookstore. I loved that thing. Anyway, enough of the history lesson.

We packed up Christmas finally and I noticed several cassette tapes in with my CDs. I got rid of four cassettes. I must confess I kept a couple. I’d like to convert them to a CD next year. One that I kept is titled “Jingle Cats.” The songs are cats meowing Christmas songs. The fact that I kept that particular cassette should make it very clear why God has called me to get rid of one thing a day. He is probably laughing that “Jingle Cats” didn’t make the cut.

Today I went through the last step of purging some Christmas books. The girls decided three in the pile had to stay. I got rid of a Kathy Lee Gifford Christmas recipes, poems and traditions book. I never read it. No offense Kathy. A few were baby board books. One is a compilation of several classic Christmas tales. One book tells the story of Jesus’ birth in a stable by introducing all the animals who were there. I feel guilty getting rid of my Christian Christmas books. I think if it talks about God I have to save it forever. As I toyed with pulling it out of the donate pile, it hit me. I should donate more of my Christian books to charity. Someone may pick it up and find Jesus. Someone may pick it up and pass it along to a friend who needs encouragement. Someone may pick it up and be reminded of God’s love. My anxiety lifted with that revelation. I have a nice pile headed out into the world of donations. I think I will take some time to pray over the book before I drop it off. I will pray that God will use these author’s words to touch another life.

Dream Big!

It’s About Time

Saturday the 4th I got rid of my purple fleece pajamas. I love them. They are cozy but several years old. One of our family Christmas traditions is to open a set of new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I do have a new pair, albeit not purple. One of the rules in decluttering is not to bring in new stuff as you get rid of the old. This day is sort of a wash because I did get new pajamas. However, I told myself, it’s better to break even than increase. Therefore, off they go to the donate pile.

Today, I am getting rid of old watches. They have all lost their bands and one has a dead battery. I am one of the few who still wear a watch. Most rely on their cell phone for the time. I prefer to look at my wrist than pull out my phone to check the time. The one time I prefer my phone is when I am out to lunch and my text chime knocks. I casually check the time on my phone while quickly scanning my text messages. I don’t want to be rude to my lunch buddy so I use time as an excuse to look at my phone. Sorry to any of you I actually have done that to.

Lastly, time is the theme today because I realize how much time I will have once I declutter. The less stuff I have to clean, organize, and maintain, the more time I have for what really matters. I know we all know this but few of us have implemented it. Many of you commented when you read my first blog that you were inspired to join me at some level on this journey. Welcome aboard. Please, share this blog with others. I welcome, and desire, a lot of followers of my blog. I want as many people I can reach to attain freedom from clutter. Let’s band together to reclaim our time. Just imagine what God can do with even a few minutes of our uncluttered attention.

Dream Big!

Flip Flops

January 2 – I got rid of an old platter. I loved it. It was oblong shaped but pointy at the end. It held dumplings perfectly. However, it was chipped on both ends. When I opened the cupboard and pulled out the drawer it was in, it always hit the corner of the cupboard. The cupboard is chipped and so is the dish. It was cumbersome even though it was functional. I don’t use it with guests ’cause it’s chipped. It was time for my cupboard dinging days to end. You may think, “move the platter, Debbie.” Good thought but I never did and the damage is done and now it’s in the donate pile.

January 3 – today – I am getting rid of the disposable flip-flops shown above. Yep – disposable flip-flops I am embarrassed to say I have had them for several years. On our way home from my church’s women’s council retreat, we stopped for dinner and a pedicure. No one had flip-flops since we had just come from the mountains. The shop had disposable flip-flops. Why I didn’t jump on the disposable part of the name, I don’t know. The other day I was looking for my black boots and saw this blue-green flimsy piece of foam. I remembered them from that retreat. I didn’t immediately toss them because I had an attachment to the flip-flops. It’s funny how emotion gets tied to things. These flip-flops reminded me of a great weekend where we encountered God. He showed up by guiding our discussions, uniting our hearts as a team, and unveiling the theme for that year of ministry. The flip-flops reminded me that God is engaged in my life. It’s silly to hold onto disposable flip-flops so long but they served as a sort of altar to mark God’s presence at our retreat. I will hold onto that truth but the flip-flops are headed for the trash. By the way, I never did wear them again – they are disposable after all.

Happy Clutter-Free New Year

I wanted to find a profound item to mark the start of the new year and my decluttering theme. However, I woke up at 4:45 am to watch the Rose Parade in person. It was remarkable as always. After the parade and a late lunch, I took a two-hour nap. I think the long nap made me more tired. It’s nighttime and I promised I would blog today so my first item to get rid of is 4 pairs of threadbare socks. I have no significant words to say or even a scripture tie in. So much for grand beginnings. Hang in there with me, it’s only day one. I have a whole year to improve. Perfectionism took a back seat and I settled for good enough. Some days are like that – even day one of a new project.

By the way, the float with the stork and big babies was one of my favorites but seeing K.C. and the Sunshine Band was awesome.

Dream Big!