Picture this… a mom, who is trying her best to keep her kids fed and thriving and learning and not fighting and the house clean and the dishes clean and the toys put away and the kids entertained and the clothes put away and the dog fed and the bathrooms wiped down and the kitchen sanitized and the carpet looking as best it can and her husband de-stressed at home and the car vacuumed and the flowers alive…
Tired yet?
Yeah, me too. Sometimes in my day I can’t seem to keep my head above water, or above the clutter. Some days I have to literally walk around with my head looking up so as not to be burdened by all the stuff collecting in my home. Please say you can relate!
my closet, before
I truly believe whether you are a stay a home mom, a working mom, a single mom, or not a mom at all, we all have the struggle with STUFF. And I believe that the society that we live in has made us obsessed with having more. Doing more. Being more. So when my days get heavy with the hard stuff and my house can’t even be a calming, peaceful retreat, I cannot seem to get a grasp on any one thing.
It was recommended by a friend, so I read it as quickly as I could. Along the way, I shared some ideas with my husband. He was so quickly on board that he wanted to get started even before I finished reading the book! Ha!
So what did we do? Called up my parents and asked if they could watch our kids so that we could…CLEAN! I know. We are some wild and crazy kids!
Once we began, the KonMari rules started to make sense. For example, the book recommends starting with categories of items instead of rooms. The author suggests touching each piece to truly part with it. We asked ourselves if different items sparked joy in our life, among other rules outlined in the book. Initially, we mocked the rules, but as we worked through the process, we began to praise them.
my closet, mostly done!
To be honest, it has been a spiritual experience for me. The Lord asks the rich ruler to give all of his posessions away — could I do that? The Lord calls me to be a good steward of what I have been given, and honestly, if I can’t even be joyful in my home, am I being a good steward in it? Can I serve my kids, husband, friends, and family well? My problem was that I was drowning so deep in my things that I couldn’t be a good mom or wife or daughter of the King. I wasn’t a good version of myself.
I am learning through my imperfections that the Lord wants me as I am. But I have to make room in my life to hear Him. I must make room in my life and in my home to learn and worship Him in all areas. This means willingly giving up things that are currently taking up space to make room for more of God.
Over the next several weeks, maybe even months — because truly this is a process — Creating a Great Day will:
Weekly have a “KonMari Spiritual Adventures” thread on Facebook as a way to encourage each other on this journey. Post what you feel comfortable with. This is not about embarrassing anyone but truly freeing ourselves from physical stuff so that spiritually we can be ready for any adventure God takes us on.
Every few weeks encourage you to tackle a new area of your house with a Blog post. Of course, we will be following the KonMari method so we will go in her order but detail it out for you, just in case you don’t know it, sharing our funny stories and our spiritual lessons.
Will you join us on the KonMari Adventure with a Spiritual Twist of freeing ourselves up physically and spiritually to do God’s will?
Don’t have a copy of the book? No problem! Enter to win a copy.
This is not a sponsored post. Creating a Great Day is providing the book for this giveaway because we have found this to be helpful to us.
Although the book itself isn’t spiritual in nature, it does provide a lot of springboard applications that can be used to tidy up our hearts as well as our homes.
It’s time to tidy up our physical & spiritual house!
Warning: What you see and read may evoke strong emotions in you – good! Channel those emotions into prayer and let God be glorified in the actions and results. Just an additional reminder, this book, “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying UP,” is not written by a Christian. She has many wonderful concepts and while going through it, we were easily able to apply Biblical principles to her tidying ideas.
1st Spiritual Principle to Keep in Mind: When you remove something from your physical or spiritual house, you need to put something in it’s place. This something doesn’t necessarily have to be physical but it does have to be at least a change of heart & habit. If not, all your efforts will be in vain. (Biblical concept found in Luke 11:24-28.)
Before we get started on the 1st category, we have to discuss the KonMari Method Basics.
How to conquer the clothes demon!
We told you we are going to do a spiritual twist to the KonMari Method. We believe this will only enhance the method and not take from it. Why? Because anytime we let God into the process and ask Him to be the guiding force, amazing things happen!
In order to dinstinguish between our Creating a Great Day additions and the KonMari Method we will put (CaGD) or (KM) at the end of each idea so you know the difference.
Before you get started pray. (CaGD)
Collect All YOUR Clothes. (KM)
Throw ALL your clothes onto the FLOOR! Yes, the floor. There is a reason, which will be understood shortly. (KM)
Now, sort the clothes: (KM)
Shirts from every season go into one pile on the floor
Pants
Skirts/Dresses
Coats & Jackets
Sleepwear
Sports gear
Lingerie
Socks
Underwear
Purses
Shoes
Whew!! You can do it!!
If you’re like me, you may have just gotten overwhelmed. If so, say another prayer, reach out to a friend and/or contact us. Believe me, I had an initial “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to let go even though I really want to” moment.
5. Start with the shirt pile and then work through each of the subcategories. (KM)
6. Pick up one shirt at a time and ask, “Does this spark joy?” Ok, so initially, I had a difficult time with this. I was not sure when I started understanding “what sparking joy” felt like, but about 10 shirts in, I came across a shirt that made me smile – aha! Joy Sparker!!! Now knowing the feeling, I reexamined the first 9 pieces and continued the process. I quickly noticed the things that didn’t spark joy, I didn’t wear. (KM)
I talked to my kiddos about only keeping what sparked joy aka made them smile. They only kept a small portion and it was more than enough! My youngest daughter shopped through whatever her older sister didn’t want and all the rest of the items were donated.
7. If it doesn’t spark joy, tell it thank you for serving it’s purpose (whether that was from being well worn for many years or sparking excitement when purchased) and put it straight away into the designated donate or dump trash bag. (KM)
8. A step to consider doing before putting each item into the trash bag (or to do once a trash bag is full) is to say a prayer for the person receiving the items. Pray that these items may be a blessing to them and may the gift somehow draw them nearer to our Savior. You may even ask to whom you can give these pieces. You might be surprised when someone instantly pops into your mind. (CaGD)
9. Once finished with the shirts, repeat the process with all the rest of the subcategories. (KM)
10. Immediately get the bags out of your house, so don’t start trying to reclaim items, change your mind, or get overwhelmed with the massive amounts of bags overcrowding an area. If the bags sit there you will not feel joy but frustration because you just moved items from one area to another. Get them out quickly and save yourself some frustration! (CaGD)
Here are some ideas of how to spread the joy with others:
Contact anyone who came to mind that might be able to use what you have.
Post on Facebook that you are getting rid of “x” size clothes and ask who needs them.
Pick a charity like Cross & Crown, City Rescue Mission, etc. and donate the items.
Pick a charity that will come pick the items up from your driveway.
Trash what is stained or torn.
Sell the items.
Spiritual Lessons:
1. A Look Into My Heart – I knew I had more clothes than I needed, but I just kept purchasing more tubs because I could use some clothes during summer and winter and choose to store them when I wasn’t using them. After looking at the pile of just shirts I had, I was fuming! The parable of the rich man, who built a new store house for all his grain instead of sharing it because he was so selfish, echoed in my heart and convicted me. I truly have no need for this much clothes, especially since I wear the same thing over & over again. So my joy was sparked in getting rid of the majority of what I had. My heart feels lighter knowing that others can be blessed out of the plenty that I have.
I was so upset when I realized how many shirts I had. 33 inches of shirts! I wear the same thing all the time but I had this many shirts.
2. There is a paragraph in the book about socks that made me laugh out loud:
The socks and stockings stored in your drawer are essentially on holiday. They take a brutal beating in their daily work, trapped between your foot and your shoe, enduring pressure and friction to protect your precious feet. The time they spend in your drawer is their only chance to rest. But if they are folded over, balled up, or tied, they are always in a state of tension, their fabric stretched and their elastic pulled…they will be relegated to the garbage. What treatment could be worse than this (81)?
Although it really made me laugh, it also reminded me to be grateful for all the blessings including the socks and shoes on my feet. I’ve never given socks a second thought but now I’m more attuned to the details of life – these are all blessings! This process is making me see the details that go into the life God has given me and to be thankful for every little part of it and not just the big things.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
3. The biggest lesson for me so far stems from the rich young ruler story. Am I putting my love for stuff in front of my love for God? I want a heart that is ready and won’t bat an eyelash if asked to walk away from or share all the things of life at a moments notice. I want to only look to the One who can truly provide me an amazing life. Things are things. They can’t love me. They rust and break and get dusty and torn, but Jesus’ powerful love brings me the most joy of anything I’ve ever known. The KMing process of touching everything is providing me the opportunity to speak this truth into my heart – Jesus reigns in my heart and no object will ever takes His rightful place.
Results of lessons learned:
So to say thank you to God for all he has given me and that He is ruler of my heart, 8 bags of my own personal clothes have found a new home at a local mission. Now, only things that “spark joy” and that I’ll wear are in my closet. I now have all my clothes (summer & winter) in my closet and drawers.
My closet no longer attacks me when I enter it!
How to fold what you keep:
Have you started your KonMari Spiritual Journey?
What category are you on?
What lessons have you learned so far?
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