Declutter your life. Do you need to simplify your life? Do you live a “clutter family” life?
We don’t live in a cluttered family house because I do not like it. Neither does my husband. We taught our kids to purge their rooms when they were young. So neither of them, as adults, has a house full of junk. However, I have extended family members who have dealt with this in the past and others who are now dealing with piles of rubble. It is overwhelming. And as I write this, I am past due in decluttering some areas of my house and life.
What does clutter mean? Why is it essential to simplify or declutter your life? Does clutter affect our stress levels and our minds? Is there Biblical value to decluttering?
Let’s dig in and explore this messy topic. 😂
Declutter Your Life: Clutter Meaning
The dictionary meaning of clutter is “a collection of things lying about in an untidy mess.” I found a better definition that I like better because it explains how clutter affects us.
An excess of unnecessary or unloved belongings, that accumulate into an overwhelming mess.
MinimizeMyMess.com
While I don’t know this blogger’s worldview, she has great tips on reducing the number of clothes in your closet and creating a ‘capsule wardrobe.’ Now that I found her website, I will have to try some of her decluttering tips, including downsizing my closet and dresser drawers!
In addition to what I found on how to declutter your home, there are books written to help you declutter your mind. However good these books may be from a practical standpoint, most of them are missing a key element.
God
They leave out God, the giver of life, who cares about all aspects of our lives, including the mess we live in or the mess within ourselves. Yes, they bring up the health benefits of decluttering your house or mind. However, I believe there is a faith component that simplifying these areas adds to your peace. A peace that gives us that contentment and satisfaction we desire in life.
Declutter Your Life: Health Benefits
While I am not an expert on how to declutter your life, I do know that I have felt better after doing a project in a room or closet. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and relieves my stress when I walk into a tidier room or look into a closet for an item I need.
On WebMD.com, clutter increases your stress hormone, increases injuries due to clutter in your space or underfoot, memory issues due to the overwhelming amount of stuff in a room, or embarrassment and isolation from having a messy house. A hoarding disorder leads to anxiety and depression.
When we declutter our space, it leads to better focus, higher self-esteem, better relationships, a lower risk of allergies or asthma, and improved well-being.
The lower risk of allergies made me laugh 😂 and moan simultaneously. When I deep clean an area, I am allergic to dust, so I sneeze when cleaning. Looking around my office, I need to do some organizing and cleaning. The dust needs to go!
Declutter Your Life: Biblical Value
We clutter up our lives with stuff and thoughts that are not helpful to us. From a Biblical perspective, obtaining and keeping things can focus on comparison and unsatisfied self-worth, spiral us down a discontented path, and keep us from contentment and peace.
Comparison and Self-Worth
When we strive for greatness, we gather things that we think will satisfy us, but instead, they bring us pain. And when we have it, we want more. I found this quote when I was doing research earlier this year.
Getting everything you want never satisfies.
Sarah from prettysimpleideas.com
Sarah has tips on minimalism which includes creating a wardrobe that meets your style and making it easier to choose your clothes before you head to work or off to run errands.
This quote reminds me of what Solomon referred to in Ecclesiastes. Striving and obtaining all the great toys in life doesn’t bring the desired result we are looking for.
All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.
Ecclesiastes 6:7 ESV
Behind acquiring this clutter is a desire for approval and worth. Yet we look for it in all the wrong places. We want the best high-paying job, the most incredible car, and the most prominent house.
Jobs, cars, and homes are necessary for living. But comparing ourselves to others or desiring precisely what they have is not helpful. It will affect our health.
Our Worth is in God
The value of our lives is not found in gathering these things or striving for the best or the most expensive. Worth is found in Christ and a relationship with Him. Once we have Jesus as our Savior, our identity is found in Him. We are called blessed, chosen, adopted, redeemed, and many more.
He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Ephesians 1:5 NASB
God’s Plan for You is Better
In trying to be satisfied with the things of this world, we choose a path that can affect our health or be destructive to our lives. We have a straightforward way to follow when we trust God and His plan.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Trusting God and His plan is better for us. It isn’t promised to be free from trouble (John 16:33 ESV). But we can lean on God for strength to get us through it (Isaiah 43:2 ESV).
Mind and Thoughts Focused on Christ = Contentment and Peace
The clutter in our lives can cause stress. When those things are reduced or removed, we experience relief. The thoughts in our minds about consuming all of these things to get ahead are focused on ourselves. When we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior and follow God’s plan, we experience perfect peace.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3 ESV
And if we choose to let those evil thoughts take control or endlessly swirl, we clutter our minds. That junk in our lives needs to be replaced with God’s truth.
Declutter Your Life
So are you ready to take the next step in de-stressing your life and removing the clutter in your physical space and life? Spend time reading the verses and linked posts above to see how you can do just that!
