by kathilipp | May 4, 2018 | Clutter Free, Freedom, Home, Spring Fling |
Day four of the Spring Fling and it’s time to hit the books …
Of all the things that people have a hard time getting rid of, I think books are at the top of the list.
As an author, that feels like a very good thing.
But as a woman who is working to make the world a Clutter-Free place, I need to stop being selfish, worrying about my residual checks, and challenge you to release some of those books back into the wild.
It Gets Easier to Clear Books
I have reduced the books in our house from twelve bookcases to three. Yes, in some cases it did feel like a crime. Books are wonderful and awesome—if someone is reading them. But just having books for the sake of owning them doesn’t improve your life or the lives of people who could be reading them.
I have a list of books that I will just keep. Books that I reread on a regular basis, reference books, my favorite writing books, a few cookbooks, and different Bibles. Some of the books I plan on keeping for the rest of my life (or until I change my mind…)
- Celebration of Discipline
- The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio
- Wesley the Owl
- The Good Good Pig
- Entreleadership
- Getting Things Done
- On Writing
- Born Standing Up
- Yes Please
- America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook
- The Betty Crocker Cookbook
- Bird by Bird
- More with Less
- Several books my friends have written (which I will not list here because I don’t want to leave anyone out)
Instructions:
– Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
– Start with one bookshelf.
– Do NOT pull all the books out at one time (in some homes, this could be dangerous).
Do you love it? Will you read it again? If you haven’t read it, and want to, create a shelf for “To be read” books and put them in the order you want to read them.
Bonus:
Want to stay Clutter Free when it comes to books and media? Commit to reading what you have before buying new. My challenge is to read three books I currently own before buying a new one.
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So, share below and tell us about your fling.
by kathilipp | May 3, 2018 | Clutter Free, Freedom, Home |
Day three of the Spring Fling, and it’s time to get serious … Let’s clear out the bathroom!
I’m not so worried about your sentimental attachments in the bathroom. (“But I can’t throw away that bottle of Axe Body Wash! I have to keep it — it was the last time my son smelled good.”)
But if you are anything like me, your bathroom can easily get filled with “just in case” items.
I am a worst-case-scenario kinda girl.
“What if we run out of money and I can never buy shampoo again. I don’t want to regret throwing out that six-year-old bottle of Head and Shoulders my cousin left here.”
What if I lose my job and I can’t buy lipstick again. Even though this color makes me look like an extra on the Walking Dead, it’s better than nothing, right? I should hold on to it.”
I get it. I’m a sick, sick woman.
Those things in the picture? Those were all from my kids’ bathroom.
No kid has lived here in over a year. But I kept it all — just in case.
Did I mention that I’m a sick, sick woman?
I bet you may have had some of these thoughts as well. Otherwise, why would you have six containers of foundation and only use one?
It Gets Better
One of the best things you can do to reduce clutter in your bathroom is become brand loyal. If you are a product junkie, always trying out new lipsticks, hairsprays, etc., it’s easy to keep six different kinds of mascara around because you’re never quite sure which one is the best. Find a product that works for you, and when you start to run out, buy another one. But stop buying products you already have.
Instructions:
– Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
– Start with one drawer or one shelf.
– Do NOT pull everything in your bathroom to sort it out. Take it one drawer, shelf, or basket at a time.
Bonus:
Want to stay Clutter Free in your bathroom? Commit to using up what you have. Only buy a new bottle of shampoo once you’ve used up the rest of the shampoo you have on hand.
You say, “But I would never use that old bottle of Head and Shoulders!”
Then throw it out. Only keep what you will actually use. This goes for makeup as well. When you run out, you can buy a new bottle, tube, or jar guilt free. Not only will this save you space, it will also save you money.
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
by kathilipp | May 2, 2018 | Clutter Free, Freedom, Home |
Day two of the Spring Fling. This may be your hardest yet. Taming the closet!
Asking women to get rid of clothes is like asking men to get rid of tools.
If you’ve ever struggled to get ready in the morning with dozens of items of clothes in your closet, but have “nothing to wear,” then it’s time to fling a lot of your closet.
People who look pulled together don’t spend 30 minutes wondering, “What am I going to wear?” Because they often have the smallest wardrobes.
Take a hard look at your closet. What is it filled with?
“I might need it someday!”
“But I spent so much money on it!”
“I might be that size again someday.”
Those clothes choke out your real life. If you MUST keep them, store them in another part of the house, where they won’t interfere with your real life.
It Gets Better: Taming the Closet
I have experienced so much freedom in my closet. It has taken me many seasons, but now everything in there is something I would wear today. (Okay, maybe not the heavy sweaters, because it IS May, but I will be swapping out my winter for spring here pretty soon.)
When you switch seasons in your closet (I have a tiny closet, so for me this is a MUST), it is a great time to look at your clothes and see what you actually look forward to wearing. You don’t need to keep “just in case” clothes. Make sure you love to wear everything in your closet.
If you have stuff (and don’t we all) that needs to get hemmed, taken in, let out, or repaired, go get it done so you can have a wardrobe that works for you instead of working so hard to get dressed in the morning.
Instructions:
– Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
– Start with one pole or one shelf.
– Do NOT pull everything in your closet out and sort through it. That will get overwhelming. You will quit and go eat Rocky Road ice cream. (Or at least that’s what I would do.) At the most, pull out three items at a time.
One of the things I like to do is pull out three similar items. Are there two I wear all the time, but one I avoid? Maybe it doesn’t fit, it has a scratchy tag, or I don’t like how it looks on me.
If it’s the scratchy tag, go get a pair of scissors or a seam ripper and take care of that puppy. Otherwise? Get rid of it and let someone else feel fab in it.
Bonus:
You know those days when you feel extra motivated? Yes, they may only come around once a year, but today could be that day!
If so, here are some bonus flings you could do that will bring more peace in your closet:
– Take three things to the cleaners
– Take one thing to get altered
– Get rid of any extra hangers you hate using. (No one should be using wire hangers from the dry cleaners. You’re better than that.)
The next time (maybe tomorrow morning) you get dressed, you will be so glad you did your fling!
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
by kathilipp | Apr 11, 2018 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Heart, Freedom |
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).
Have you ever met a woman and wondered, “How does she do it all?!”
I know I have. I see the mom who has the kind of house where everything has a place and kids with perfectly coiffed hair and coordinating outfits and I wonder, “What does she have that I don’t? How does she do it all?” The same goes for the homeschooling mom and the mom who recreates every DIY Pinterest idea to perfection. I make judgments: They must be super-human. They mom way better than me.
Yet there are also those who would say the same about me.
When outsiders look at me, they see what I do: full-time PR pro, ministry volunteer, grad school student, wife, mom, part-time consultant … the list goes on. They think I’m organized and accomplished. They jump from the facts to judgments: intelligent, super-human, even perfect. They want to know what I have that they don’t.
Sound familiar? Have you ever had these thoughts? Would you believe that somewhere out there, someone thinks the same thing about you?
Our perceptions and judgments are comparison clutter, and they secretly interfere with our relationships. Comparison keeps us at arm’s length. The desire is there to go deeper and know each other better, but we have to dump the clutter to get there.
Others use their perception of what I do to highlight what they think of as weakness in themselves. I get it. I see gifts in others and think of my own deficits. But Hebrews 4:13 tells us that it’s God to whom we must give account – not each other. I do what God created me to do. These gifts were made for me, not for others. Just like the gifts of organization and crafty creativity that come so easily to others missed me by a mile. Comparison clutter is sneaky. It separates us not only from each other but also from what God has designed us each uniquely to do.
This is where I hope we can remember the spirit of Ephesians 2:10. God created us individually to do good works that he already has prepared for us. We all have a sweet spot when it comes the number of hats we wear. Some of us can be working moms who invest in their marriage and in their community. Others can’t handle more than just a couple of roles before feeling over-extended. It’s by design. You were made to do what you do, just as I was made to do what I do. Neither of us gets salvation bonus points by reaching beyond God’s desires for us.
We often wear our busyness like a badge of honor, an outward sign of our importance or our sacrifice. This is like putting the welcome mat out for comparison to enter. What if we instead looked to live life within the margins our creator designed for us? What if instead of comparing ourselves to others, we celebrated the way we each use the gifts God has given us?
One Small Win
Write down all you do – all that keeps you busy – in a given week and pray over it. What on that list has God created you to do and what might be meant for someone else? Consider what can be delegated or eliminated and take the appropriate action, knowing you are fulfilling God’s design.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Tonya Kubo is the illustrious, fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter-Free Academy Facebook group. She and her husband, Brian, are raising two spirited girls in the agricultural heart of California. Want a free gift to help you in your battle against Clutter? Download, “Four Lies You Believe About Clutter and the Four Truths That Win Every Time” today.
by kathilipp | Oct 2, 2017 | Freedom, Hard Stuff, Overwhelmed |
Friends, do you ever feel like you just aren’t enough?
Whether it comes to work, relationships, or God, there have been plenty of times I’ve sat in the place of not feeling like enough, and then having to hustle to get there.
Join me today over at Girlfriends In God as we explore what to do when it feels like it will never be enough.
by Clutter Free Academy Team | Jul 11, 2017 | Freedom, Overwhelmed, Podcast, Rest |
Doing Busy Better: Enjoying God’s Gifts of Work and Rest
So many women are living overcommitted lives and buckling under the nagging guilt. When they are busy, they feel guilty for not playing with their kids or having a quiet time of prayer and Bible study. When they try to rest, they feel guilty because there’s so much left to do. It’s an endless cycle of overwork and exhaustion. Yet inside every woman’s heart is a longing for true rest. It’s there because God designed us that way–but it seems out of reach.
Enough is enough. Our lives probably aren’t going to get less busy, especially if we’re in a demanding season of life, but we can do busy better. In this burden-lifting book, Glynnis Whitwer helps women examine their hearts and their schedules in order to seek a healthy and holy balance between–and enjoyment of–both work and rest. She shows readers how to prioritize their goals and their time, how to be present in the moment as Jesus was, and how to find the freedom of true soul rest. Most importantly, she shows women that their worth is found not in their accomplishments but in the love of the One who made them for work and for rest.
Kathi and Glynnis pick up the conversation from where they left off last week discussing Doing Busy Better: Enjoying God’s Gifts of Work and Rest. They wrap the discussion on “bad busy” and pick up the conversation with what “good busy” looks and feels like in our lives. From her own experience, Glynnis realized she is always going to be busy. It’s her personality. She is her best with a lot going on. She was able to stand back and realize what kinds of busy fostered good or bad in her life.
Find out what the “good busy” is in your life and how to identify if you’ve crossed over into bad busy.
Free Bonus Chapter & Planning Pages, Plus Study Guide with Purchase
Visit Glynnis’ website to download special gifts for Kathi Lipp listeners. For access, please use password: kathilipp. You’ll be able to download the Free Bonus Chapter, Overcoming Burnout, and the gorgeous three-page planner.
Book Giveaway
Leave a comment on this podcast within 7 days telling us “What part of busy is God nudging you to give away?” A winner will be selected randomly from the comments to receive a copy of Doing Busy Better: Enjoying God’s Gifts of Work and Rest.
*Book Giveaway only available to US participants.
Glynnis Whitwer is on staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries as the Executive Director of Communications. She is the editor and one of the writers of Encouragement for Today, the Proverbs 31 email devotions, with over 750,000 daily readers.
Glynnis and her husband Tod have five young adult children live in Glendale, Arizona. Visit www.GlynnisWhitwer.com or www.Proverbs31.org to learn more.
