568: Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality – Part 2
How do you start a conversation with someone who says that absolutely everything is valuable and should be cherished? Especially when that means that you, not they, should be the person to make space for it?
Kathi and her friend Cheri Gregory are returning today for the second part of their discussion on how to respond responsibly to another person who has a “waste not, want not” mentality. Here are their tips for how to keep the peace without keeping all the stuff:
For people living in your household, give each person their own space and they can keep what they want in that space.
Have agreed upon standards for cleanliness, maintenance tasks, and decorating budgets.
If someone says, “I can fix that,” set a time and have a plan for getting that item fixed. Consider whether or not fixing a particular item is enjoyable and worth the time.
Realize that you may not agree or change the other person’s mind, and you can still keep boundaries around your own space and belongings.
Did you miss the first part of this conversation? If so, you can listen to that here.
The Accidental Homesteader: What I’ve Learned About Chickens, Compost, and Creating Home
Homesteading [hohm-sted-ing] noun
an act or instance of establishing a homestead.
the act of loving where you live so much that you actively ignore the fact that your house is trying to kill you on a regular basis.
For Kathi Lipp and her husband, Roger, buying a house in one of the most remote parts of Northern California was never part of the plan; many of life’s biggest, most rewarding adventures rarely are.
Kathi shares the hard-won wisdom she’s gained on her homestead journey to help you accomplish more at home, gain fresh perspective, and give yourself grace in the process. Here’s a handful of the lessons Kathi shares:
Prepare before the need arises
Everything is always in process, including us
Your best household solution is time and patience
You don’t have to do everything the hard way
Be open to new and better ways of doing things
A lot of small changes make a huge difference.
Highly practical, humorous, and inspirational, The Accidental Homesteader will encourage you to live with more peace, joy, and contentment. Order your copy of The Accidental Homesteader here.
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe to our newsletter now.
Meet Our Guest
Cheri Gregory
Cheri Gregory is the founder of the Sensitive & Strong Community Cafe and co-author of five books, including Overwhelmed and An Abundant Place (both with Kathi Lipp). Cheri mentors HSP* Christian writers and speakers Through her Write Beside You coaching services and mastermind programs.
567: Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality – Part 1
Sometimes we hear sayings like “waste not, want not” and we assume they are true all the time and in every circumstance. Or we may want to get rid of something, but someone else in our life expects us to keep it. What to do then? Today Kathi is discussing this very issue with her friend and co-author, Cheri Gregory.
Cheri tells the tale of some big items she has recently decluttered and shares how her mindset about those items has changed over time. Some of those shifts in her thinking include:
Realizing that just because an item was nice several decades ago, doesn’t mean it is still nice.
Learning to set a time limit on fixing things – just because something could be fixed someday by someone doesn’t mean I have to keep it (broken) forever.
There is a cost to keeping things – time dealing with them, lost space to enjoy other things, and missed opportunities.
Listen next week to hear Part 2 of the discussion, in which Cheri gives advice for how to start a conversation with someone else who is opposed to our decluttering efforts. Sign up here for the Clutter Free Academy newsletter to be notified when Part 2 is available.
The Accidental Homesteader: What I’ve Learned About Chickens, Compost, and Creating Home
Homesteading [hohm-sted-ing] noun
an act or instance of establishing a homestead.
the act of loving where you live so much that you actively ignore the fact that your house is trying to kill you on a regular basis.
For Kathi Lipp and her husband, Roger, buying a house in one of the most remote parts of Northern California was never part of the plan; many of life’s biggest, most rewarding adventures rarely are.
Kathi shares the hard-won wisdom she’s gained on her homestead journey to help you accomplish more at home, gain fresh perspective, and give yourself grace in the process. Here’s a handful of the lessons Kathi shares:
Prepare before the need arises
Everything is always in process, including us
Your best household solution is time and patience
You don’t have to do everything the hard way
Be open to new and better ways of doing things
A lot of small changes make a huge difference.
Highly practical, humorous, and inspirational, The Accidental Homesteader will encourage you to live with more peace, joy, and contentment. Order your copy of The Accidental Homesteader here.
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe to our newsletter now.
Meet Our Guest
Cheri Gregory
Cheri Gregory is the founder of the Sensitive & Strong Community Cafe and co-author of five books, including Overwhelmed and An Abundant Place (both with Kathi Lipp). Cheri mentors HSP* Christian writers and speakers Through her Write Beside You coaching services and mastermind programs.
Do you feel guilty that you’re not doing more? Keeping your house up to snuff? Taking care of yourself and others? If guilt seems to follow you around wherever you go, then this episode is for you!
Kathi is talking with author and Bible teacher Barb Roose about her struggles with perfectionism and performance, and how that affects both her closet and her faith in God.
Here are Barb’s 3 rules for a better closet:
Don’t wear it if it makes you sad.
If it doesn’t fit your current body or style, get rid of it.
Don’t let fear or shame make you keep clothing that doesn’t fit your current size.
Barb says that our closets are full of memories, and our relationship with God is the same way. How can we move on from experiences in our past that bring up feelings of guilt today? Barb has been on a spiritual journey: moving from a place where guilt robbed her of feeling like she could connect with God, to a place of freedom and understanding of how big God’s love is.
Her life has been changed by focusing more on the promises of God, and less on her performance for Him. Her favorite prayer in a time of need? “Save me O God.” That 4 word prayer is a whole prayer. Barb reminds us of God’s promise from Isaiah 43: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.”
So take a deep breath, remember God’s promises to you, and then do the next right thing.
Giveaway
Barb is giving a copy of her book to one lucky Clutter Free Academy listener! To enter, let us know in the comments below what is one thing, figuratively or literally, that you want to declutter from your closet.
Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Lenten Journey
Looking for less guilt and more Jesus? That is what Barb Roose promises you will find in her new book, Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Lenten Journey. Inside you will find an exploration of Jesus in the Old Testament as we see Jesus through the Psalms of David. Each week features one psalm that focuses on how Jesus is showing up in the reality of life. God has a much bigger plan and we have a hope that is not just for today, but is a hope for eternity, especially when life is feeling really hard.
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe to our newsletter now.
Meet Our Guest
Barb Roose
Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about teaching women to live beautifully strong and courageous in spite of their fears so that they can experience God’s great adventure of faith and purpose for their lives.
Barb is a real woman who has experienced depression and anxiety, parenting challenges, family addiction trauma and long seasons of walking by faith in unanswered prayer. Rather than teaching audiences to follow God to get what they want, Barb inspires audiences to discover that God is all they need!
Writing creative and challenging Bible studies brings Barb great joy! She’s the author of multiple Bible studies, including: Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus, I’m Waiting, God: Finding Blessing in God’s Delays, Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle and Breakthrough: Finding Freedom in Christ. She is also the author of multiple books including Surrendered: 40 Days to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus Devotional, Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Enough Already: Winning Your Ugly Struggle with Beauty . Her newest book is Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Lenten Journey.
Barb lives in NW Ohio and she is the proud mom to three adult children. Barb enjoys traveling, reading, walking and whenever possible, she prefers to eat dessert first.
Join Kathi as she talks with special guest, Jen Babakhan, whose book Detoured is a huge blessing to women who are juggling the transition many working moms face. In this episode Jen will share how she made it through this very difficult time in her life and gives others encouragement along the way. Plus she shares simple tips to help moms emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, as they navigate motherhood.
Listen in to learn these things:
Acknowledge this is a difficult decision and give yourself grace.
Understand that our value is more than our career.
Find a new community of moms.
To make getting DETOURED a little more exciting we are partnering with Harvest House and offering a super fun grand prize which includes an adorable lunch tote and ice-packs, as well as a picnic blanket and Jen’s book. Learning to take time to unwind is a huge step in finding balance in this life transition. Sign up here to be entered into our giveaway!
If you would like to go ahead and order a copy for yourself or perhaps another mom you know is struggling in this of transition, click here and get ready to be inspired.
We would love to stay connected. To share your thoughts:
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Meet Our Guest
Jen Babakhan
With a degree in public relations and a background in marketing and education, Jen Babakhan left her career to take on motherhood. Her writing has appeared in Reader’s Digest, and has been featured in MSN, Yahoo, and AOL. She lives in California with her husband and two young boys. You can also connect with her at JenBabakhan.com
One of the most common comments I get about my life with clutter is, “Oh, you wrote a book about clutter? Is your house perfect now?”
Or people will say, “I could never have you over to my house. You’re the clutter free person. I’d be too embarrassed!”
These two statements highlight two different misconceptions:
1. Because I’ve found something that works for me, I will never struggle again.
2. I can’t remember what it’s like to be in the hardest part of the struggle.
So let me share the reality of my clutter free life:
I still struggle.
My natural tendency is towards clutter. To put things down, leave them for later.
My garage can still be an embarrassment.
My relationship with stuff has changed dramatically. I still keep stuff I shouldn’t, but it’s not households of stuff. I still have too many clothes, but it’s not closets full of them. I’m so much better, because I’ve learned some of the reasons for my struggle along the way, and I realize that even when I’m at the hardest part of my struggle, God is not a disappointed and disapproving relative waiting to love me when I (literally) clean up my act. In my struggle, God pulls me tighter, loves me hard, and doesn’t let me go.
So much of this paradigm reminds me of my struggle with depression about a dozen years ago. I felt that if I just tried harder, worked more, and wasn’t so lazy, God would be pleased with me and would make my depression go away.
I know. I know.
What crazy, faulty, thinking.
But that’s the kind of thinking that so many of us do when we are dealing with a struggle.
If only I tried harder…
I should be able to get myself out of this mess.
If God was pleased with me, He would get me out of this mess.
Recently, I had a conversation with Melissa Maimone author of The Radiant Midnight: Depression, Grace, and the Gifts of a Dark Place. (Holy cow, what a title!) What I love most about this book is that Melissa believes not only will God lead you out of darkness, He will be fully and beautifully present within it. Instead of trying to give anyone three simple steps to deal with a hard situation, she takes the radical notion that God sits with us in our pain and suffering. Instead of always looking to get out of the circumstance, she urges us to recognize that God is guiding us on a journey of surrender, suffering, rest, and restoration in the midst of what we are going through.
There is value in knowing that we don’t just have to try harder to get out of the circumstances we are in. There is value in recognizing that there is good in the hard places, whether it’s outside of ourselves (clutter) or inside ourselves. God is there, and He is good, even when our challenges are hard.
Weighted Silk Sleep Mask Eye Pillow Filled with Organic Lavender and Flax Seeds
Enter to win by commenting below- have you ever had a situation where you believed you had to just try harder to get out of the hard place and then you would find God rather than knowing He was right there in it with you?