Day 5 – letter T – TAKE TIME

I had an inner debate this morning. Would the letter T stand for True Confessions? Would I tell you that when I looked at my dresser this morning, I discovered that the clutter monster had snuck back into my room, not leaving a huge trail of chaos fortunately, just enough to let me know that he was still lurking in the shadows. As I walked down the hall I saw he had passed by there as well, and into the kitchen too. It was rather disheartening. Here I am doing this creative cleanse, and I still haven't been forceful enough to let him know he is no longer welcome here.

But then I thought to myself. “It's OK, Helen, this is only Day 5.” They say it takes 30 days to create a new habit. That is why this cleanse is geared for 35 days. So pick up the little trail of stuff, smile as you hear his muffled groan, and move on.

In my office it was reinforced once again, that turning on one's computer before the morning routine and the 27 Boogie Fling (See Day 2 and/or Flylady.com if this sounds bizarre.) can prove disastrous. One e-mail led to another, and before I knew it, it was time to head out to help a friend. (That's why I had to turn on the comupter in the first place. I thought I had enough self-discipline to just read the one note that I needed. Hah! It can't be done!...at least not yet.) I DID delete a few files though, to justify the time spent.

The errand led to coffee. You know how it goes. I was back around noon, and settled on my target area, the office. I have decided that if I boogie in my office for a few days I will actually gain a fair amount of control in here. So boogie I did. My computer table now shows its wood! I moved to the desk and worked my way through a pile or two. It's amazing how much paper one can recycle when cleaning the office! Another friend called who I hadn't spent time with for a while. That allowed me to get out to enjoy the sunshine as I walked downtown and to run an errand after the obligatory coffee. After a further appointment that took longer than expected, I got home just in time to make a salad and head out for supper and a video.

Coming home around 8:30 gave me time to reflect on my day and how it fit with this cleansing process. I realized that it's all right to experience a delay or two when life brings along a more important choice. For me, being there for my friends is high on my agenda, it is part of what God calls me to do. I think carefully before closing the door on opportunities to build relationships or to be of service. It really is a matter of balance. If I left the clutter constantly, and forgot the goal, this cleansing would not happen. But occasionally...I think that's OK. It adds to life's sparkle. And after all, life is not so much about sparkling kitchens as sparkling moments in time. This process of cleansing the clutter will take time, but while I'm going through it I need to be true to myself, and to occasionally take the time required for that.

I hope you will too.

Day 3 - Letter E - ENJOY

A beautiful sunny day here in the snow belt of southwestern Ontario, it seems like a day built to enjoy.

That is the word for today. ENJOY!

I am still trying to persuade myself that dealing with clutter can be an enjoyable process, but as I sat up in bed and admired my clutter-free windowsill, and turned my eyes to my newly cleansed dresser top, I was flooded with a sense of “Yes! This is good!” So good in fact, that before I left the bedroom I had cleared off the top of the washstand.

I porbably should explain, in case some of you modern homedwellers are wondering how I could possibly accumulate stuff on my window sill, that I live in the mainfloor of a grand old home built in 1870. Its wide windowsills are perfect for wintering my plants, but also for collecting books, magazines, and other assorted paraphenalia!

A newsletter from an inspirational site, www.simpletruths.com, arrived with an article called, Did You Eat Your Frog Today? It refers to a book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. In one chapter he discusses the 80/20 principle. Basically it was a creative call to tackle the most important tasks first, those tasks on which we tend to procrastinate, because they are the hardest and most complex. It was a great little article and I strongly recommend taking a moment in your day to read it. Maybe not now if you were all geared up to tackle something else; I wouldn't want to be the cause of procrastination in anyone else's life. Being responsible for my own is quite enough, thank you.

So, here I sit, procrastinating perhaps, but gearing myself up to enjoy my day. This is my big ministry day, when I direct an after-school program for about 80 kids from theschool next door to our church. I know that preparing for that will take a big junk of my time today. But I will do my boogie fling (see yesterday's blog) and I will take a 15 minute bite out of my frog (my office paperwork), maybe more if I can find another chunk of time.

So here's to you. Here's to conquering our mountain of clutter. Here's to enjoying your day!

This is the day that the Lord has made. May He bless you in all you do.