New Year- Clean Spaces

 It started simple enough last weekend.

 Hubby was home, house was quiet.

"Can we tackle the pile of paper

 on your desk in the office?"

 That morphed to the next pile and the next stack.

And the next dusty shelf.

So edited the bookshelves.

Donating 78 books to the public library.

 Though we have still way too many books,

it helps to delete that many each time.

It ended up being 28 hours of people time efforts.

But, the space breathes 

and welcomes once again.

The closet got it too.

It now smiles back when I open it.

(well, I think I saw a smile)

Then I saw there was a Marie Kondo

 series on Netflix.

I watched all 8 as I was sorting things

 and ironing

 in the family room.

Kondoizing began in the rest of the house......

 So the kitchen was next. I only have 4 drawers

 in the whole room and they have to work hard.

I cringed every time I opened them over Christmas-

 as I threw something else in. 

I would never have posted a

  photo of my junk drawer before clean out.

 Some things are a bit challenging

 for me about her method-

(I don't believe that inanimate things Spark Joy).

I do believe that our living spaces

 create welcome or not, cause frustration or not,

 and can suck time as we hunt for things.

Her method for folding things is brilliant

 and I have been a proponent of standing things

 in drawers- like forever.

But, never thought about it for socks.

This isn't her method for storing socks, 

but hubby NEEDS his like this to find them.

But, she does fold them and stand them up- 

in Containers.

So- even though it bothers my symmetrical system

 when all the containers are not the same- 

this is so helpful.

 It keeps like things together for the long run.

Been doing that for awhile also.

I even had empty spaces in drawers.

So I will continue this as can- 

one drawer and closet at a time.

 This season of "cleaning out" goes rather well

 with the Epiphany New Year's blessing.

Bless this home.

Bless this space.

Lord, make the systems here

 in our homes meet our needs,

 so that we have more time to serve you.

Let us get rid of excess,

 so that we have more time for YOU.

 Amen.