AAAaaaaaH!! That overwhelming mess is floating through my head constantly. And it gets to be a bit much. I make mental notes, and TO DO lists that never seem to end. I think about where to start and get overwhelmed and nothing gets done! I think about how to focus on small tasks and get a little done at a time and then I start making HUGE lists of little tasks. And then I need a nap!
Today marks the beginning of Lent, the Christian 40 day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter (excluding Sundays). As a Christian, I choose to participate in Lent as a time of sacrifice and reflection in an effort to better understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.
Lent is celebrated in many different ways across denominations and cultures. Over the past few years, I've made my Lent experience a personal one that I haven't shared. Of course, I never had a blog before, so this year shall be different as I will be sharing my experiences here.
This year for Lent I have chosen to focus on two things. First, I will be giving up alcohol; it serves no real purpose in my life - it's only adding pounds around my middle and taking money out of my wallet. Secondly, I've decided to undertake a challenge I've read about online - the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.
Although I'm not Catholic, I found a wonderful description of the benefits, reasons and sacrifice behind the challenge at Simply Catholic. Not only do they have a great explanation of how the challenge began and the reasoning behind it, they have great tools like a list of places to de-clutter in your house and tags for your 40 bags.
from Simply Catholic's 40 Trash Bags - For Lent
"We have too many possessions, too many aspirations, too little time. We have so many good intentions and so many fears and we are all drowning in excess of everything, we freeze in the face of so much to do then we do not do those things we should. We become victims, buried in our stuff and slaves to our desires."
"If our possessions consume the time and talents that we should be spending on relationships with our God, our loved ones and our community then they are a problem."
"Stuff will never replace what is missing in our hearts, it will never keep us safe from uncertainty, it will not make us more beautiful, healthy, faithful or immune to aging. Clutter will not protect us from the outside world."
These passages stood out to me because as I look around at all the stuff filling up our house, I know a LOT of it falls within those descriptions. I can't tell you how many times I've sat, rocking Little Man to sleep thinking about what I will try to get done during the few moments he is asleep. The list of things I want to accomplish is so long that by the time I lay Little Man in his crib I'm often overwhelmed with the thought of even where to begin, like that first paragraph running through my head. And so I get nothing done.
Saving things and holding onto them, whether for the memories attached to them or because they might come in handy some day in the future is something I've been doing for a very long time. I believe it's a learned behavior from my childhood. I was given a lot of stuff as a child and held onto a lot of it for a very long time. Some people show love by giving stuff; hell, we all do sometimes. I mean, when's the last time you told someone that instead of giving them stuff as a gift you were going to DO something for them?
And I don't mean to say that gifts are bad. Or that giving gifts to people you love is bad. But when you tie so much unspoken emotion up in the giving of a gift that it becomes a symbol that you love that person, sometimes the only tangible proof that you love someone, that's not really a good thing. There's got to be a better way to make sure that the people nearest and dearest to you know you love them! But I digress...
When all that emotion and love is wrapped up in stuff, it gets hard to get rid of the stuff. And so you hold onto some lamp you really hate because so and so gave it to you. And you keep every greeting card anyone ever gave you as a child, because it's proof they were here and they loved you. And you keep this thing and that thing and before you know it, everywhere stuff! Stuff you don't need, stuff you don't use, stuff you don't remember why you even have, stuff you don't know what to do with. Stuff that you look at and feel overwhelmed because you don't know what to do with all of this stuff.
So, you either continue doing what you've been doing or do something different. My something different is the 40 Bag Challenge. And I'm taking you along for the ride!
It is my hope that at the end of this challenge I will be more organized, feel like I've accomplished something, and hopefully blessed others in the process. It is my plan to donate a lot of the stuff to local charities like Goodwill and Caring & Sharing (a local thrift store). Some of the stuff I'll sell through Craigslist, E-Bay and maybe even Amazon. Some of the stuff intended for projects I will make a concerted effort to use. And some of the stuff will just go in the trash.
I'm excited by this challenge and look forward to sharing my progress with you. I'm open to suggestions, welcome your encouragement and would love to hear what you're giving up for Lent (if that's your thing).
Until my next post! Ta-ta! If you have a few minutes, enjoy this commentary on stuff from George Carlin.
