I guarantee you have heard of, or participated in, “spring cleaning” before. And if you are like me, it can sneak up on us, and before we know it, we’ve already reached the end of May with no cleanout completed yet. Summer, though often known for vacations and pool time, can also be a great time to declutter your space, both physically and mentally.
While the heat outside may be a welcome companion for many, others might find themselves at home, enjoying the air conditioner, with more time off from work or the grind of their usual weekly commitments. The Bible reminds us that it is important to keep our minds and physical possessions under God’s authority, as Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I’ve made it a goal this summer to declutter my home and my mind, and if you are interested in learning more about how to do just that, follow along!
Take Inventory of Your Thoughts and Surroundings
Before you start cleaning, you should have an idea of what you are planning to embark on, as it can be a wild journey. Taking a good, long look at your home, individual rooms, and secret spaces will help you organize your plan of attack. When decluttering a home, the first thing I’d recommend is to look for items that are still in the boxes they came in. Have you opened this box in the past year or two? Do you need to take the items out and display them somewhere you’d see more often so you can use them? Take a look in your closet and see if there are any clothes you have only worn once or twice. Maybe they are in a size that no longer suits you? The three piles I like to organize items in are: “keep, recycle / trash, and give to others.” Starting to take a good look around at clothes and home items that are nice but not necessary to keep around is a great way to get in the mood to declutter.
In the same vein, do you need to take inventory of your thoughts? I learned about metacognition back in college, and “thinking about what you're thinking about” has been a phrase I’ve used to describe what that means for a while now. What thoughts are looping you into a negative mood? If you’re unsure what you're thinking, listen to how you speak to others and to yourself. As it says in Luke 6:45, “...the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Are the thoughts that resurface in your speech actually true? Are they from God’s Word or the word you heard on an Instagram story late at night? I’ll admit it’s hard not to get bogged down in negative thinking loops when the reality around you seems to confirm what you may be thinking, but let me remind you that our minds are powerful. Taking a good, hard look at your thought life over the past few days or weeks is a healthy first step and can help us on the path toward a more positive outlook. Be kind to yourself and try not to judge what you find in there, but be prepared to work on it.
Pray About What You Need to Let Go Of
The next healthy step in decluttering your home is to start thinking about how you can bless someone else. Pray about the items you have been clinging to, and see if God is nudging you to let them go for something greater or to bless someone else with them. Listen to conversations around you at work or with friends. You might find someone needs the very item that’s been collecting dust in your closet after all! If you are planning to move in the next year or so, you might want to pray about what you need to bring into your new space. This can also help you see what kind of space you need to move into or what dreams you might want to give life to (e.g., an art or music room, an exercise room, a garden shed, etc.) by making more space in your home now.
Decluttering your mind most certainly will need some prayer to help guide you around the cobwebs, green lights, and stop signs you come across in your brain. Ask yourself if the thoughts are in agreement with Philippians 4:8 as something that is “... true,... noble, ... right,... pure,... lovely,... admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy...” Ask God for discernment when you find a caution sign in a situation you’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Maybe you have burdens placed on you and are too afraid to ask for help, or you don’t know anyone who can help. Pray that God can move people around you to help support you and take some of your load, be that a family member, friend, or mental health professional. Prayer can help to center us and give us peace, even in the middle of the confusion.
Take Mindful and Physical Action
The last step to decluttering your home is actually doing it. Now that you hopefully have the piles of “keep, recycle /trash, and give to others” in mind, you can find some boxes to start filling! Some people may need help from family or friends, while others may decide to do it all on their own. It can be emotional and cathartic to go through your items that hold memories. Taking your time in this process can help bring healing to the parts of you that were procrastinating the whole time. And if you sell items, maybe consider donating some of that money to a charity or to a child who needs financial support to go to camp this summer? Whichever way you decide to give, remember the heart behind it is just as important as the action itself. We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that we all “... should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Not only will your home feel more open after the clutter is put away or given to someone else, but your mind and heart will also benefit.
In the same vein, decluttering your mind now requires action. This may look like finally contacting a counselor that can help you move through the mental hangups or clutter you have been praying about and taking inventory of. Your action may include reaching out to a friend or family member who supports your mental decluttering and growth. Another step of action might be to journal about what has been bringing you down. I understand that writing out your feelings can be a daunting task for some. If so, it could be as simple as writing out some bullet points on a scrap piece of paper and trashing it afterward. Or if you prefer to write, you can journal about it in a place you can read back over in months or years to come. It can be nice to be able to look back and admire your growth and God’s faithful hand in your life down the road. Regardless of how you do it, the action of writing or speaking with another trusted person can help to place the emotional and mental clutter “away” from your immediate recall and onto another source to hold. I am so grateful that we have such a kind and patient Father who can help us declutter our minds with His Word, His people, and His peace.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Kathrin Ziegler
Mandy Smith is the proud author of Almost There: A 30 Day Journey Where Tomorrow’s Uncertainty Takes a Back Seat to the Promise of Today and loves using the gift of writing to usher readers towards a life that relies on Jesus.
