Practicalities For Order

If you know me, you know I love order. And if you don't know me, you now know as well that I love order 😆. But I didn't start off knowing how to keep order in the home. In fact, if you were to ask my mom, you'd find out that my bedroom growing up was the likely one to be the messiest. I tended to wait until it was horrendous and then I would do a massive clean up and organize everything. I also would likely get lost in "organizing" my books, but let's call that what it was, reading. Which meant cleaning my room took that much longer.

I started getting better at keeping it tidy after being in college and working. Although, I think part of that was the fact I was hardly in my room, so there wasn't any mess to make.

One day soon after I got married it just seemed to click. I watched as my new husband tossed a dirty shirt at the laundry basket and missed. He left it there even though he was walking right by it. I remember thinking, "I wonder how many extra seconds that would have taken to put it in the laundry basket." It irritated me because I already had to clean up after myself, but now I had to clean up after him, too? There wasn't enough room in our tiny apartment for us both to be lacking order. For the record, that season of setting clothes by the laundry basket instead of in it didn't last long😉.

I started calculating the amount of time it took me to do something instead of leaving it for later. Because, what did that really accomplish? Usually it took me longer to do it later than if I did it right then. For instance, let's say you eat a snack before bed. You don't feel like washing the dishes right then or maybe the dishwasher is already running. So you set your dish by the sink. However, in the morning, those little flecks of food that were soft the night before are now hardened onto your dish and takes a bit of time to get them off. But if you had rinsed your dish the night before, it would have taken a max of 5 extra seconds of your time before bed. And before you know it, you have all these dishes piled up by the sink that have built into many extra minutes of your time.

Some of you look at all the tasks to be done in the home and are overwhelmed, so you don't start any of them. It feels like a never ending job so why start?

Can I help you? Take it one step at a time. You have the vision for what you want. A home that is in order and pleasant to be in. You just need to take the steps to get there. Instead of looking at your messy bedroom and deciding you'll clean it later when you have more time, (because, when is that really? It's when you make the time.) pick one thing to do right now. A made bed will already transform your room into looking better. How long does it truly take you to make the bed after one night of sleeping in it? I'd guess it's not long. It takes me about a minute to make ours. However, if you leave it until the sheets are pulled off by your movement night after night, maybe the comforter isn't even on the bed anymore--it takes you that much longer than the one minute daily to make it. It's many little moments that add up to order. It's not a strict rule, it's disciplining yourself to stop walking by it and just do it. The next time you walk through, grab one more thing that's out of order.

One of the most effective, practical habits of mine now is to pay attention to what I can do on my way to do a different task. If I'm getting up to get a glass of water and spot trash on the floor--well, I'm already heading near the garbage can, that extra 2 seconds is worth it.

Now, this is not to say that my home never gets messy. It does. In fact, as I write this there are toys and throw pillows across my floor where kids are playing! But we all know how to get the home in order again without feeling overwhelmed.

This is to help you right some steps to order without feeling like you're always behind and don't know how to catch up. One thing at a time.

Now let's take it a step further. What else in your life sits there until it explodes instead of addressing it right away? Do you internalize and stuff down anger until it boils over like a hot pot and burns someone? Or do you recognize that you're angry and ask Jesus why and what to do with it?

What about laziness? Do you spot that in your life and check yourself on that? Or does that build up to the point you never feel like doing anything?

Jesus gave you the tools to get rid of the bad fruit in your life instead of holding on to them. What steps can you take today to start fixing a pattern that isn't healthy, and certainly isn't what Jesus wants for you? Sometimes it's a miraculous change in your life, but often I've found it's making the choice to choose righteousness. And more often, I've seen that you're tearing down a pattern by making a new one, step by step. Instead of getting frustrated that you can't get it perfect every time, start recognizing when you're doing it right and add another time onto that. One moment after another turns into a good or bad pattern. So why keep choosing the bad ones? They actually aren't easier and they likely are hurting someone in your life. It might take some extra effort in the beginning, but it does get easier! I'd encourage you today to set some vision for your life. What are some things you want to see change? And instead of giving up if there are many of them, choose one thing to start with and be encouraged with the progress instead of discouraged it's not instant!

To sum it up, you're building something. Good or bad. Healthy or unhealthy. What will you choose to build today?

Don't give up! Just do it step by step.