Simplify...

Today's post brought to you by the word: Simplify from Kate's Five Minute Friday writing prompts

Simplify...

A word with such promise, but so much hard work to make it a reality. We stretch and pull and fit every last thing into our schedules, and then we feel overwhelmed and realize we need to simplify. But getting there? That's the challenge.

You cannot just one day decide to simplify your life and wake up the next day and have your schedule and life fixed. It takes time to step back and evaluate what needs to go and what needs to stay. The only way to simplify in a hurry is to have heart attack and be relegated to the hospital and rehab - not the way anyone I know wants to simplify.

So in the meantime, how do we go about simplifying our lives? We take stock of what is working well, and what is not. Those things that do not work well - we find a way to change them, or get rid of them. 

Here is an example: you cannot just stop doing laundry because it is not working well, but, you can implement some procedures that make it easier to get it done. Buy three laundry hampers, one for darks, one for whites, and one for in-between colors. Train your family to go to the laundry room and sort their dirty clothes into the correct hamper (it helps if you get them in white, black, and a colored one instead of all white ones!) Laundry at your house just become simpler.

What about the things you can kick to the curb? How do you decide which outside activities to ditch and which ones to keep? Have a heart to heart with your spouse, pray, and then have an honest talk with your children. Sometimes game night needs to get cut back, or a sport needs to be dropped. We cannot do it all, and we should not be trying to do it all, but we can choose a few things and try to do them well. If you are needing to simplify, ask each person in the family what is the one thing they want to keep - and then everything else is a possibility to be dropped. Sometimes even that one thing has to go - maybe your three year old wants dance classes, but its just not going to fit your schedule, or your budget. Find her something that is going to fit, and wholeheartedly do it with her.

Simplifying frequently requires us to get rid of stuff, so we have less of it to clean and put away. Find a local shelter or charity resale shop for those clothes and blankets that are still in good shape. Don't be so tied up in your possessions that they end up possessing you. God wants you to spend your time focused on His word, and His work, not on how many totes of clothes you have stashed for the elusive 'someday.'

Simplifying takes work, but oh, the glorious freedom it brings is well worth it!