Heart and Home of Simplicity

Posted October 14th, 2007 by Jen in family life, religion

I’ve been furiously cleaning and decluttering my home over the past week. I’ve been yearning for simplicity, but the clutter around me has been just sucking the life out of me.

clean counter dirty counter

Do you see the irony of the two pictures above? My kitchen counter was so cluttered that I couldn’t even see my “Simplify” sign. That was a wake-up call for me!

I just dropped off five large bags of “stuff” at Goodwill, and 4 large bags of garbage were sent to the dumpster. So far. I have a ways to go. I started with the kids’ toys, and am moving on to the rest of our material items. Part of this project is simple cleaning, part is organizing, part is purging. This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) kept me on track:

We fill the hands and nurseries of our children with all manner of dolls, drums and horses, withdrawing their eyes from the plain face and sufficing objects of nature, the sun, and moon, the animals, the water, and stones, which should be their toys.

I can almost guarantee that if you are an average American, you have too much stuff. That your children have too many toys. Oh my, if Emerson thought this in the 1800s, what would he say today? I hope you are encouraged here to simplify with me.

The less objects in my home, the less chance of something getting left lying on the floor, causing me stress and wasted time. The more time for reading to my children or playing outside with them. And I discovered, after getting rid of those five big bags of toys, that the kids suddenly discovered new playthings. The three dolls I kept, the wooden blocks, the trains. Sometimes, when there is too much stuff, nothing gets used. Does that make sense?

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. William Morris (1834-1896)

Why do we feel so good when we go camping? I think it’s not just the out-of-doors and beauty of nature, but the lack of all our “stuff” when we’re in the wilderness. It weighs us down, and we don’t always realize it until it’s gone and we feel so free. I felt so much lighter when my living room went from this to this:
messy room clean room

I just grabbed Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster off my bookshelf. I’ve had this book for nearly 20 years, and seem to always come back to one of the disciplines during a critical point in my spiritual growth. Yes, there’s a chapter on simplicity! Simplicity should always begin in the heart, if you want a lasting thing.

The Christian Discipline of simplicity, says Foster, is an inward reality resulting in an outward lifestyle. Both aspects of simplicity are necessary. What is simplicity in one’s heart? As I look back over the past several months, I can see that my deep desire for simplicity in my home has been coinciding with an impulse for simplicity in my heart. Funny how I needed this pointed out to me! I liked this paragraph of Foster’s on the inward simplicity:

Experiencing the inward reality liberates us outwardly. Speech becomes truthful and honest. The lust for status and position is gone because we no longer need status and position. We cease from showy extravagance not of the grounds of being unable to afford it, but on the grounds of principle. Our goods become available to others. We join the experience that Richard E. Byrd, after months alone in the barren Arctic, recorded in his journal, “I am learning…that a man can live profoundly without masses of things.”

There is the necessity of living in the modern world, unfortunately! We are absolutely surrounded with a society lusting for affluence - how does one cope with that? One answer Foster gives is this: “It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick.” No one is going to even desire Christian simplicity until one recognizes the need to break away from People Magazine, reality TV shows, and the latest designer jeans. What do you think the Bible is talking about when it says to not conform to this world? (Romans 12:2)

We are free to receive God’s provisions, don’t get me wrong. “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…a land…in which you will lack nothing” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). It’s just all about the proper perspective. Creation is good and should be enjoyed! Material provisions are not evil, and forced poverty is wrong. The proper perspective should be that you are not wrongly attached to your provisions, but you freely and graciously receive all you have as a gift from God, to be shared with others.

And above all, even above seeking simplicity, is to seek first the kingdom of God. Then everything else will fall in its proper order.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Matthew 6:33

Blessings to you as you work toward a heart and home of simplicity!

12 Responses

Renae October 15th, 2007 at 7:01 am
Simplicity has been a theme for me since the beginning of the year; however, you would never know that by looking at my house. :) I have collected piles of things to pass on. This week I finally need to haul it off.

Thanks for the added encouragement!
Jane October 15th, 2007 at 7:25 am
Great post! I feel so much better when I am surrounded by less clutter. I like to purge and get rid of things that have not been used- I get pretty cut throat and have to make sure the kids don’t see the give away pile. Good for you! The quotes really resonated with me.
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[…] Jen wrote a fantastic post today on “Heart and Home of Simplicity”Here’s ONLY a quick extractWhat is simplicity in one’s heart? As I look back over the past several months, I can see that my deep desire for simplicity in my home has been coinciding with an impulse for simplicity in my heart. Funny how I needed this pointed out … […]
Jen October 15th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Renae, I know, sometimes it takes a whole year (or more) to get ahold of something, especially if it seems insurmountable at first glance. For me, if I just begin, no matter how small a step, it gets the ball rolling and I can do it.

Jane, there were tears yesterday, actually. One daughter wanted a purse rescued from the Goodwill bag - I don’t have the kids go through all the stuff because it’s just too difficult for them. They add their own items to the pile, but don’t always see the entire collection that gets given away. I did let my girl keep the little purse, afterall. :-)
e-Mom October 15th, 2007 at 8:55 am
OK, I get it, I”m off to clean my basement…

Actually, I love Richard Foster’s books. This is so true: “It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick.”

Have a “simply” wonderful week! :~)
Mandi October 15th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Amen! We truly need to be able to control our stuff and not let it control us. I went through this process a couple years ago and boy was it freeing! I did not realize what a burden all my stuff was for me - don’t tell anyone but I even trashed half finished baby books! I finally allowed myself to not be guilty anymore for not finishing them and I knew that I just had to get rid of them so they would not be a constant reminder to me of what I did not get done - amazing how even this can be such a burden! Perspective is right!
Great post my friend - may your words help others to free themselves of all those burdens they have stored in their houses as well!

Warmly,
Mandi
Grace October 16th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Nice work. Simplicity is always the best. My family works towards being minimalists. We don’t buy toys for our little one, what we have (toys, if any) are from friends. We do not have much clutter in the house but we do have lots of drawing materials.

Great cleaning work. I am now inspired to clean my own space (at least in the office).
mrs darling October 16th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Great post. Love the pics. Yes simplicity is nice. I dont strive for it to the extent some people do, in fact, I never consciously think about it. but I sure see it as a theme on the blogs. Its nice to see people getting down to the basics.
Jen October 16th, 2007 at 8:45 am
e-Mom, basements are the worst!! Anyone I know with a basement has a monster living down there. :-) My oldest sister’s basement - truly terrifying!

Mandi, I hear you on the piles of old photos. I’ve given myself permission to just put them all away in a box until I have time “someday.” I really can’t let the guilt of unfinished albums rob me of peace and sanity. If it meant I had to get rid of them to be free, I’d do it, too.

Grace - “minimalist” is a word I meant to use in this article. I definitely purposely strive for that. I have to be purposeful about it, because our culture is so overboard consumeristic, it’s easy for stuff to sneak in when you’re not looking!

Mrs. Darling, I can tell you why you don’t consciously think about simplicity. You have such a good handle on your home that it’s second nature to you. YOU have actually been a lot of my inspiration to keep an organized, clean home. THANK YOU, I guess you should know that you are helping folks like me!
Karen October 16th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Great post!
We visited the in-laws this past summer for the first time in several years. They have two completely furnished-and-full houses next to each other for all of their stuff. I know it’s morbid, but all I could think of when walking through the first time was how tremendously overwhelming it is going to be to clear out those homes when they die!
ladysown October 22nd, 2007 at 6:09 am
Just a thought… as you simplify why not use a group like freecycle to help others out as well. Stuff you don’t want, others might well want. and what they don’t you can still bring to goodwill.

Just a thought. Simplifying is something I am learning to do as well.
Jen October 22nd, 2007 at 9:02 am
Karen, that’s about the strangest set-up I’ve heard of! Two houses next to each other for the husband & wife - are they still married? :-)

Ladysown, great idea, I should try Freecycle, or something similar. At this point, I don’t have a lot left. :-)

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Heart and Home of Simplicity

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