“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3

I get a happy feeling when I declutter. A feeling like no other (except perhaps when I write). It starts in my toes and goes all the way to my heart where it flutters and buzzes. I love to tidy. 🙂

Yes. I know I am fully a nerd that way. But as I embark on a little business to help others declutter, I have been pondering my philosophy of order. Why do I love it so much?
I think I have discovered the reason.

The home is our own special kingdom, a sacred place we get to manage. Whether a mansion, hut, or rented studio room, God gives us our own “plot of earth” to steward. What delight, what joy, what training can come as we put our hands to this gladsome task! Toddlers may conspire, dust and grime encroach- but still what a joy that we have a plot! As children of a King, who has a kingdom, I believe there is an innate desire in us to have domain, to rule a place. And the first and happiest place we get to rule? Our own space.

And ruling our space well brings many happy results.

If we want lives we love, then, as much as it depends on us, only have those things we love in our lives. Perhaps we can’t donate our annoyingly loud neighbor to the Goodwill or fix every messy situation, but we can push back on the crush of stuff in our homes. And that can bring peace and control in whatever situation we find ourselves.

Being tidy and having uncluttered space empowers us to move through the other rooms of our lives with confidence. We learn discernment both in the choice of our physical things and in the choice of our lives’ work. We don’t need to pay a seminar fee or attend a conference to learn these lessons. All this training can take place in our own home.
What joy!

We aren’t perfect (can anyone say yard work?!!), but every day we get better. We get better at home.