too much kleenex & not enough kleenex?

i have been cleaning out closets in my house
i've only lived there for 3 years (more like 2 1/2 actually) and i have already accumulated so much junk. sometimes i joke that if we weren't careful, michael & i would be hoarders!!

we have begun the much needed & much anticipated, renovating of our basement. my friends son, Marcus was over at our house the other day, and went with michael to get something from the basement.. looked around and said "what are you DOING down here?!?" isn't always that before you can "fix" something, or organize something, or improve something, you first have to make it look even worse?

as we renovate, and as i go through my "stuff" i am thinking more and more about living simply. i do not claim to be "there" or to be one that always pursues the simple life. i'm pretty sure that my 1 year old car sitting on my driveway, and my closet full of way too many clothes screams the fact that it's a struggle for me. and i am getting there. i don't think that we need to deny ourselves everything, but i do think that the importance behind "living simply" is in our mindset & our hearts.

when my grandma passed away in october we spent time going through the stuff that she had in her condo. some things had significance to certain people, and other stuff to others. i am thankful for the things of hers that i own, and i do think of her all the time when i see them. but my grandma was not stuff. she was a faithful caregiver. a prayer warrior. a gentle quiet presence. a hard worker. so when do i think of grandma? when i experience grace. when i serve others. when i care for my family.

living simply to me means focusing on LIVING. not on filing my house with the latest and greatest. not with superficial friendships & relationships. it means taking more time to just be. to sit & rest. to enjoy being with michael, with my family, with my friends. to spend more time writing letters & cards then online shopping. to spend more time praying than gossiping (sometimes it hurts me to realize how much time i've wasted talking negatively about others! how frustrating..) to enjoy what i have.

funny how living simply can seem so.. un-simple! but if we really think about it.. it's actually SIMPLY fantastic.

i was amazed as i cleaned out some closets last week to discover in all my junk collecting.. i had multiple stacks of kleenex. too much kleenex. kleenex is useful though, i said to myself as i put my stock pile into my "toiletries" section of my organizing. "it's always good to have a pack". but wouldn't you know it, as i sit here typing.. with my nose stuffy & also randomly running with a sinus type cold.. there isn't a kleenex to be found. sometimes i'm too organized for my own good :)