Declutter (A Reflection for the First Week of Advent)

I’m trying not to freak out when I look at the calendar. This is the first week in Advent, which means Christmas is right around the corner and our move to the mainland is right after that. I’m double-checking the Christmas list to make sure we’ve got presents for everyone while calling moving companies. I’ve also started to declutter. As I go through our home, I’ve been thinking about how to declutter my heart too.

First Week of Advent: Declutter

As I declutter my home…

Both Christmas and moving are good times to declutter your home. This time of year, we’re usually getting out the Christmas decorations and putting away other things to make room for seasonal items. Or, in preparation for the gifts the kids will find under the tree, we might clean out their toy boxes.

It’s a good time of year to notice what hasn’t been used since last Christmas (and what probably won’t be used before the next either). And moving always makes me think about what things we can pass on to someone else rather than having to pack and unpack them.

Before we moved to Vancouver Island to start university, my husband and I did a lot of decluttering in our home. He went through boxes of stuff (mostly papers) that he’d been hauling around for several moves, and I ran the paper shredder. Sunshine peered into the boxes with Daddy and played with random things that looked interesting—a handheld computer Solitare game, expired daytimers, old birthday cards, a Christmas tree ornament. I tried to put away some of the more “useful” things we found—like the mountain of paper pads that would get anyone through at least a year of university courses.

Every move reminds me of my brother’s advice: “Next time I move, I’m going to throw more stuff out!” I’ve gotten more ruthless about things that haven’t been used since before our last move—or even before my first move.

One of our friends told us that everything he owns fits into a suitcase. While I realize that’s vastly impractical for a married couple with kids, I admire his example of simplicity and faith. He is able to simply pick up his things and go wherever God calls him to go—university in Ottawa, outreach in China, discernment in religious communities across North America.

Sometimes we get too caught up in “stuff”—getting the latest gadgets or wanting more things. My husband and I are bad about collecting books (as is attested not only by our many bookshelves, but also by the boxes of books hiding in the closets). They are all good books—but I catch myself wondering why we hang onto them when we haven’t read some of them and may not read others more than once or twice. And so I’ve been taking a good hard look at my books, and asking myself why I’m keeping them. Will I read it again? Does it hold good memories? Or can it find another home?

I also need to declutter my heart

While I’ve been dashing from one item to the next on my to-do list today (as I did all weekend), I’ve been thinking there’s another way I need to declutter. This is Christmas, after all.

Yesterday at Mass, our priest talked about how Christmas reminds us that Jesus came to earth once and has promised to come again. If I knew He was really returning this Christmas Day, would I be trying to figure out how many strollers we need and who should pack the plates? Or would I be more concerned with other things—like how much time I spent praying today or whether I gave my kids a hug or not?

Christmas is a season with up and downs. On the outside, it’s a time of joy and excitement, of gifts and food and special songs. Yet for many of us, it’s also a time of pressure and stress, as we try to figure out the perfect gift for each member of the family and send out Christmas letters and decorate and bake and clean and declutter and…

Take a deep breath. This Christmas, yes, we’re moving from Vancouver Island to Vancouver. And maybe you’ve got a bunch of things going on too—a loss or a change or something else that makes the holidays even more hectic than usual. (If you’re just celebrating Christmas and the rest of life is going on as usual, then thank God for that!)

This Christmas, as I declutter my house, I want to declutter my to-do list too. I want to focus on what’s important this season (Jesus and family and friends) and let go of the rest (decking the halls or baking the cookies).

I invite you to declutter your home and heart along with me. How can you simplify and focus during this Advent season?

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