clutter to clutter..

This is an old writing that I did in 2006 and I can see I have not changed too much--not sure if I have more or less clutter- I have declutter thoughts from time to time -but open spaces scare me--LOL-
Enjoy- it is old but new ....
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I am a clutter bug and have been learning to declutter. I never knew these words until I discovered the internet. It is amazing what you can learn on email groups. In fact, the word declutter is not in my spell check yet. But decluttering I will go.
The first thing we are always told to do is ''make a to do list.'' That sounds fairly simple. All you need is pencil or pen and paper. Some suggest notebooks and others suggest the paper is enough. I like pencils with erasers but usually use a pen. I can never find the pencil sharpener.Well, the first part is easy as I have had paper and pens in my life since time for me began. I was born with a silver pen in my mouth rather than a spoon.
I also have more note books than I have time. Dollar stores have such pretty note books and the price is always right. Paper is easy to make if you tear a page out of a notebook.The second thing is to decide what to put on the list.

This is where I start to fail. I am not a one word woman. I cannot simply put down dishes unless I put down what to do with those dishes. I need to know if I mean wash or dry or put away. And what about the pots and pans? All right, maybe I can skip the dishes for today.
So then, lets try laundry- hmmm- what laundry? The whites, the colors or the bedding? Do I dry in the house or hang in outside? Forget that, we have enough clothes to wear for another week.
There are other things to do but so many decisions to make before I can write them down.So far the list is looking weak.
Now I put down floors and but which floors? I will put down swiffer floors as that is easy to write up and check off. And I like the word swiffer. It sounds so clean and what fun it is to check the dirt when you are done. Maybe the rug too but that means the vacuum which is not nearly as much fun. Believe me, it is far too difficult to check the dirt in the vacuum every day.
This list making is harder than I thought.I will write down on the list to remember to make a to do list tomorrow. I am to tired from thinking to write any more today. I will just set this list down somewhere . Better yet, I will toss this list out and get a new piece of paper tomorrow. This list has too many scratch outs.
Hey, I found something to do. I can dump the garbage so I have a clean place to put the paper.I do this every day which does prove that I am consistent with some things and I have also made a discovery about me. I am not a list maker.

Somehow this strikes me as a failure in some departments. The problem is I do not know what department. I still believe in lists; just not in making them. They take me too long to do.
I realized that it is ok to not make a list and that God has planned me to be more in the moment. I do clean well when I buzz about like a bee from here to there and everywhere. No one has starved to death in my house and dishes rinse well in emergencies. We can wear the same pants more than one day. And swiffering is such fun and our garbage cans are clean.
I used to buy a lot of books that had the perfect plan for me to become the perfect woman. They never said the word 'should' on the front cover but when I read the fine print I would feel lacking in many areas. I was always 'too' something or not enough something else. They said I needed to become someone else more or less to be perfect.
They never mentioned that God loved me just the way I was today. They never said that perfection consists of love and laughter mixed with tears and prayer. . They never said it is ok to be different. They never told me that I was knit together by the Father. They had long lists of things I could do to change me into a new pattern.
And just when I thought I had it right they wrote a new book and changed the rules.
I have learned as God's child I need to listen to the plans He has for me. He made some of us list makers and some of us not. He will determine my needs and goals. Now I am living one day at a time with Jesus as my list maker. I no longer have to have a list as one of my goals.
Now I am off to swiffer the floors and maybe I will try to find a note book. First I have to make a list of things to write in my notebook. And maybe after that I will see if I can find those' how to' books and declutter them. I only need one book of lists to read. The Bible is the book for me.
©McmPiesse
Huggles me, Marilyn Christine(Meme)Brighten the corner where you are....