Miss Savvy Chic: Worms are Gross

Some readers may be familiar with Fly Lady of www.flylady.net, whose cleaning routines help potential hoarders (like me) stay sane. So, I do my best to follow her guidelines, cleaning and purging 15 minutes at a time. In an economy like ours, though, I find it harder to get rid of things. As my sweet Mam-maw had grown up during the Depression, our family has battled with a bit of scarcity mentality for years. Maybe you relate, if your home looks similar to this (source):

In one of Fly Lady's emails, she reminded me of a story from the Bible that anyone, believer or not, would likely find interesting. When the Israelites (Jews) were wondering in the desert, God provided manna (a type of bread) every day for their sustenance. God promised them they would find it every single morning and not to keep it. But, being human and scared, they tried to put away the leftovers anyway. That manna turned into worms!

As stupid as the Israelites sound for doing this, I do a similar thing. I keep things out of worry that one day I will need something, and it won't be there. Hey, who doesn't have a stash of "skinny clothes" and "fat clothes"? I lack faith that God will provide. And that stuff that I'm not really using becomes figurative worms. We have to make room for future blessings.

Aside from Fly Lady routines, I am helped by occasionally sneaking a peek at my decorating inspiration notebook or Pinterest. They're a gentle reminder that the thing missing from their pictures is clutter. Having good, simple organizational systems help, but as Fly Lady says, "You can't organize clutter." So, I'm facing those demons... Just now started listing all the areas that need help and got overwhelmed. Instead, let me back up and say today I'll spend at least 15 minutes in my closet. Ha! Do what you can.

Here's my current inspiration (source):

Country living room