I do keep things. And, just possibly, there are spaces in my home where there are things that I don’t necessarily need, but that I think I should hang onto. For a while. Maybe.

And, while all this staying at home, and not going out unless you absolutely must, and staying away from people, is important, it’s also not much different from the normal and usual for me. I’m not as likely to browse in stores any more, and, while we rarely went out to eat, now that’s pretty much become never. But my life has been much less restricted than most folks, simply because I wasn’t out and about that much.

I have noticed how full the parking lots at Lowe’s and Home Depot have been, as I shopped there for plants and gardening supplies. It seems that people have been using their stay-at-home time for projects that might have been put off and delayed for various reasons. And I’ve thought hmmm, maybe I should be thinking about some home improvement pursuits, myself.

I started with the linen closet, tossing out old towel sets (that were too embarrassingly worn to even be used as rags), rearranging some things, and trying to make it easier to find those things that guests might need when they’re staying over. Stuff went to Goodwill, stuff went to the trash, stuff got moved to different locations. The flashlights that were stored there were nonfunctional and got replaced. I occasionally open the linen closet door, just to see how nice and neat it looks.

I got my own closet better organized.

In the kitchen, my Christmas dishes take up quite a bit of room. We use them for a few days a year. But, they’re my CHRISTMAS dishes. So, no culling for that kitchen cabinet. Just this evening, we were looking at a chunk of chocolate that was the result of a recipe that Peter and I tried that went really wrong. Peter was thinking that, if we had a grater, we could at least turn it into smaller pieces. “Do you have a grater, Mimi?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I was thinking about a lemon grater.”

“Nope, sorry.”

Peter opened several drawers and searched through them. No luck. I looked in cabinets. Aha.

I have a small food processor.

“This might work,” I said, and put it together and plugged it in. After cutting the chunk of chocolate into pieces that would fit into the little processor, I attached the lid and turned the thing on. It worked well. So, I’m thinking that I don’t actually need a grater.

The place I’ve been putting the most energy on right now is my office, which is also a guest room, with a twin bed and trundle, and also the place where my treadmill is. And it’s the smallest bedroom in the house. The closet has a large filing cabinet in it. There are two long shelves across the top, and on the side opposite the filing cabinet, there are a couple of short shelves. Under those shelves is a small chest of drawers, which, at this time, holds a drawer full of clear and patterned Contact paper and two drawers of picture frames.

I found the grade book from when I taught at the local community college.  I glanced over the pages and then shredded them all. I also found folders with copies of student evaluations. I looked at a few of them. They’re mostly quite positive. Maybe I’ll keep a few of them. There are folders with handouts that I’ve used, and folders with colored paper that I use mostly for Bible-related games at church. There are folders with copies of periodicals that contain things I’ve written. Lots of things can go. Lots of things can stay.

On the floor-things to use up, things to give away, things to keep, maybe, things to throw away

There’s that old adage that says, “As soon as you throw something away, you apt to discover that you needed it after all.” Maybe, for some things, but not for most things. I’m trying to make good decisions. I do toss old pens that don’t work and wooden pencils that are too short to hold on to. I get rid of clothes that I don’t wear any more (the trash if they’re tattered, a helping agency if they’re wearable). I toss the newspaper out every day and don’t keep magazines I’ve read. (But there can be a problem if I’ve not gotten around to reading those magazines. Sounds like I shouldn’t subscribe to them, huh?) And I do have every painting that Peter has made at our house. But, one step at a time, right? I’m trying to discern between “Oh, I really like this,” and “Oh, I really (yes, really, honestly, completely) need and use this.” One closet at a time.

For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving. We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (The Passion Translation)

I love this passage, and I love this translation of the passage. Our lives are sometimes extraordinary and sometimes mundane. But we have become his poetry! Even when I’m ironing, or cleaning the bathrooms, or going with Peter to purchase food items for the Family Pantry, I’m God’s poetry. Even when I’m just cleaning out a closet.