Decluttering has become a fad. Everyone seems to be making life, work, and home more streamlined, sleek, and minimal.
Anyone serving in specialized ministries, part-time church staff roles, or other ministries knows how crazy schedules can be when wearing several hats and meeting all your obligations.
Is it time to streamline? Where can you declutter? Here are three surprising ways that will provide huge dividends for a more healthy and harmonious outlook and life.
Declutter Your Work
Ministry leaders often try to do too much. We may not delegate because we “don’t have the time.” We don’t hire new people because we “can’t afford it.” We don’t share the load with a team because we fear asking big things of our people. As a result, our workload is cluttered. On our clearest days, we remember to do the most important things. But in the whirlwind, we do much that doesn’t line up with the most important aspect of the mission.
Pruning is an important part of your ministry. Be courageous and declutter the things in your work that don’t move you forward toward your mission.
Declutter Your Diet
Americans spend billions in weight loss programs and fitness memberships, but few get to the root – the discipline issue. Often, people with decluttered cars, homes or offices, also hve decently decluttered diets. They don’t keep junk food around and they clean up after meals. All that discipline seems to roll through other areas of life. Until reading the book, It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh, I had never thought about an abundance of food portions as clutter affecting your heart, digestive system, brain, and energy.
A healthy diet can do wonders to keep your thinking clear, your energy up, and your motivation high for your ministry role. Take practical steps to declutter your pantry, your fridge, and your candy stash. When eating out, try ordering only water to drink!
Declutter Your Parenting
If you have kids living in your home, you may need to declutter your parenting. Determine the main things you want to pass on and do the following well:
- Listen with eye contact and without a device in your hand.
- Have a few simple, but hardfast rules and be consistent with them.
- Model praying with and for your children.
- Keep a spiritual fervor in your own life so it becomes contagious.
One last thing about decluttering as a parent has to do with schedules. I remember reading about this in the book, “It’s Your Kid, Not A Gerbil: Creating A Happier And Less Stressful Home” by Dr. Kevin Leman. As the global pandemic cleared our schedules, families across the board mentioned the blessing of being home together more often. Don’t jump back into a spastic routine out of pressure. Your future adult children will thank you more for a grounded home life than a million scattered opportunities.
NOTE: Some of the springboard for this post was from the book, It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh.